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Voco Winchester Hotel and Spa has been awarded Green Key certification, an international standard for environmental responsibility in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The certification is awarded to hotels and other tourism businesses that meet criteria set by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), covering areas such as energy use, waste management, water conservation and staff engagement. More than 4,000 establishments in over 60 countries currently hold the accreditation.
To achieve the award, applicants are assessed against 130 criteria across 13 categories, with each application reviewed by an independent panel.
Green Key is one of five programmes run by FEE and is recognised by organisations including the World Tourism Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Winchester hotel said it had introduced a range of measures aimed at reducing its environmental impact. These include the installation of an electric vehicle charging point, the use of LED lighting and timers, and air conditioning systems that activate only when rooms are occupied.
The hotel has also removed individual staff waste paper bins to encourage recycling and installed digital information screens that allow guests to access information on their phones rather than using printed materials.
Additional initiatives include the use of filtered water in meeting areas, glass bottles for drinking water in guest rooms and biodegradable takeaway coffee cups. Bathroom amenities use plant-based ingredients, and the hotel said 75% of its cleaning chemicals are certified by an eco-label.
Joe Davidovitz, hotel manager at Voco Winchester Hotel and Spa, said the accreditation marked an important step in the hotel’s sustainability efforts.
He said: “We believe in not just providing exceptional service to our guests, but also in doing so in a way that minimises our impact on the environment.”
He added that the certification was intended to signal to guests that efforts were being made to reduce the environmental impact of their stay and to encourage more sustainable choices.
The hotel was rebranded as Voco Winchester Hotel and Spa last year following a refurbishment programme costing £2m. The property, which first opened in 2010, has 131 bedrooms, including double, twin, accessible, premium and grand rooms.
