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Sustainability Management Pillar

While the other pillars are focused on activities, the Sustainability Management pillar provides you with the structure and processes to manage and report on your activity within the wider framework. Here you’ll find the tools to measure, stay on track and deliver against your goals.  

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What's covered in Sustainability Management?

Legal compliance: Responsibility for managing and tracking all legal requirements that apply to the hostel.

Reporting & communication: Show where the hostel’s sustainability actions and targets are published (such as social media, annual reports, website, etc).

Customer experience: Actively request feedback on the hostel’s sustainability practices. 

Promotion: Ensure all promotional and marketing materials are accurate.  

Impact and integrity: Confirm that the hostel building does not negatively impact biologically sensitive areas, cultural heritage and connection of natural sites.

Sustainable practices and materials: Give evidence that any type of building or renovation that takes place uses both local and sustainable practices.

Access for all: Supply information about accessibility in and around the hostel building.  

Information and interpretation: Make sure that information about the natural surroundings, local culture and cultural heritage is available from hostel staff. 

Destination engagement: Join local sustainability programmes and actively get involved.

Sustainable management system: Collect data on all sustainability activities.

Building staff engagement: Give your staff guidelines and training on how to meet the sustainability criteria.

Hostels taking action

Summer Lodge, Greece
Summer Lodge, Greece

"Each sustainable & green travel programme makes it easier for environment-minded travellers to select accommodations that meet a distinct set of eco-friendly criteria..."

The White House of Tanzania, Tanzania
The White House of Tanzania, Tanzania

"We make a conscious effort to conduct our business in the most eco-friendly manner, from administration to property management..."

The Dearly Koh Tao Hostel, Thailand
The Dearly Koh Tao Hostel, Thailand

"We try to incorporate sustainability every step of the way, from how we source the utilities to how we run the operation as well as the activities we offer..."

Auberges de Jeunesse Hi Serre Chevalier

Summary

  • Promote social and environmental awareness: Keep both customers and employees informed on how they can support you in prioritising the environment.
  • Encourage inclusion: Hire the local population where possible and focus on hiring personnel with various educational and socio-economic backgrounds as a way of supporting their social integration.
  • Keep your customers informed: Comply with all legislation that regulates the rights of guests, in terms of legal advertising, conditions of sale and access to real prices that imply the total amount (including taxes or applicable expenses).
  • Put safety first: Respect safety and hygiene regulations, prevention of occupational risks, data protection, labour contracting, employment of minors, business hours, etc.
  • Display your sustainability status: If you don’t have the sustainability badge displayed on our site, you might lose customers who value this.

Benefits

  • Commitment: Supporting environmental practices can increase employee loyalty and motivation.  
  • Cost: Greater efficiencies and energy-savings. 
  • Community: Better relationships with the local population. 
  • Compliance: Ensuring legal regulations are in order. 
  • Competitiveness: It provides added and differential value in the market. 

Self-Assessment for Sustainability Management 

  • Are you hiring local employees with varying educational backgrounds? 
  • Do you have an environmental policy? 
  • What environmental systems do you have in place? 
  • Do you regularly train your employees on environmental awareness? 
  • Do you provide guests with information to make their stays more sustainable? 
White House of Tanzania