Green Key is a leading standard of excellence in the field of sustainable tourism, guiding tourism establishments to do their part in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. In our new feature series we will present each of the 17 SDGs and explain their connection to Green Key.
In 2015, the UN member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to guide governments, the private sector and civil society in transforming our world into safer, fairer and more livable place.
Sustainability lies at the heart of Green Key, which is why the programme inherently contributes to all of the 17 goals. Today, we talk about Goal 7: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
The tourism and hospitality industry is an energy-intensive sector, requiring electricity for its facilities and the provision of tourism-related services such as accommodation, catering and tourism experiences. According to UNEP and UNWTO, tourism is responsible of about 5% of global CO2 emissions. The accommodation sector alone accounts for approximately 20% of emissions from tourism.*
How does Green Key help to achieve Goal 7?
Green Key has a whole category of criteria dealing with energy, encompassing over 20 requirements and guidelines. The criteria help tourism establishment to both monitor and reduce their energy consumption (see category 7 in our
