Green Key presents international environmental award to UK holiday park
Green Key England is delighted to announce Kielder Waterside Holiday Park, in Northumberland, has achieved the international Green Key Award for the second time.
The park, which is owned by Northumbrian Water, is among four Landal GreenPark branded holiday parks that have been given reaccreditation to the scheme by the National Jury.
The announcement comes just weeks after representatives from Green Key England attended COP26 to present in the Green Zone about the benefits of environmental programmes in tackling climate change.
Gary Storey, General Manager at Landal Kielder Waterside said: “We are delighted to be recognised by Green Key for the second consecutive year. Our team are fully dedicated to achieving the company’s net zero carbon emission target and to be awarded this is testament to all of their hard work and determination in ensuring the site’s luxury 5* holiday experience is also helping protect our planet.”
Green Key is also one of the leading eco-labels recognised by Google Travel as part of their newly announced ‘Sustainability labelling’ within their Google-powered booking engine.
Google state in their guidance that “Hotels with an ‘eco-certified’ label have been certified by an accredited independent organization for meeting certain standards. You’ll find an ‘eco-certified’ label near their name, and you can find out more about their sustainability practices on their detail page.”
The holiday park now joins more than 3,200 Green Key awarded establishments across 65 countries.
In England, the scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.
Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton OBE said: “We are delighted to award these outstanding holiday parks Green Key certification for the second year running.
“COP26 has pressed home to us all how little time we have left to halt the devastating impact our modern lifestyles are having on the environment.
“These establishments have proven that luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand, meaning travellers do not have to compromise in order to reduce their carbon impact.”
To achieve the award for a second year, holiday parks or hotels must meet more of the guideline criteria than they did in year one, alongside the imperative criteria.
During the rigorous judging, each venue is assessed against standards including staff involvement, guest information and sustainable management of energy, waste, water, cleaning and food and drinks. Through making greener choices, each venue is able to significantly reduce their environmental impact, reducing the consumption of energy and water and improve their guests’ experience.
Three other Landal GreenPark sites – Sandybrook, Darwin Forest and Gwel an Mor - have also met the stringent criteria of the award, which is set by the global Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and backed by the World Tourism Organisation and the UN Environment Programme.
To find out more about Green Key visit www.greenkeyengland.co.uk/ or contact greenkey@keepbritaintidy.org