The evolution of hospitality is inseparable linked to sustainable development and environmental protection.
Explore our strategic vision for sustainable hospitality
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Sustainable Hospitality
We strongly believe in the need for a strategic redefinition of the tourism industry based on sustainable development and environmental protection. We want to be pioneers in this.
One of our biggest priorities is the conscious and consistent compliance with all regulations regarding environmental protection and the respect for the unspoiled nature and natural resources of the island of Crete. We also hope, through our clearly defined, strategic vision to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, that we can also make our small contribution to slowing down global warming to the point of climate neutrality.
The associated preservation of the living environment, biodiversity and ultimately the health and quality of life of all of us, guests and locals, is certainly one of the most important prerequisites for a unique holiday experience also in the future.
Air travel and climate neutrality do not have to be incompatible concepts
Holidays may be the best time of the year - but they are not necessarily the most climate-friendly at the moment. This is especially true for air travel. Every flight releases large quantities of CO2 that have a significant impact on the climate.
In the meantime, the major airlines are investing in ever more economical aircraft, because CO2 emissions are falling with every new generation of aircraft. Intensive research is being conducted into electric or hydrogen propulsion for large aircraft, but aviation is still a long way from the routine use of such technologies. Sustainably produced alternative aviation fuels, so-called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), as well as biokerosene and power-to-liquid fuels already offer an alternative to fossil paraffin, even if their availability and use is still extremely limited.
Until further technological developments make climate-neutral flying possible, recognised climate protection organisations, such as atmosfair, offer environmentally conscious people the possibility of having the CO2 emissions produced during a flight offset by renewable energies. Air passengers voluntarily pay a climate protection contribution depending on the emissions, which is used to expand renewable energies in various countries and thus save CO2 that would otherwise have been produced by fossil energies.
Of course, such compensation actions are not the final solution to the problem, but they can play an important accompanying role in climate protection.
Our strategic vision for climate neutrality
We have decided not only to make the entire hotel operation of Flair Imperial climate-neutral, but also to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of our guests' entire holiday trip, including flights and transfers.
Our strategy is based on 5 pillars:
- Making the best possible use of energy efficiency benefits, including zero-emission hotel buildings and other facilities.
- Maximising the use of renewable energy in the total energy consumption of our facilities and beyond.
- Shift to environmentally friendly, safe and connected mobility.
- Preferential use of local organically grown products.
- Focus on a circular economy so that waste is reduced to a minimum.
Corissia Hotels & Resort
What we have implemented so far
Here are some measures that we as hotel company have taken and use every day to also make our contribution to climate protection:
1. Natural building materials and ecological paints were used for the most part in the construction of our hotel buildings. The building insulation for thermal insulation and minimisation of transmission heat loss was carried out according to the respective highest international standards. The newly built Corissia Harmony Hotel and the Chania Flair Hotel each have an energy efficiency class A+ with a final energy demand of 26 kWh/(m2a).
2. We have installed various systems that harness alternative and renewable energy sources. We use both solar and geothermal energy for hot water, heating and air conditioning to significantly reduce (up to 75%) our facilities' needs for conventional forms of energy (oil, natural gas, electricity).
3. We use the latest generation of heat pumps and air conditioning systems with a very high degree of energy efficiency.
4. All new windows and balcony doors have triple glazing with improved frames and thus an energy quality that significantly reduces the energy demand of the building. Our goal is to reduce the average U-value of windows to up to 0.5 W/m²K.
5. We use electronic systems to automatically switch electrical equipment on and off whenever appropriate.
6. We use LED energy saving lamps for maximum performance with low power consumption.
7. We actively protect the region's water resources by installing systems to reduce water consumption and using modern biological treatment plants.
8. We always use environmentally friendly cleaning products.
9. When it comes to catering for our guests, we focus on quality rather than quantity. We are not all-inclusive hotels by conviction. We apply high quality, innovative catering concepts and thus avoid the excessive waste of food and the usual production of mountains of waste.
10. We use environmentally friendly, recyclable packaging materials for our daily deliveries to avoid and reduce waste. We also avoid plastic wrappers at your breakfast and dinner buffet.
11. We cover a large proportion of our needs in fruit, vegetables and olive oil from our own organic cultivation. Otherwise, we buy exclusively from farmers in the region.
12. We are happy to support and actively participate in regional tree planting programmes.
Corissia Hotels & Resort
We still have the following plans
1. We plan to increase the energy efficiency of all our buildings and other facilities through targeted conversion measures for thermal insulation and minimisation of transmission heat loss. By 2032, all of our hotel buildings will have an A+ energy efficiency rating.
2. The local use of various systems that make use of renewable energy sources is often not completely sufficient to cover the entire energy demand of the respective building. For this reason, we have already started to move the installation of hotel-owned renewable energy generation systems to physically separated areas (e.g. solar panels). Through smart contracts with local electricity providers, the hotel's own electricity from the remote systems is fed into the grid and offset against the electricity consumed by the hotel.
3. We plan to gradually convert our service vehicles and the vehicles used to transfer our guests to the airport to electric drive.
4. We are planning a major parallel investment in the wind and solar energy sector. We already have permits for the installation of corresponding parks with a nominal capacity of 20 MW in suitable locations. This will enable the full achievement of our climate neutrality strategy for our visitors' entire holiday travel (including flights and transport) by 2032.