An eco hotel, or a green hotel, is an environmentally sustainable

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

or accommodation that has made important environmental improvements to its structure in order to minimize its impact on the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

. The basic definition of an eco-friendly hotel is an

environmentally responsible Ecosophy or ecophilosophy (a portmanteau of ecological philosophy) is a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium. The term was coined by the French post-structuralist philosopher and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari and the Norwegian father ...

lodging that follows the practices of green living. These hotels have to be certified green by an independent third-party or by the state they are located in. Traditionally, these hotels were mostly presented as ecolodges because of their location, often in

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

s, and their design inspired by the use of traditional building methods applied by skilled local craftsmen in areas, such as

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. These improvements can include non-toxic housekeeping practices, the use of renewable energy, organic soaps, energy-efficient light fixtures, and recycling programs. It is beneficial for these hotels to get certain certifications in order to be environmentally compliant. One beneficial certification specifically for hotels is the

LEED certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

. A LEED-certified hotel provides benefits to the environment through energy efficient practices. An eco hotel should follow a set of best practices in order to do their part to benefit the environment. Some of these best practices include serving local

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

food in restaurants, reusing linens when a guest is staying for more than one night, and incorporating in-room

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

and

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting ...

ing programs. Hotels that have these certifications and best practices can attract environmentally conscious travelers and stand out from other hotels.

Criteria

An eco hotel must usually meet the following criteria: * Dependence on the natural environment * Ecological sustainability * Proven contribution to conservation * Provision of environmental training programs * Incorporation of cultural considerations * Provision of an economic return to the local community

Characteristics

Green hotels follow strict green guidelines to ensure that their guests are staying in a safe, non-toxic and energy-efficient accommodation. Here are some basic characteristics of a green hotel: *Housekeeping uses non-toxic cleaning agents and laundry detergent *100%

organic cotton Organic cotton is generally defined as cotton that is grown organically in subtropical countries such as India, Turkey, China, and parts of the USA from non- genetically modified plants, and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemical ...

sheets, towels and mattresses *Non-smoking environment *Renewable energy sources like solar or wind energy *Bulk organic soap and amenities instead of individual packages to reduce waste *Guest room and hotel lobby recycling bins *Towel and sheet re-use (guests can tell housekeeping to leave these slightly used items to reduce water consumption) *Energy-efficient lighting *On-site transportation with green vehicles *Serve organic and local-grown food *Non-disposable dishes *Offers a fresh-air exchange system *

Greywater Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater fro ...

recycling, which is the reuse of kitchen, bath and laundry water for garden and landscaping *Newspaper recycling program

Definition

Ecology is a very strong trend, either convictions or a fashion, caring for the earth has become an ideal of many. As a result, eco-hotels have become an increasingly popular alternative in the tourism industry, the increase in demand has led therefore to a large range of hotels with planet friendly options for all requirements. According to the Royal Spanish Academy, one of the interpretations of the term ecology includes "defense and protection of nature and environment" From what we understand, to be green what is sought is to defend and protect everything natural. around us. contact with nature is something almost inherent to the holiday, providing an opportunity to carry out environmental. An ecological hotel is one that is fully integrated into the environment without damaging the environment, contributing in some way to progress and improvement of the local community and

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...

of the tourism industry. The term has been used on a more regular basis as new websites devoted to the subject become more prominent and hotel owners become more interested in protecting the areas their guests have come to visit. New properties are being built from sustainable resources–tropical

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

s, local stone–and designed to better blend in with their environment. In addition, they are also being run on eco-friendly principles, such as serving

or locally grown food or using natural cooling as opposed to air conditioning. Ecolabels are labeling systems that show the environmental impact of good and services within

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

around the world.

Ecolabeling of hotels in Europe

The

EU Ecolabel EU Ecolabel or EU Flower is a voluntary ecolabel scheme established in 1992 by the European Union. Logo The label includes a green flower with inclined green "ϵ" ( Greek epsilon) as the flower, surrounded by 12 blue stars. On EU Ecolabelled pr ...

is an official sign of the environmental quality of services and goods established in 1992 in the European Union (EU) that is both certified by an independent organization and valid throughout the many member States of the European Union. Any tourism accommodation operator in the EU - from a large hotel chain to a small farmhouse has been able to apply for the European Eco-label since 2003. The operators must meet strict minimum standards with regard to environmental performance and health standards. Tourism accommodation services need to meet a certain set criteria by acquiring a minimum of 20 points of a range of mandatory requirements. These mandatory requirements include the use of renewable energy sources, an overall reduction in energy and water consumption, measures to reduce waste and wastewater, environmental policy setting, the provision of non-smoking areas, and the promotion of environmentally preferable means of transport. The first eco-labelled hotel in the European Union was the Sunwing Resort Kallithea, located in Rhodes, Greece in September 2003 and the first eco-labelled hotel on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was the Hotel Jardim Atlântico on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Ecolabeling of hotels in South America

In Argentina, the Tourism Hotels Association (AHT) has created an annual award, Hoteles Más Verdes (Greener Hotel).Hoteles más Verdes
"Greener Hotels" Contest in South America. The prize – a monetary award and peer-recognition – goes the best eco-hotels in the country, both operating and under construction. In 2014, the city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

has presented a new labeling system for hotels and hostels, Ecosello.Ecosello Buenos Aires
With three levels of certification (Committed, Advanced, and Excellence), the new label aims at developing eco-consciousness among tourism operators in Buenos Aires.

Ecolabeling of hotels globally

In 2008, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria was launched at the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

World Conservation Congress. The Criteria, managed by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, created a global standard for sustainable travel and tourism and includes criteria and performance indicators for destinations, tour operators and hotels. The GSTC provides accreditation through a third-party to Certification Bodies to legitimize claims of sustainability.

Additional initiatives

Eco hotels may also actively help in protecting its natural environment. For instance, the Misool Eco Resort was started as a funding vehicle for conservation work in the area. A private

marine reserve A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

(which has grown to a size of 300 000 acres) was set up, and included a no-take zone. A salaried 15-person team of local rangers (which work for the sister charity, Misool Foundation) patrol the area and have a base camp at Misool Eco Resort (alongside additional locations in the area). The Misool Foundation also has additional projects, including a collaborative program to end manta hunting in Lakamera (Savu Sea Alliance). For the livelihood of the eco resort itself, the conservation work is also of great importance, as it leverages pristine reefs as its central

asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that c ...

(the resort includes a dive center). The work has even increased this asset as an increase of 250% of biomass was observed over a 6-year period. Besides simply protecting the environment, eco hotels can also help the environment by coral growing initiatives ( coral nursery). Iberostar Group's Wave of Change initiative focuses on exactly that.

References

External links

Hotels Struggle to Find the Right Eco-Message
''New York Times''
The Ultimate Green Hotel
''Travel & Leisure'' {{Hotel Ecotourism Hotel types