Beijing, May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, signed a global strategic cooperation agreement. SGS will collaborate with the FEE to conduct Green Key program audits in numerous countries around the world (including China), aiming to help more hotels and tourism organizations meet the growing environmental demands of consumers, enhance their brand image, create a green culture, and thereby help hotels build "green" competitiveness and achieve sustainable business development.
Green Key is the world’s leading,eco-label aimed at promoting environmental protection in the hospitality sector and is a project of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In 2015, over 2,400 travel and leisure establishments in 48 countries had been recognized by Green Key. At the same time, Green Key is also adopted by various international organizations, such as the World Tourism Organization,the United Nations Environment Programme, and others.
According to a report published by the Green Hotels Association: compared to companies with little environmental track record, those with proactive environmental strategies achieve 17% higher revenues. For a hotel, joining Green Key can elevate it to the ranks of leading green hotels, enhancing brand image while saving on promotional costs and increasing market exposure. Maintaining this eco-label over the long term helps hotels establish and improve a green culture, fostering awareness of sustainable development among management, staff, and guests, encouraging energy, electricity, and water conservation, achieving integrated green management and operations, and realizing sustainable business growth.
SGS Global Business Manager for Travel & Hospitality Industry Peter Hvidberg said: "Worldwide, SGS has extensive collaborations with many well-known hotels in areas such as food safety, brand standards, and brand security. This authorization for SGS to audit the world’s leading environmental eco-label, Green Key,marks full trust and recognition by the Foundation for Environmental Education in SGS’s professional services in the travel and hotel industry."
The Global Director of the Green Key program Finn Bolding Thomsen said:“"SGS has a presence in over 140 countries around the world, and we are honored to collaborate with SGS to promote our Green Key program globally."
With the advantage of a global network and a professional technical team, SGS has extensive experience in hotel assessment services both in China and abroad. It can assist enterprises in certifications and audits related to food hygiene, occupational health and safety, environmental protection, customer service, green products, service quality, green buildings, and more. Now, it can also support the Foundation for Environmental Education in providing Green Key program audits. Additionally, as a member of the International Sustainable Tourism Council (ISTC), SGS has an expert team in the field of green and sustainable development that is accredited by the International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) and the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA), capable of providing professional GRI and SA 8000 certification and audit services for enterprises.