Stay Green
Our Corporate Social Responsibility
We at Kolding Hotel Apartments wants to take responsibility for a better future. We are aware that we, alone, cannot save the world. However, we do believe our small efforts and contributions can make a difference in the long run. We are constantly evolving, and so is the society around us. Therefore, we must continuously stop and look for new ways to adapt and adjust our organisation to the challenges we are facing. Working with sustainability is an ongoing process and something we are able to further develop without compromising our guests’ experiences.
We are inspired by the “Triple Bottom Line” (or PPP) theory in our CSR activities and strategies. The theory is based on the idea that organisations cannot exist in the long term by solely focusing on the financial bottom line. Therefore, it suggests that a company includes two additional areas: The people and The planet. This is why we on a daily basis work with several different sustainable initiatives and prioritise additional attention to the following:
Green Key
The Green Key is an international environmental label, which is given to tourism companies that make an extra effort to protect the environment. We wear the environmental label with pride and meet all environmental criteria, which are also checked by Green Key. We continuously optimize based on the recommendations of the environmental label system and own objectives in our annual green action plan, with a focus of reducing the CO2 emissions.
Realized goals in 2023:
- establishment of 3 charging stations for electric cars
- replaced 27 light sources with LED lighting
- night lowering and optimization of 3 ventilation units
- 12 apartments have new doors, windows and LED lighting
- reduced heat consumption by optimizing our CTS system
The Organic Food Label
When you eat our food you will enjoy a predominant selection of organic products.
Your breakfast is certified with The Organic Food Label in bronze, indicating that 30-60% of all your food is organic.
The Organic Food Label is certified by the Danish Government and is a prove of the current efforts to buy and serve organic foods.
We believe that The Organic Food Label ensures high quality and a better tasting experience. With The Organic Food Label as a milestone, we now strive towards silver, which requires 60-90% of all products to be organic.
Food & Ecology
For our guests and staff, we offer a healthy start to the day through our breakfast buffet. Finding new initiatives and improving our breakfast buffet is essential to us. This is for example by serving seasonal food produced locally or naturally and working towards a higher proportion of organic products. We have chosen to focus on ecology due to the facts that it helps to 1) protect the nature and groundwater, 2) contains fewer additives, 3) increases animal welfare and 4) avoids pesticides to a greater extent.
Furthermore, we are REFOOD certified, as we can see the advantage in recycling our food waste into green energy, REFOOD is an initiative for organisations in the food and service industry, which works against food waste by reutilising the leftovers. The membership requires a solid focus on three food waste reduction initiatives. We have chosen to take it a step further by focusing on six areas:
- We shop in correspondingly to the number of breakfast guests and have only a very small stock of goods.
- The portions on our breakfast buffet are smaller to reduced food waste.
- Additionally, the plates and glasses are smaller to encourage our guests to minimize their portions of food and avoiding throwing out leftovers.
- We encourage our guests to hand in the food they have left over from shopping in the apartment, which we then donate to Kolding Madhjælp (an organisation which donates food to marginalised people)
- We choose to serve local seasonal items
- Our leftovers from the breakfast buffet are recycled for green energy, nutrient-rich fertilizers and biodiesel.
By donating food leftovers from our guests, we are also supporting a community of volunteers who work so that those in need can have food.
Garbage sorting
We have two waste stations and encourage our guests to sort their waste, just as we do. Our guests can find descriptions accompanied with illustrations on how to sort their waste in all apartments. The descriptions are provided both in danish and English.
If our guests have any electronic waste, light bulbs, broken glass, porcelain, or hazardous waste we recommend handing it over in the reception, where our technical staff will ensure the proper disposal.
As part of our circular economy, we try our best to repair broken and/or old furniture instead of throwing it away. Firstly, we try to repair the furniture and if not possible, we give it a new purpose in the apartment. Should the furniture be of no use, we make sure to either resell or donate it to give it a new life and make it beneficial for others.
Sharing economic initiatives
We have created a large box of things four our guests to borrow. It is called the ‘Loan Service’ and builds upon the thought of sharing economic. We see a great advantage of not buying a copy of all products to put in each apartment, as many products are simply not used frequently enough. Instead, guests have the opportunity to come by the reception and borrow the items they need. This can be anything from a whisk or exercise equipment. We are adding items to our Loan Service regularly based on our guests’ request.
Our “Stay Green” reusable fabric bag can be found in each apartment. The fabric bag can be reused many times – many more than an average plastic bag. We hope our guests will use our fabric bags rather than buying plastic bags if they go shopping during their visit with us. Primarily because plastic bags are a major environmental and wildlife burden, and it is our deepest wish that our guests will help and contribute to reducing the use of plastic bags.
Digital solutions
We aim to reduce our paper consumption, which is why we are increasing the use of digital solutions for both employees and guests. Amongst other things, our digital guestbook is a great example. The digital guestbook provides all the necessary information online such as practical information, discount agreements, the possibilities of adapting your stay and much more.
The few printed material we still have is made by ‘FROM Grafisk’, which is an organisation takes environmental considerations into account. FROM Grafisk is, amongst other things, Nordic Ecolabelled, FSC® and CO2 neutral certified. By choosing environmentally optimised printed material, we see the importance of reducing CO2 emissions as endangered rainforest and rare animal species are protected.
We always ask our guests if they want a receipt to avoid unnecessary printing, as well as offering to send the receipt by e-mail. For our employees, we use Planday as an online shift planning system, as well as the cleaning system Piccoline, which are digital alternatives to printing.
The administration aims to print only the most necessary. We archive in digital folders rather than in binders. When printing, we only use EU Eco labelled paper which is a guarantee that the paper is produced with a minimal amount of chemicals and water.
Apartments
We use an external company, De 5 Stjerner A / S, which continuously works on reducing the environmental impact that comes with cleaning. More than 90% of the company's cleaning products are eco-labeled with e.g. The Green Key, the Nordic Swan label, and also the company's subcontractors are asked to provide sustainable services. The company always uses the most gentle chemicals and cleaning agents, taken the quality of the cleaning into account. In addition, employees are trained to reduce waste by using fewer and dosed cleaning products.
For stays of less than 1 week, cleaning is done on departure, while for longer stays, cleaning is done weekly. We do this to reduce both electricity, water and consumption of cleaning products.
Berendsen Textil Service delivers and washes the bed linen and towels, used in the apartments. Berendsen Textil Service is a Nordic Ecolabelled laundry, which means a guarantee of low consumption of energy, water and chemicals, as well as ensuring proper quality and environmentally friendly products. In addition, Berendsen has a Krone Smiley, which means that the company makes a major effort for the working environment and that the company has obtained a recognized working environment certificate (among other things, they were nominated for the CSR award 2020).
Bed linen in the apartments is awarded the health label Oeko-tex®, which is a guarantee that the content of chemical substances and heavy metals in the textile is minimal. All towels are awarded the EU eco-label, which is a guarantee for the environment and health throughout the production process.
In the apartments, all soap and shampoo are Swan-labeled, which ensures that production has had a minimal environmental impact. All containers are refilled when empty rather than discarded.
Water and energy consumption
Through regular inspections of both water and heat consumption, we have a constant overview of how our consumption is developing. This ensures that we quickly are able find any faults and thus avoid large wastes of water or energy. It also provides an opportunity to measure the impact on our sustainable initiatives.
Heating, alarm and ventilation of the apartments are controlled automatically. If there is an arrival in an apartment, the heat will turn on before the guest arrives. If the apartment is not to be used, the heat will be at a set lower level
All apartments are quipped with LED bulbs in the living room and kitchen.
Employees
At Kolding Hotel Apartments, we want to create a good working environment for our employees. Everyone answers and receives a comprehensive personal profile, which are reviewed in person. During this dialogue, we aim foster good communication and cooperation in relation to colleagues and guests.
Staff development interviews are held annually with all employees. It is an important tool for ensuring professional and personal development of employees and the organisation.
The hotel has a large proportion of students employed as we want to invest in the future. We give students responsibility and opportunity, so they have the best frames to develop. At the same time, they are heavily involved in agreed areas of interest, such as marketing and the environment, depending on what makes the best sense for their education. This is rewarding for both the students, but also for us as an organisation, as we gain new knowledge and innovative solutions to our challenges.
The hotel takes a social and financial responsibility by hiring people who need special consideration. We ensure a good working environment through care, safety measures and good communication.
Regarding employment, gender equality is taken into consideration, which is why it is always the best candidate who is employed regardless of gender, age, etc. Gender equality continues during employment, where no distinction is made between employees.
Kolding Hotel Apartments complies with all rules applicable to human rights, working conditions and anti-corruption. We collaborate with our industry organisation, Horesta, and have an agreement with 3F.
Collaborators and external environment
We support both the local area and the local entrepreneurs who develop and sell sustainable products. In our small hotel boutique, our focus is on selling local and / or organic goods. As often as possible we cooperate directly through the manufacturer to support their work. With this, we also contribute to the growth in the local area. We want greater transparency in our choice of suppliers, who are selected on the basis of experience, certification and reputation. We do this to avoid supporting poor working conditions and similar issues in our network.
More space for nature together with the Nature Fund
The Kraruplund forest between Varde and Grindsted is the 19th nature area that the Nature Fund acquires and protects in Denmark. There is a dire need for more space for nature and more untouched forest. Danish nature has been under pressure for many years. We must reverse the trend so that our children and grandchildren will also experience rich Danish nature. We do this by securing more natural areas where nature can thrive forever.
The purchase of Kraruplund's 50 hectares or approx. 70 soccer-fields rare deciduous forest in West Jutland, is made possible by support from 35 companies including Kolding Hotel Apartments and 18,315 Danes. The forest now gets peace and quiet, so that animals and plants can live freely. The Nature Fund and Varde Municipality will in future collaborate to make biodiversity flourish in the old forest.
We are proud to have contributed to more untouched forest with oak, beech and the rare linden tree. Linden is important for many species and can be 300 years old. It flowers and is an important nectar tree for many insects. In "our" forest live birds such as ravens, wood pigeons, woodpeckers and in the stream the beautiful kingfisher. Part of the forest is good forest, which has been allowed to look after itself for many years. In other places, nature can become wilder, for example by making room for more deciduous forest or woodland. This is determined in more detail in a nature plan, which Varde Municipality and the Nature Fund make together.
If you would like to visit the forest, you can read more about it on the Nature Fund's website.
Everyone can experience the forest all year round. Enjoy!
About the Danish Nature Fund
The fund buys, protects and restores nature throughout Denmark. We create unique nature experiences for everyone and eternal nature protection. The fund is an independent, private, non-profit foundation. See the natural areas.