Sustainability – That’s a very complex word. What is sustainable for you? A life without waste? Regional organic food? Or living as a self-supporter? All of these aspects certainly count. But not exclusively.

Green Pearls® stands for sustainable tourism. Our partners have found different ways to engage with the environment and society. This is not always easy – especially in a professional context.

Here, some of our Green Pearls® partners tell you why they have chosen to operate sustainably and in which areas it is sometimes not so easy.

The right attitude

“We decided to do this because we have long internalized these values,” Marco Arnold from LENI MOUNTAIN Apartments & Chalet states. The hotel in Sölden wants to sensitize its guests and society to the issue.

“That means paying more attention to quality, just being mindful in general, moving away from ‘faster, higher, further’ to sustainable development.” His best tip? “It’s important to get your mindset right and approach the issue honestly, and not just run with it based on current trends.”

Little things make a difference

At the Lifestylehotel SAND on Timmendorfer Strand, they’ve already discovered that sustainable ideas can’t always be implemented 1:1 for economic reasons.

“For us, it often means walking a tightrope between our claim of a sustainably managed lifestyle hotel and the business reality.” But it’s important—both in the business environment and for you, at home—to realize that it’s the little things that make a difference.

“Going paperless, making homemade food, having a good working environment and personal appreciation are all part of a successful sustainable business.”

Handmade and sacrifice

CERVO Mountain Resort in Zermatt aims to set an example and move the hotel industry forward with its efforts. “Our location doesn’t always make the sourcing routes effortless, but solutions can be found there as well.” One good piece of advice you can still look out for? Buy handmade products.

“We try to work with as many partners as possible who still make handmade products.” That includes, for example, the natural cosmetics line that CERVO uses, as well as the hand-woven blankets for the hotel rooms, terrace, and lobby.

And if there’s ever no sustainable alternative, going without can be the right option—the CERVO doesn’t have televisions in the hotel rooms for this reason.

The sustainable cuisine

At the Genießerhotel Die Forelle, sustainability is particularly evident in the cuisine. It is 99% import self-sufficient. That means the food that is processed there is all regional and seasonal.

“We’ve created a great environment of farmers and food producers throughout the year that make it easy for us.” “Difficult is to reach this level of sustainability in raw materials for construction and furnishings,” Hannes Müller tells us.

And so comes to another point that is of great importance to the team at Forelle: honesty.

We think honesty is one of the most important points. You may not live 100% sustainably. But you should not expect that from yourselves. Because even our partners, as you have read, still have difficulties in some areas.

You just need a short break? This is also possible with our Green Pearls® partners: CLIMATE NEUTRAL GIRL WEEKEND – GREEN TIME-OUT IN THE BLACK FOREST

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