Hoteliers are making a sustained commitment to the green label. This is almost a forced march, as providing customers with proof of their eco-responsibility is becoming not just a means of distinguishing themselves, but a prerequisite, particularly in the eyes of companies committed to CSR. The 2024 list of winners of the Clef Verte label, unveiled in Bordeaux on 22 January, bears witness to this acceleration, with an increase of 45 % of certified establishments in France, including overseas territories. That's 575 more than last year.
Developed in France by the Teragir association and recognised by ADEME, this international label was created in Denmark in 1994 and is deployed outside France under the name Green Key. But it is in France that it has grown the most, with 1,564 establishments awarded the label in 2024, out of a total of 5,000 certified in 60 countries around the world. These include campsites and tourist residences, a majority of hotelsThere will be 788 of these, compared with 411 in 2023. " This significant increase reflects the sector's growing awareness of its environmental impact.l", said Nathalie Bel Baussant, director of the sustainable tourism division of the Teragir association and head of the Clef Verte label in France.
The many new entrants did not fail to welcome this distinction. Grape Hospitality, owner of around a hundred hotels under various major hotel brands, is proud to have seen 51 of its establishments obtain or renew their label. The Lavorel group is equally satisfied, with five hotels awarded the label, including two new ones, the Palace de Menthon and the Kopster Paris Ouest Colombes, while the Atypio group has submitted applications for certification for 10 of its hotels.
While six will soon go before the jury, four have officially been awarded the 2024 title: the Mercure Chantilly, Omaha Beach and Compiègne Sud, as well as the Best Western Plus L'Orée Paris Sud. " Atypio is committed to a process of continuous improvement in order to offer a positive hospitality to its customerscommented Jérôme Schibler, co-founding partner of Atypio. This objective is shared by our hotel franchisors, with whom we work closely." .
Sustained impetus from hotel groups
The groups play a driving role by inviting the establishments affiliated to their brands to play the label game. Best Western Francewhose network will have been awarded the Clef Verte label by 2023, aims to have 75% of its hotels certified by 2025. In the same way, Appart'City has set itself the target of having all its hotels certified by January 2025, a target that has been achieved three-quarters of the time, with 20 additional aparthotels receiving the label this year.
As for Accor, which is partner of the Green Key-Clef Verte and Green Globe labelsBy 2026, the French hotel chain intends to have all its 5,500 hotels worldwide recognised. This ambition is clearly evident in France, where of the 377 hotels recognised in the new list, some 230 are owned by the French hotel chain, including many Ibis, Mercure and Novotel hotels.
At the same time, tourist destinations that want to present themselves in the best possible light to leisure customers and event organisers also have to be able to offer their customers a wide range of services. a positive knock-on effect. Lyon and Bordeaux - Is this a coincidence, given that both cities are headed by an elected ecologist? There has been a new wave of labellisation this year, with around twenty new entrants in the capital of the Gaules and around thirty around the Gironde. But they are not the only ones. Brest, Grenoble, Le Havre, Lille, Nantes, Orléans, Reims, Saint Etienne, Strasbourg: all these cities can also see a lasting impetus on the part of their hoteliers.
The Teragir association's partnerships with the Marseille and Nice tourist offices and with Provence Tourisme are also driving the sector as a whole. This year, the Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region won top of the charts with a total of 242 successful candidates, 93 more than in 2023 (+62 %).
But the biggest increase this year was in the Île-de-France region, where the number of Clef Verte-certified establishments doubled. Olympic Games effect no doubtIn 2008, 211 establishments received this sustainable award, half of them in the capital. In Paris alone, 63 new hotels were rewarded for their efforts this year. These include Accor, Best Western and IHG hotels such as the Kimpton Saint Honoré, as well as independent hotels such as the Orso group's seven boutique hotels and the Dame des Arts hotel. And one palace, Le Bristol, the only one in the capital to be at the forefront of both luxury and eco-responsibility.
