First hotel in Prague earns EU eco-friendliness certification

 Visitors to Prague can now stay in an environmentally friendly hotel with the EU Ecolabel certification. Best Western Hotel Moráň, located near Karlovo náměstí in Prague 2, is the only hotel in Prague and only the second in the Czech Republic to be awarded this label.

The Czech Environmental Information Agency (CENIA), a support organization of the Environment Ministry, verified that the hotel meets the EU requirements for efficient water management, reduced CO2 emissions, renewable energy sources, and less food waste.

CENIA director Miroslav Havránek said the criteria are set so that approximately a fifth of the companies in the given category can fulfill them. "We do not want to turn our eco labels into a narrow elite club. On the contrary, our goal is to motivate the widest possible spectrum of entrepreneurs to sustainable behavior," Havránek said in a press release.

The hotel also holds the Environmentally Friendly Service label (Ekologicky šetrná služba) from CENIA, though they are not the first in this regard. This certification is part of the national Czech Quality (Česká kvalita) program.

"Providing sustainable accommodation services is one of the main priorities for our hotel and we wanted to have an unquestionable confirmation for our guests that we are not greenwashing in this regard. We are now the only hotel in Prague and the wider area that holds both the EU Ecolabel and the Environmentally Friendly Service label, which is a huge competitive advantage," hotel director Gabriela Prachařová said.

Greenwashing refers to making claims of being environmentally friendly but not backing that up with actions.

CzechTourism director Jan Herget said that tourists from Western Europe in particular are looking for sustainable accommodation, and the EU Ecolabel is highly trusted by them.

"This eco label is a huge plus for hotel marketing. We therefore believe that over time the number of its holders will grow and we will rank among countries such as Austria, France, and Spain, which have dozens of certified accommodation facilities," Herget said.