On 26 October, the Old Vine House Maribor was awarded the Green Key eco-label by the National office in Slovenia, which is a part of the international Green Key Association. Green Key Global was founded 25 years ago in Denmark. To this day, they have already certified over 3200 hotels, hostels, small accommodations, campsites, holiday parks, conference centres, restaurants and attractions in 65 countries. Over 30 tourism service providers have been awarded the prestigious Green Key eco-label in Slovenia, with the Old Vine House Maribor being the latest addition.
For obtaining the certificate, the provider must meet 13 criteria of evaluation, ranging from environmental management, guest information, waste and water management, energy efficiency to staff engagement and some other criteria.
Green Key officially aims to:
– Increase the use of environmentally friendly and sustainable methods of operation and technology in the establishments and thereby reduce the overall use of resources.
– Raise awareness and create behavioural changes in guests, staff and suppliers of individual tourism establishments.
– Increase the use of environmentally friendly and sustainable methods and raise awareness to create behavioural changes in the hospitality and tourism industry overall.
Maribor went on a path of sustainable development three years ago, when the Maribor – Pohorje Tourist Board in cooperation with local partners decided to apply Maribor as the green destination of Slovenia. This time, they have come up with a detailed action plan with made-out environmental goals, particularly for the Old Vine House. Their work and goals are in line with the document “Green Scheme of Slovenian tourism”, published by the Slovenian Tourism Board.
“The certificate is an environmental guideline that we intend to follow.”
Bernarda Karo, head of the Green Key eco-label project at Tourism Maribor, commented on attaining the certificate: “For us, obtaining the certificate is not just another gained logo, it is an environmental guideline that we intend to follow. The accolade will also remind us to respect nature, use renewable sources, to manage waste properly and to lower our energy consumption.”
