Nine of its Australian hotels have already been certified, including eight Holiday Inn Express properties in four Australian states, alongside the Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point.
Green Key certification assesses businesses in the visitation space, from hotels and conference centres to restaurants and attractions, against various criteria including energy conservation, waste reduction, water management, sustainable sourcing and environmental education.
The Green Key initiative is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education and has certified over 6,000 businesses in 70 countries around the world so far.
Pro-invest Group says the luxury Kimpton Margot Sydney will soon be certified, alongside the Sebel Canberra Campbell and Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders.
The investment group is aiming to have a further three properties, alongside these 12, certified through Green Key this year.
“As the demand for eco-friendly tourism continues to rise, Pro-invest is committed to achieving third-party certification that holds us accountable and pushes our hotels to continuously improve their operations in terms of sustainability,” said Pro-invest Group’s deputy chair and APAC CEO, Jan Smits.
“The hospitality industry has an obligation to protect the planet for future generations and it’s a responsibility we take very seriously.”
Increasingly hotel groups are getting on board with eco-certification, with Accor having certified over 200 properties in Australia and New Zealand through Ecotourism Australia or Qualmark and Marriott International aiming to certified all of its properties worldwide by the end of this year.
Green Key is aligned with both the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
