Astir Palace’s ‘Arion’ and ‘Westin’ Awarded Green Key Certification

The hotels Arion, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa and The Westin Athens, both part of the Astir Palace Resort complex located in the Athenian Riviera, have been awarded with the “Green Key” certification for 2016, after fulfilling the environmental criteria required by the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature and the Foundation for the Environmental Education – FEE.

The “Green Key” is an international program of quality, which serves as an incentive for any small or large unit to turn into a “green” unit. The program addresses hotels, hostels, holiday resorts, conference centres, camp sites and restaurants.

Arion, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Athens.

The environmental practices and initiatives of the Arion and the Westin include the “Make A Green Choice” program, which rewards guests for choosing to conserve natural resources in their guest room; energy and water conservation; waste minimization and environmentally responsible purchasing; and the Sustainable Meeting Package.

“The continuous increase of the number of environmental aware consumers creates the crucial need for qualitative, environmentally-friendly products and services”, Astir Palace says.

The Westin Athens, Astir Palace Resort, Athens, aerial view.

The “Green Key” certification is offered every year to the tourism business that fulfill the criteria of the program, which deal with energy consumption, water consumption, waste management, use of environmentally friendly toiletries and products for washing and cleaning, the quality of food and drinks, the transformation of free spaces into “green” ones, and moreover, with environmental education.

The implementation of the “Green Key” program, which is increasingly embraced by more and more countries, contributes greatly in the notable promotion of environmental awareness in Greece and leads to the reinforcement of the country’s environmental profile.