Hotelbeds, the world’s leading bedbank, has announced that for the third consecutive year it has been certified as a Carbon Neutral Organisation by Cabon Fooprint Ltd, an independent body that accredits carbon management measurements and best practices for businesses, by offsetting companies’ CO2 emissions.

This prestigious accreditation reflects Hotelbeds’ commitment in the past three years to reduce its environmental impact and ensure long-term sustainability by offsetting the carbon emissions it generates.

During 2018 the company created a programme whereby a fee is paid for every business flight taken by an employee. This is then used to finance a carbon neutral project and both encourage reduction in travel and awareness around the importance of carbon offsetting.

In 2018 the funds raised from this programme were donated to the Portel-Pará Deforestation Project - which is located within Brazil’s Amazon, the largest remaining rainforest on our planet - to help prevent unplanned deforestation.

In 2019 Hotelbeds chose to give the funds to the Renewable Energy Project in India, that manages the installation of solar panels across the country.

This year Hotelbeds will be supporting the Verified Carbon Standard certified Guohua Tongliao Kezuo Zhongqi Phase 1 Wind Power project in China, that will reduce carbon emissions via the displacement of fossil fuels. This project helps to combat climate change and sustains our environment for future generations.

This news follows the recent launch of the Green Hotels Programme, a turn-key solution to bring Hotelbeds and its partners into the green economy and accelerate the transition of the travel industry towards sustainability.

Gareth Matthews, Marketing, Communications and CSR Director at Hotelbeds, said: “We are proud to be certified a Carbon Neutral Organisation for the third consecutive year. This really underscores our sustainable business ethos and sets a great example both to our staff and the wider travel industry.

“As leaders in the travel industry we wanted to be at the forefront of environmental consciousness, inspiring both other companies and even individual travellers, by reducing our emissions where possible and offsetting the rest.”

As part of the certification process, carbon emission calculations – including energy and paper consumptions, waste management, business travel and water supply – were conducted by Hotelbeds, using metrics devised by Carbon Footprint Ltd.

Carbon Footprint Ltd has also successfully completed a verification of the carbon footprint assessment for Hotelbeds. This included spot-checking source data from across the company as well as reviewing the overall methodology.