Focus on the VESTAS number 5: Malta EcoCertification

Malta EcoCertification is one of the first European certification agencies to join with the VESTAS and nominate its chosen members for a 2011 VESTA award

In this fifth focus on the VESTAS: Vision European Sustainable Tourism Awards Malta EcoCertification introduces itself and its aims

The first VESTA winners will be announced at ITB Berlin in 2011 at the Responsible Tourism Networking event on Friday 11 March.

With some days to go 21 of the approximately 30 eligible certification agencies have now partnered with the VESTA awards.

John Magri of Malta EcoCertification talks to Valere Tjolle of Vision on Sustainable Tourism:

Valere Tjolle: Could you give me the full name of your certification and its history (when did it start? Who are the guiding team and what do they do?)

John Magri: The ECO certification was introduced by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) in 2002 and the aim is to recognise those hotels that are committed to environmental responsibility. There are two people behind the scheme, John Magri and Gillian Zammit. There is also a monitoring committee chaired by the MTA which includes representatives of various related entities, both from the private and public sector.

VT: What organisations are certified? Where are they? and what are they certified for?

JM:The ECO certification is currently only applicable to hotel accommodation. There are presently 18 certified establishments scattered all over the islands, from coastal to rural areas as well as town centres and also one property on the sister island of Gozo. A detailed list is available on www.mta.com.mt/eco-hotels.  A further 4 hotels have gone through the first audit but as yet do not satisfy the ECO certification criteria.

In order to obtain ECO certification, hotels must achieve a minimum of 65% of the criteria, of which 38 criteria are compulsory requirements. The criteria are assessed by means of an environmental audit and the focus is mainly on the environmental aspects of sustainability (such as energy, water, waste management, procurement and staff training). There are, however, a number of criteria which also touch on the socio-cultural aspect of sustainability, for example providing information on cultural events, use of local language in publicity material and menus, use of local ingredients, serving local dishes, and so on.

VT: In your view, what has your and other certification programmes achieved so far and what have they failed to achieve?

JM: Locally the scheme has been a success, with 13% of hotels currently ECO certified. This translates to roughly 30% of hotel beds in Malta and Gozo. The scheme has also been successful in bringing about important changes in how hotels operate while also creating more awareness amongst staff and guests of the importance of environmental sustainability.

We would like to see more 3-star and 2-star hotels obtain ECO certification as currently the scheme consists mainly of 5-star and some 4-star properties.  Certification schemes have done a good job in creating better environmental awareness and acknowledging it however to ensure transparency a system needs to be put in place to certify the certification programmes.

VT: Which best practices have you nominated for the VESTAS and why?

JM: We nominated the 3 better performing hotels on the scheme.  These are the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Malta Golden Sands, the Victoria Hotel and the Hilton Malta.  All three hotels are very different and excel in different ways.  The first hotel is located in a rural area on the coast with various interesting eco friendly measures – one being a waste water treatment plant and RO plant making the hotel not only self sufficient for its supply of water but it also donates its excess water to the Parks department for irrigation purposes.  The Victoria Hotel is an urban hotel with many eco friendly initiatives such as a room management system and a building management system, as well as several complementary best practices such as a green team with representatives from each department of the hotel.  The Hilton hotel is also an exemplary hotel with a number of eco friendly measures in place whilst it also obtained the EU Eco label.  In addition to these three hotels there are a number of other hotels that are performing very well with the measures not being purely cost saving but cover areas such as recycling, using and promoting local produce and using biodegradable cleaning products.

VT:  If you had one wish, what should happen in 2011 to support your certification programme in making tourism more sustainable?

JM: More recognition of the scheme through accreditation will contribute towards enhancing the ECO certification’s image and recognisability.  2011 looks like a year where different schemes will start working better together. The Tourism Sustainability Council can be seen as a good option to do this and to accredit individual environmental labels.

Further information on the VESTAS:destinet.eu/tools/voluntary_instruments/fol703514/fol588962/travelmoledestinet-sustainable-tourism-awards/
Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite – latest special offers:

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