STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Scandic Hotels was rewarded by the Nordic Council for its efforts to promote sustainable tourism in the Nordic Region and beyond. A conscious environmental strategy and a series of apparently minor and simple initiatives have proven highly successful. The theme of the Nordic Council Nature and Environment Prize 2011 is sustainable tourism. Businesses, organizations and individuals with a proven track record of lessening the environmental impact of tourism in the region were all eligible to be nominated for the $68,000 prize.
The winner is the Norwegian part of Scandic Hotels, a pioneer and trendsetter in sustainable tourism for the last two decades.
“Since 1994, Scandic has led the way in efforts to reduce its own environmental impact, a policy subsequently adopted by many others in the hotel industry and society in general,” the adjudication panel wrote. “Scandic had the courage to impose demands on its suppliers and invite its guests to help out, e.g. by cutting down on laundry and sorting waste.”
All of Scandic Dedicated to Cause
“We are very pleased and proud that the Nordic Council has chosen Scandic as the winner,” says Anders Ehrling, president and CEO, Scandic Hotels. “Sustainability is something we work with every day and to get such recognition is rewarding and motivating. No company can avoid taking responsibility for the environment and focus on environmental issues. I would like to congratulate our Norwegian team for being nominated and winning this prize, but also point out that all of Scandic, with 160 hotels, works in the same dedicated way with sustainability issues.”
It was a Scandic employee who devised the concept of guests cutting down on how often they send towels to the laundry. The company was also one of the first to abandon individually wrapped soap. Small initiatives perhaps but they have made a major impact and started a trend in hotels all over the world.
Since 1993, when the hotel chain took the decision to work in a more environmentally conscious manner, more than 11,000 employees have been trained to take environmental issues into account and 19,000 hotel rooms have been built from more sustainable materials. A total of 114 of the chain’s 147 hotels in the Nordic Region have been certified under the Nordic Ecolabel scheme—one of the toughest environmental labeling schemes anywhere in the world.
Since 1994, Scandic has reduced water consumption by 17 percent, energy consumption by 22 percent and CO2 emissions by 38 percent.
The Nordic Council Nature and Environment Prize is based on the Nordic values of sustainability and respect for nature.
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