The MICE Metropolis Munich has set itself ambitious goals in sustainability. Munich's partners provide support at every turn.
The four Munich hotels The Westin Grand Munich, Sheraton Arabellapark, Sheraton Westpark and Aloft Munich have taken various measures to implement the topics of energy saving and environmental protection in the hotels. The hotels use energy-saving, dimmable light bulbs, refillable soap dispensers, motion detectors for lights and water, and reusable packaging. The hotel also promotes cooperation with sustainable and local suppliers.
All hotels operate according to the Green Key, a leading standard for excellence in environmental responsibility and sustainable business in the tourism industry. In addition, the hotels have been awarded the Project Icarus Gold Medal for sustainability in the meetings industry.
The hotels have also initiated the "Your Choice" programme so that guests can actively participate in sustainable hotel management, for example by using towels more than once.
Further information at: www.marriott.de
Since 1 June 2021, aircraft at Munich Airport have been refuelling with "green paraffin". After thorough technical testing, the fuel depot at the airport was opened for climate-friendly fuels of the future. This means that sustainable fuels, so-called "Sustainable Aviation Fuels" (SAF), can be delivered, stored, and refuelled at Munich Airport with immediate effect, provided they meet the relevant quality specifications for Jet-A1 fuel.
"By approving our refuelling facilities for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, we are enabling airlines to reduce their CO2 emissions on flights from Munich by using sustainable fuels. Green fuels have a key role to play on the way to a complete decarbonisation of air transport. We expect the share of these sustainable fuels in total energy consumption in aviation to increase continuously in the coming years," says Jost Lammers, CEO of Flughafen München GmbH.
Further information at: www.munich-airport.com and www.youtube.com
Societies, associations, and companies are increasingly focusing on more sustainability in their communication work. MCI is therefore increasingly developing concepts for measuring and reducing the CO2 footprint. MCI recently designed and implemented a sustainability concept for a virtual event and defined guidelines for the suppliers involved. The CO2 footprint was measured before and during the event.
As MCI has been doing this for a long time for physical events, a comparison between physical and virtual events could be made based on existing benchmarks. According to MCI, with the return to the "new normal", the number of physical and hybrid congresses will increase again. This may be a reason to critically question pre-pandemic behaviours and make digital congress bags, sustainable stand design and striving for a climate-neutral congress a matter of course.
Further information at: www.mci-live.de
At Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor, sustainability is lived every day. From locally inspired products in the minibar, to the nose-to-tail-to-table approach in The Lonely Broccoli Restaurant, to the countless promotions in the Bicicletta Cafe, everything is open to the "green guest".
These elements can also be found in the meeting area - for example, instead of the usual flip charts, the hotel uses writable glass walls for creative exchange and offers an additional oxygen boost with the oversized "green wall" with almost 1000 plants and CO2 is reduced.
Further information at: www.hyatt.com
The Michelin-starred restaurant MURAL and the MUCA also make a major contribution to climate protection: In cooperation with small, regional producers and the best seasonal products (short delivery routes), the MURAL serves contemporary dishes at a top level. In the kitchen, sustainable products are reduced to their own taste, which is brought out with all its nuances.
In this way, the gastro team joins a culinary movement that is reflecting on craftsmanship and values. At the MUCA, the staff and guests are largely CO2-neutral both internally and externally, partly thanks to the in-house bicycle fleet (rental bikes for staff/guests). In addition, the MUCA offers its visitors a climate-neutral street art bike tour.
Further information at: www.muca.eu
Hilton is also passionate about actively combating climate change. "Travel with Purpose" is Hilton's strategy for fulfilling its corporate social responsibility and promoting sustainable travel worldwide. By 2030, Hilton aims to double its investment in social projects and halve the environmental impact of its operations. These scientifically monitored goals to reduce carbon emissions, conserve resources, reduce waste and recycle include the following activities at the Munich hotels: electricity is drawn from 100% renewable energy, two beehives on the Hilton Munich Park hotel rooftop serve to support bee populations, organic orange peels from the juice press from the breakfast buffet are used for the orange salt as a guest gift, and attention is paid to energy-efficient lighting and comprehensive recycling management.
The LightStay Meeting Impact Calculator allows the properties' event clients to calculate the environmental footprint of their event. Since June 2021, the Munich hotels have also been offering carbon neutral business meetings, made possible through a partnership with South Pole. With Carbon Neutral Meetings, the carbon footprint of all business meetings of ten or more people is offset by so-called carbon credits. These credits are allocated to projects such as the construction of a geothermal power plant in Turkey to generate clean energy.
Further information at: www.munich-park.hilton.com und www.munich-city.hilton.com
For Munich's Platzl Hotels - the flagship Platzl Hotel in the Old Town and Marias Platzl on Mariahilfplatz - tradition, ties to the city of Munich and sustainability have always been firmly anchored in their DNA. The "cuisine of short distances," for example, already existed there when hardly anyone was thinking about "sustainability. In fact, the kitchens of the Pfistermühle Restaurant, the Wirtshaus Ayinger am Platzl and the Wirtshaus Ayinger in der Au obtain their products almost exclusively from personally known partner farms in the region: Meat, game, fish, vegetables and fruit come directly from agricultural producers - top quality, short distances and thus freshness are guaranteed. Products such as cheese, baked goods, mustard, coffee, tea, jams and schnapps also come from manufacturers in or around Munich, some of which are produced exclusively for Platzl Hotels.
The function rooms and guest rooms feature traditional, high-quality craftsmanship and materials of the same quality, such as wood, natural stone or loden fabrics - manufactured, supplied and installed by local craftsmen. Particularly sustainable: In Marias Platzl even many furnishings and decorative items from flea markets or attics were used. The hotel is also very proud of their connection to the Munich district cooling network: In cooling all guest rooms, the house saves around 70 percent of the electricity that would otherwise be required.
Further information at: www.platzl.de
Experiencing and enjoying nature is one of the most common reasons for tourists to travel. Lake Tegernsee has taken these motives as an opportunity to position itself more strongly on sustainability in the region together with its partners. "We at Lake Tegernsee want to live and work in such a way that we can offer tourism as we do today in ten or 20 years," says Christian Kausch, Managing Director of Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH (TTT).
Apart from Workshops for the development of its own code of conduct of the guests and homeland leaders, one promotes regional products and your native offerers among other things at the Tegernsee. Increasingly, resident enterprises are thus also included in the sustainable marketing of the region. "This is not so much about introducing new certifications and controls by the Tourismus GmbH, but rather about actively living the topic of sustainability and integrating it into tourism communication.
We want to tell stories about sustainable living at Lake Tegernsee and, in doing so, share our values in the region with our guests," says Michael Götz, responsible for sustainability & quality at Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH. In the future, a uniform logo and signboard "Together Sustainable at Lake Tegernsee" will distinguish all sustainable businesses at Lake Tegernsee. From cheese production from high-quality hay milk to ecologically oriented hosts, many interesting, sustainable implementations are included.
Further information at: Tegernseer Tal Tourismus GmbH
As a Certified Green Hotel®, the four-star superior hotel near Starnberger See also meets the sustainability requirements for meetings and events. With the Meeting Package and Green Upgrades, the hotel offers the perfect conditions for a green meeting. The Superior Meeting Package includes the meeting room, which can be combined column-free to an area of up to 350 sqm2. Catering, participants enjoy lunch and two coffee breaks consisting of regional and fair trade products.
Professional support, ergonomically shaped chairs and technical equipment round off the meeting experience at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten. The Green Update includes fair trade filter coffee as well as fair trade tea. In addition, a tree is planted in Mexico by Plant-for-the-Planet for each participant and guests receive "Good Chocolate" in their rooms - climate-neutral, fair trade and delicious. Coffee capsules from the Dinzler roasting company - aluminum-free, compostable and made from bio-based raw materials - provide the necessary momentum in the morning. To ensure that sustainability is also in the foreground on the way to the meeting, the participants book the Deutsche Bahn event ticket and travel comfortably and climate-friendly to Starnberg.
Further information at: www.vier-jahreszeiten-starnberg.de
