Hotels4Climate

Tourism represents one of the most important economic sectors for both Greece and Cyprus. This leads to higher energy demand and thus growing GHG emissions by the hotel industry. Although many accommodation providers have turned their attention towards GHG emission reduction, tourism accommodations, especially small and medium, remain with high potential for GHG emissions reduction. One important barrier is the lack of capacity in the hotel sector. Thus, the project aims to support these with relevant knowledge products.

By reducing GHG emissions caused by the hotel industry, the project contributes to the Cypriot and Greek national climate objectives to reduce GHG emissions in the non-ETS sectors by 24 and 16 per cent, respectively.

The project aims to reduce GHG emissions caused by the hotel industry, focusing in particular on Cyprus and Greece. It does so through building capacity, raising awareness, and improving competences regarding saving potentials and suitable GHG reduction measures, as well as through facilitation of knowledge exchange and networking between the hotel and the finance sectors.

Over 23 months, the project includes seven measures to reduce GHG emissions in the long term. First, it promotes sustainable tourism. Second, it fosters cooperation opportunities between hotels and the financial sector. Third, it analyzes the characteristics of the hotel sector in Cyprus and Greece through structured interviews and summarizes the findings in a report. Fourth, it identifies and shares 40 best practice models from Cyprus, Greece, and Germany. Fifth, it raises awareness on the necessity and potential for GHG reduction through best practice workshops, capacity building, networking events, and three study visits in Cyprus, Greece, and Germany. Sixth, it provides access to knowledge products and showcases of best practices through an online information hub and a web-based tool for calculation and assessment of GHG emission reduction potential. Last, it encourages dialogues between the key actors and creates a common understanding of the importance of saving GHG as part of a green, sustainable tourism industry.

The objectives of the project are to be achieved through capacity-building measures, the transfer of skills and raising awareness of the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Photo: ©OEB

• Market analysis as a basis for climate-friendly hotel strategies: As part of the project,   a comprehensive analysis of the hotel market in Cyprus and Greece was carried out and, on this basis, key instruments for climate-friendly business were developed. They include a catalogue of measures with 20 greenhouse gas reduction options and a report on financing instruments at national and EU level, making it easier for hotels to access funding.
• Stronger cooperation between the hotel sector and the financial community: The dialogue between the hotel industry and the financial sector – including in workshops with 61 participants – raised awareness of the feasibility of climate protection measures. A total of 341 participants in Cyprus, Greece and Germany were trained through webinars, workshops and study visits and significantly expanded their expertise in the area of greenhouse gas reduction.
• Best practices and customised support for hotels: The project identified 31 best practices and 12 good practices on the circular economy, which are available online and have been incorporated into training materials. In addition, four hotels received customised coaching to improve the application of climate-neutral measures in their operations.
• Results made visible in the European energy discourse: The project results were presented at the project’s final event "Energy transition of the hotel sector" during the EU Sustainable Energy Week in September 2021. This gave the project additional visibility and further advanced the hotel industry’s transition towards lower emissions.