As an alternative to my earlier post on the EMAS Accommodation Factsheet for 2014 for a sustainable holiday, which provided a listing of accommodation for committed environmentalists concerned about their environmental footprint, a further online resource is provided by TripAdviser, the world’s largest travel site.
TripAdvisor is to extend its GreenLeaders programme – which highlights hotels that are engaging in environmentally friendly practices – into the UK and other European markets.
TripAdvisor GreenLeaders was launched in the US in April 2013, and has since awarded over 3,700 US accommodations with the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders status. Now hotels and B&Bs in 19 other markets, including UK and Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, are able to apply for TripAdvisor GreenLeaders status.
GreenLeaders was developed in consultation with the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC), as well as the Carbon Trust, the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Tourism Partnership, who advised on what hotels could do to make their buildings and operations more environmentally friendly.
Eligible accommodation businesses will be assessed against a set of environmental criteria – including practices ranging from linen and towel re-use, recycling and composting through to solar panels, electric car charging stations and green roofing. The more green practices a hotel or B&B has in place, the higher the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders level it can achieve.
The properties are tiered between Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum awards and each award will be shown on their TripAdvisor listing.
For further information on the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders programme, go to http://bit.ly/YVTpKP