Costa Navarino’s ‘The Romanos’ Clinches Travelife Gold for Sustainable Practices

Costa Navarino’s The Romanos – A Luxury Collection Resort has been awarded the Travelife Gold certification for its sustainability credentials joining 800 hotels across the globe which have been rewarded for their efforts.

An international certification scheme for hotels and accommodation units, Travelife Gold is granted to enterprises for environmentally friendly practices including energy or water consumption, the implementation of corporate social responsibility programs and their role in local communities.

“Costa Navarino has played a significant role in helping to develop and promote the whole of the Peloponnese region. It has helped drive local investment, infrastructure and visitor numbers at a time when Greece has struggled economically. And at the same time, Costa Navarino has led the way in terms of supporting local people, local businesses and protecting the local environment,” said Nikki White, managing director Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations.

Costa Navarino has placed great emphasis on establishing the Messinia region in the Peloponnese as a sustainable tourism destination based on a model that contributes to the welfare of the local community while protecting and promoting the natural beauty and heritage of the area.

The Romanos Resort was certified following an extensive onsite audit to verify the sustainability criteria required to achieve the Travelife Gold certification.

Some of the achievements Costa Navarino boasts of include: creating 1,200 new jobs in high season and 800 in low season; local hiring practices with 70 percent of its employees from the area and 60 percent of all supplies provided by local producers and companies; over 90 percent of Costa Navarino’s total property remains unbuilt, used primarily as natural or landscaped green areas; the implementation of a sustainable water resources management program; the establishment of a 12MWp photovoltaic park which meets current and future electricity needs; a series of environmental awareness actions including collaborations and initiatives to protect Messinia’s biodiversity and rare flora/fauna, such as the Gialova Lagoon, the African Chameleon, and the loggerhead sea turtles as well as the establishment of the Navarino Environmental Observatory committed to the study of climate change.

Meanwhile, Temes SA, the company behind Costa Navarino, is the first tourism sector enterprise in Greece to publish a sustainability report according to the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI4).

“Environmental and social responsibility is embedded in Costa Navarino’s philosophy. It is our priority to follow a sustainable tourism model that allows financial development to go hand in hand with respect of the environment and social responsibility,” said Stephanos Theodorides, managing director and vice chairman Temes SA – Costa Navarino.

“Receiving accolades such as Travelife Gold Certification is a great honor and increases our responsibility to do even more,” he added.