Eco-friendly Service

In the centre of Aarhus is a hotel that thinks green. Scandic is the only hotel chain in Denmark certified by the official Nordic environmental standard. At the Hotel Scandic Aarhus City, sustainability is at the top of the agenda in initiatives such as reducing food waste in the hotel restaurant, reusing coffee grounds and producing honey from bees on the hotel roof.

At the Hotel Scandic Aarhus City, the rooms are decorated with recycled materials, and on the hotel roof, 240 solar cell panels generate 85 to 90 pct. of the hotel’s overall electricity use. The remaining consumption of electricity is generated from water and wind power. On the roof of Scandic Aarhus City, four beehives with 280.000 bees produce approximately 200 kilos of honey for the restaurant annually. Furthermore, the hotel no longer uses plastic bags, non-recyclable packaging or plastic water bottles. The hotel now offers glass bottles for the guests to fill with filtered tap water.

”Our ambition is a 100-pct. sustainable hotel. We think it is important that we inspire each other to lead a more sustainable life, and we are always excited to learn about innovative approaches”, General Manager Nina Carlslund explains. The hotel has invited local residents for idea-generating workshops. “It is about breaking habits. Once you try out new initiatives, it often happens to be that a fun idea quickly becomes a new routine”, Nina Carlslund elaborates.

In the hotel restaurant ‘L’øst’, the rethinking of routines such as ongoing food production, smaller plates and weighing of waste, has resulted in smaller amounts of leftovers. In addition to the restaurant’s breakfast buffet, Scandic Aarhus City has launched ’breakfast for everyone’, that considers allergies. Accordingly, the restaurant serves organic alternatives and a separate menu for persons with allergies and guests, who do not eat gluten, lactose and meat. 

Circular principles
The hotel restaurant uses meat from Danish free range Black Angus cattle, that graze on moor areas and thereby contribute to the preservation of meadows and ensure a rich vegetation and wildlife. Additionally, the hotel has implemented a comprehensive sorting of waste, to which the guests assist. Through waste disposers, organic waste is turned into animal feed, fertiliser or biogas, and cooking oil is recycled into biodiesel that fuels buses.

”We think it is important to support and share new ideas as an inspiration to everyone. Sustainable initiatives can be a string of smaller changes in our everyday lives, but it also requires an openness to develop solutions with new partners. It is crucial that all concerned support the launched initiatives for it to make a real difference” Nina Carlslund explains.  

Scandic Aarhus City has also made a new collaboration with the local Fra Grums til Gourmet (’From grounds to gourmet’), that promotes a sustainable business model by reusing coffee grounds to grow mushrooms at the harbour of Aarhus. The mushrooms can be made into sustainable insulation, clothes and be used to optimise the growth of other types of plants. The many sustainability initiatives in Scandic Denmark means that the hotel chain from 1996 to 2015 has reduced the energy consumption by 51.94 % pr. night. Scandic is planning another green hotel at the harbour of Aarhus, that will have a capacity of 2.000 conference guests in 29.000 square meters and 500 rooms.

Facts:

// The three core values of Aarhus 2017 European Capital of Culture is democracy, sustainability and diversity. In a series of articles, partners in Aarhus 2017 tell about their sustainable initiatives in relation to both environment and society.

// On 10. September, the 3rd debate in the series of Hypothetical-events takes place. The moderator is journalist Clement Kjersgaard, and the debate will revolve around the future of sustainable development. Participating in the panel is former European Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, and senior researcher at the Danish meteorological Institute (DMI) and many more. Read more here.

// Read more about Scandic Aarhus City here.