Six successful audits in the Futouris project "Hotels Go Net Zero": initial insights and findings

Hotels on the way to Net Zero

As part of the Futouris project "Hotels Go Net Zero", six successful climate audits have been carried out over the past few months in participating pilot hotels of Futouris member companies DERTOUR Group, Hotelplan Group and schauinsland reisen. The aim of the project is to develop concrete steps towards climate neutrality together with the hoteliers.

The hotels audited so far include:

• Playitas Resort, Fuerteventura

• Aldiana Club, Fuerteventura

• aja Bad Saarow

• R2 Rio Calma, Fuerteventura

• R2 Higos Beach, Fuerteventura

• Creta Maris Resort, Crete

Some of the hotels differ greatly in terms of size, facilities, target groups, technical infrastructure and previous commitment to sustainability. This heterogeneity makes the project particularly exciting - and at the same time places high demands on individual solutions.

Customized carbon footprints and roadmaps for each hotel

A comprehensive audit report was created for each hotel, consisting of

• Recording of the current CO₂ footprint, divided into scopes and hotel areas

• Listing of specific reduction measures with CO₂ savings potential and costs

• Development of an individual Net Zero roadmap

Central result: the biggest sources of emissions for all the hotels examined are energy consumption and the F&B area.

Even if the F&B area is even in first place in some cases, the energy area often offers the greatest potential for optimization due to a variety of technical possibilities and the resulting measures. Numerous measures to reduce emissions in the energy sector have therefore been identified. For example:

• Expansion of photovoltaic systems

• More e-cars in the hotel's own fleet

• Solar thermal energy for hot water generation

• Flow limitation of hot water in showers

• Switching to LED lighting.

• Reduction of water circulation in pools (taking into account health & safety requirements)

Scope 3 with food & beverage as the biggest lever

A particularly important finding from the first reports: The largest share of total emissions (60-80%) is generally attributable to Scope 3 - and here in particular to the Food & Beverage sector.

In order to significantly reduce emissions in the culinary sector as well, the following measures were recommended to the hotels, among others:

• Reduction of animal products such as meat and milk

• Expansion of plant-based offerings

• Introduction of a "climate-friendly day" at the buffet

• Labeling more climate-friendly dishes on the menu

A first milestone - many more to follow

The audits carried out represent an important milestone in the project. The results show impressively how great the potential is for climate protection in the hotel sector - if individual solutions are developed and consistently implemented.

The next project phases will focus on supporting the pilot hotels during implementation, measuring success and transferring knowledge within the tourism industry.