The “Climate Score Badge”
The Climate Score®, ranging from 1-10, is a dynamic score, with the lowest CO2-emitting hotel in the relevant region awarded a 10. The score is updated yearly so that the hotel with a score of 10 is based on the most recent data. This prevents a hotel from automatically retaining a score from the previous year, even if their emissions per guest remain stable in a new assessment. This motivates hotels to always improve their CO2 impact for continual emission reduction efforts.
The calculation of the Climate Score® considers daily activities in a hotel, including factors such as transport, energy, food, beverages, waste, water, hotel procurement, and services. Going beyond traditional scopes, it offers a holistic approach for hotels to actively engage in climate initiatives and encourages guests toward more climate-friendly behavior. With strict data validation, hotels provide detailed information, ensuring accuracy and transparency. Updated annually, it motivates hotels to enhance their climate performance over time, providing travellers and companies with the choice of selecting climate-conscious hotels with a high Climate Score®.
The methodology is well-documented and adheres to ISO standards. Both large and small hotels can easily utilize this tool.
The “Committed to Cutting Carbon” Badge
The “Committed to Carbon Cutting” badge is awarded to hotels that, by joining ClimateScore, have demonstrated their dedication to reducing CO2 emissions. However, there are instances where they are unable to receive a Climate Score® due to specific reasons. One simple reason is signing up in Q4, resulting in outdated data due to ongoing CO2-reducing initiatives. This doesn’t mean they cannot get a score; it just means they would not get the “full value” of within-year initiatives. Other reasons for not receiving a score could include limited data availability, offering only one meal in the restaurant, or being the first hotel in the region awaiting a fair benchmark.
The method used to calculate and provide recommendations for these hotels is the same as for a normal Climate Score® and aligns with the ISO 14040 standard but falls short of meeting the strict data criteria due to these reasons.
Still, the hotels are honored for their commitment to reducing CO2 emissions.