Ecolabelling is an important step towards a sustainable society, helping customers choose the most environmentally-friendly products and services, including hotels. This summer, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel was awarded to GreenStar Hotel Vaasa, which has been operating now for almost two years.
At the green urban hotel chain GreenStar Hotels, environmental issues and economic efficiency go hand in hand. For the hotel in Vaasa, environmental and energy issues were strongly taken into account already during the design and construction phase.
“Our hotel in Vaasa clearly meets the Swan label’s criteria, applying to beds, paints and even cleaning appliances and services,” says Kristian Ikonen, CEO of GreenStar Hotels.
Putting sustainability first
GreenStar is the first carbon-neutral hotel chain in Finland. For example, water and energy consumption per customer is half of the average consumption rates.
“We put sustainability and the well-being of our customers first when it comes to, for example, our breakfast selection and the materials used in our hotels,” says Ikonen.
We put sustainability and the well-being of our customers first.
GreenStar Hotels also tries to minimize and avoid waste by all means. Waste volumes are compared between different hotels, and the staff is regularly trained on environmental issues.
Our hotel teams work independently, but they support each other and share best practices. We have already discovered many effective sustainability practices, and we don’t always have to start from scratch.
Reliable Nordic Ecolabel
According to Kristian Ikonen, sustainability and environmental practices are about constantly finding out what can be done differently and better.
“In Vaasa, for example, the hotel’s energy consumption is continually optimized according to use. The demand for hotels in Finland varies a lot in different seasons, even daily. We constantly analyze how the hotel itself can better live according to the rhythm of our customers.”
In Ikonen’s opinion, the Nordic Swan is the most reliable ecolabel for environmental work and also for communicating the company’s values.
The Nordic Swan is not only well known but also quite uncompromising in its criteria. This is important to us. Without ambition, nothing will progress.
GreenStar Hotels protects nature and saves money by saving energy and using resources efficiently.
“This way, we can offer our customers high-quality yet affordable accommodation in Finnish city centres,” Ikonen says.
This article was originally published on Vaasa Insider on 3 October 2023.
