Sustainable
thinking
We love our beautiful hotel and the magnificent South Tyrolean cultural and natural landscape into which it is nestled. For over a century, four generations of the Holzner family have had the opportunity to grow and develop here.
Today, we feel “at home” in the world and that it is our duty now more than ever to ensure that also future generations – be it our children or those of our guests or staff – continue to have room to grow, for personal development and happiness.
Today, we feel “at home” in the world and that it is our duty now more than ever to ensure that also future generations – be it our children or those of our guests or staff – continue to have room to grow, for personal development and happiness.
Our catalogue
of measurements
In South Tyrol, more than 30 hydropower plants produce around 4,500 GWh of clean electricity every year. In 2019, Parkhotel Holzner switched to the "Green Energy" supply plan. Thanks to energy generation from renewable sources without CO2 emissions, we can be sure that we are supplied with 100% green energy.
In 2017, we future-proofed all original Art Nouveau lamps and lights throughout the building: A total of 253 new and historic lamps and chandeliers were fitted with low-consumption LED technology. The comprehensive concept led to a reduction in energy consumption and an annual saving of 85% in the corresponding CO2 emissions. Since then, we have been able to save over 11 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Several charging stations for electric cars are available in our garage.
The entire hotel and the Holzner family's private homes have been supplied with clean energy from the bio-heating plant since 2008. The decision in favour of wood chips as a renewable, regional resource compared to other renewable energy sources was an easy one for us: Wood not only provides clean energy and only releases as much CO2 into the atmosphere as it had previously stored, but also comes directly from the region, meaning that transport routes can be kept as short as possible. As part of the hotel expansion, the bio-heating plant was extended in 2018 so that it could also efficiently supply the new areas of the hotel.
Water is precious. On arid, water-poor Ritten plateau, which has hardly any sources of drinking water and where the ground cannot store rain and melt water well due to the rocky subsoil, we are particularly aware of this and have learnt to use this valuable resource sparingly.
Since the 1970s, we have had rain collectors and cisterns so that we can irrigate our tennis courts and the park without putting a strain on the drinking water reserves.
Towels and bed linen are only changed at the request of guests and not automatically on a daily basis.
Since 2020, all laundry has been washed in the in-house laundry with the biodegradable R.046 Ecoline detergent, which meets the technical requirements of the EU ECOLABEL environmental criteria.
In 2023, all taps in the building were fitted with water turbines (known as Ecoturbino), enabling us to achieve a reduction in water consumption of around 40%. This corresponds to around 1,500 m3 of water, 53,000 kWh of energy and therefore 0.89 tonnes of CO2 per year.
In the 10,000 m2 park surrounding the Holzner, a total of over 59 trees of more than ten different species grow at a leisurely pace. Some of them are over 100 years old, and the older, healthier and bigger a tree is, the more CO2 it converts, which is why every spring the "tree doctor" comes to visit us, trims branches, secures trunks with staples and sometimes has to remove trees that can no longer be saved or for which their life span has simply come to an end. According to the estimation table of the Bavarian State Institute of Forestry and Forest Management, our tree population is storing about 25 tons of carbon, probably even more, since the characteristic values "refer to forest trees and are therefore only of limited use for park or garden trees; due to their solitary position and the often better developed crowns and roots, non-forest trees can usually achieve a higher storage capacity.” At the same time, our trees release over 250 kg of oxygen per day, which corresponds to the oxygen demand of an average of 295 people.
In 2023, our park became a bird sanctuary: We have distributed nesting boxes for birds in hedges and trees. We want to help our feathered garden inhabitants and have installed 41 nesting boxes for birds and a bat cave throughout the park.
In 2023, our park became a bird sanctuary: We have distributed nesting boxes for birds in hedges and trees. We want to help our feathered garden inhabitants and have installed 41 nesting boxes for birds and a bat cave throughout the park.
According to our credo “think global, act local”, we highlight a wide range of fine South Tyrolean wines. South Tyrol is not only a political, but also a viticultural, autonomous region: The wide range of different soil conditions and the climatic diversity from north to south results in a remarkable spectrum of different wines. Because of our efforts to give South Tyrolean wine the status that we believe it deserves, we were awarded with the Wine Culture Prize of the Province of South Tyrol in 2013.
From 2022 on, the best products sourced from small producers in the region are set to take centre stage in the gourmet half board. This practice, which has already been the case in certain areas, is systematically introduced into our entire culinary concept within the framework of the New Tradition Cuisine. Our focal points:
From 2022 on, the best products sourced from small producers in the region are set to take centre stage in the gourmet half board. This practice, which has already been the case in certain areas, is systematically introduced into our entire culinary concept within the framework of the New Tradition Cuisine. Our focal points:
- Focusing on seasonal, regional products
- Focusing on plant-based products and thus the reduction of meat and fish on our menu
- Increasing the share of organic products
- Supporting local farmers and consequently the small-scale regional economy
- Informing and raising awareness among as many people in our community as possible
- Supporting fair trade
- Reducing food waste
- Removing saltwater fish from our menu
The advantages of the New Tradition Cuisine are plain to see. The shorter delivery routes, increase in the share of organic products, conservation of resources and promotion of biodiversity and animal welfare benefit us all. In addition, by using seasonal products, we can offer our guests far more nutritious food than products from conventional farming, industrial animal husbandry, greenhouses or food imported from afar.
We also fundamentally changed our range of drinks in 2022:
We also fundamentally changed our range of drinks in 2022:
- All products, from fruit juice to soft drinks and spirits, come from South Tyrol wherever possible. We are constantly on the lookout for local alternatives for our drinks menu.
- We source our coffee from the traditional company Meinl, but in 2022 we switched to the sustainable product catalogue, which has Fairtrade, EU organic and USDA organic certifications.
- We source our tea from the South Tyrolean tea trading company Viropa. The tea is processed and packaged in Brixen, using only 100% biodegradable packaging materials. The herbal teas we offer are labelled with the BIO seal of quality, while the teas from Darjeeling, India have various certificates, including organic, Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade.
The drinking straws at Parkhotel Holzner are made from potato starch and plant fibres and are therefore 100% biodegradable.
In 2023, we focussed on conserving our resources and optimised our waste management by installing recycling stations. We removed all disposable and plastic items from the guest rooms.
Since 2023, our guests have been able to support us in conserving our resources by choosing whether or not to have their room cleaned every day.
Since 2024, we no longer use chemical cleaning agents and are insted cleaning all rooms and surfaces with dry cleaning machines. With the use of a little water and electricity and no cleaning agents, dry vapour machines achieve residue-free cleaning and germ-free surfaces. We hope that this will further reduce the amount of waste produced by eliminating containers of cleaning agents and reducing water consumption and pollution.
Since 2024, we have been working with the start-up Re-Cig, which collects cigarette butts, cleans them and uses a special process to produce a new raw material from them.
Since 2024, we have been working with the start-up Re-Cig, which collects cigarette butts, cleans them and uses a special process to produce a new raw material from them.
We have been measuring and analysing our company's carbon footprint every year since 2020. Initially in cooperation with the climate neutrality alliance Turn to Zero, and since 2023 with Terra Footprint powered by Earthcheck. The emissions of all six greenhouse gas groups that are harmful to the atmosphere and defined by the internationally applicable Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) are taken into account and converted to the unit carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) using the corresponding factor.
Our aim is to reduce our CO2 emissions through specific, measurable initiatives. According to annual measurements (2020-2021-2022), we have already been able to significantly reduce our ecological footprint per overnight stay through various measures. We support climate protection projects (from 2020 to 2022 a reforestation project in Esteli, Nicaragua).
In 2022, the Parkhotel Holzner caused a total of 276 tonnes of CO2e in greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2020 and 2022, emissions per overnight stay fell from 14.6 kg CO2e to 10.2 kg CO2e. (For comparison: the average CO2e emissions per capita in the EU are 21.4kg per day).
Since 2011, our guests have received the RittenCard for the entire duration of their stay, with which they can use all public transport in South Tyrol, visit around 80 provincial museums and enjoy numerous other benefits. The costs for this are included in the room price. As a member business, we pay a fixed fee per overnight stay and thus contribute to the financing of public transport in South Tyrol.
As part of our "Sustainable Travel" offer, we are trying to make car-free arrival easier and more attractive for our guests. Find out more here.
Several charging stations for electric cars are available in our garage. Our hotel shuttle bus is also an electric car.
As part of our "Sustainable Travel" offer, we are trying to make car-free arrival easier and more attractive for our guests. Find out more here.
Several charging stations for electric cars are available in our garage. Our hotel shuttle bus is also an electric car.
Our desire is for the world to feel like home for everyone, and home represents safety, joy, community and development. Home is something you commit to, create, nurture and protect. We have over 120 years of experience safeguarding, maintaining and crafting our historic hotel – our home. And this process, spanning generations, is intrinsically linked to protecting the nature surrounding us and conserving our resources.
From our long-standing responsibility as entrepreneurs and hosts, as mothers and fathers, we have developed an unfettered tradition. A tradition that looks to the future with confidence and provides a framework for future-oriented, committed action. This is the New Tradition at Holzner.
From our long-standing responsibility as entrepreneurs and hosts, as mothers and fathers, we have developed an unfettered tradition. A tradition that looks to the future with confidence and provides a framework for future-oriented, committed action. This is the New Tradition at Holzner.
The New Tradition is progressive and comprehensive. It is intended to serve as a foundation for future-oriented action for us and generations to come. For the next three years, we have chosen to focus on areas of action that have the greatest potential for improvement regarding resource conservation and emissions reduction.
Additionally, we wanted the areas to take human and social aspects into account – without which sustainable action remains abstract and isolated in a technical realm. We look forward to embarking on this journey alongside our staff, our partners and suppliers, our fellow citizens and, last but not least, our guests.
Additionally, we wanted the areas to take human and social aspects into account – without which sustainable action remains abstract and isolated in a technical realm. We look forward to embarking on this journey alongside our staff, our partners and suppliers, our fellow citizens and, last but not least, our guests.
Climate neutral
vacation
We have been measuring and analyzing the CO2 footprint of our business every year since 2020. The second step to enable our guests to have a climate neutral vacation with us is to compensate this CO2 emission. As compensation, we support a community reforestation project in Esteli, Nicaragua. We chose Nicaragua because our brother Klaus' wife is from Nicaragua and they will be able to see the project for themselves and tell us about it during their next visit there.
