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Unesco and Expedia Group have announced that Green Key, a leading standard for excellence in the field of environmental responsibility within the tourism and hotel sector, is joining the Unesco sustainable travel pledge.
The Unesco pledge aims to promote sustainable travel, community resilience and heritage conservation globally.
Green Key’s endorsement of the Unesco pledge means a further 3,200 properties across more than 60 countries will become part of the UNESCO pledge, taking the total to more than 9,000 properties worldwide.
The Green Key eco-label initiative is overseen by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and its national member organisations. Its priorities include “increasing the use of environmentally friendly and sustainable methods and technology to reduce resource waste and helping to create sustainable behavioural change in the hospitality and tourism industry”.
It audits the environmental standards of its sites, which include hotels, hostels, and holiday parks and other categories in the hospitality sector.
Jean-Philippe Monod, SVP government and corporate affairs, Expedia Group, said: “The number of organisations, hotels and properties signing up to the Unesco pledge is increasing at an astonishing pace, with more than 9,000 properties now committed to the cause.
“We are delighted to partner with Green Key – a champion of sustainable tourism – and this announcement demonstrates that more and more travel businesses are willing to make concrete and transparent commitments to sustainability as the threat of climate change becomes more real by the day.”
Finn Bolding Thomsen, Green Key international director, added: “With Green Key being a leading standard of environmental and sustainable operations within the tourism industry, we are happy to enter a partnership with Unesco and Expedia Group to support that thousands of properties across the world implement sustainable and resourceful practices to reduce the industry’s overall environmental footprint.”
