Sustainability at Motel One
One Planet. One Future.
At the Motel One Group, we make it our business to make the world a better place for the future. We aim to integrate social and environmental action and act in a responsible way.
Our ‘One Planet. One Future.’ programme is based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals:
With the 2030 Agenda agreed in 2015, the United Nations committed to 17 global goals for a better future. The guiding principle of the 2030 Agenda is to give people all over the world the chance to live in dignity while protecting the natural basis for our existence for the future. This spans economic, environmental and social factors.At Motel One, we want to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals with our activities.
You can now read about all our sustainability measures in our ESG brochure.
Motel One ESG Brochure
Green Key Certification for Motel One
Motel One and Green Key have signed a cooperation agreement to certify all hotels of the Motel One Group. All of our hotels in Germany have received the certification already and the roll-out across the group is ongoing.
About Green Key
Green Key is an independent eco-certification programme for hotels, hostels, campsites, holiday parks, small accommodations as well as conference centres, attractions and restaurants. As of July 2024, there are more than 5,9000 establishments in 70 countries certified with the Green Key.
The Green Key certification is based on compliance with strict internationally recognised criteria in the areas of environmental management (water, energy, waste, cleaning, etc.) and sustainability education (staff, guests, suppliers, etc.) and is recognized by the GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council).
Compliance with the criteria is confirmed through a rigorous application process and third-party verified after regular on-site audits. The certification is valid for one year at a time. The Green Key programme is managed by the international charity, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and its national member organisations. For more information, please have a look at the Green Key website.
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SUSTAINABLY AWARDED
In 2022, 2023 and 2024 Motel One won the "Sustainability Champions" award with the distinction "Particularly Sustainable" with the best value in the budget hotel category. This proves that our commitment is well received by our guests. We are delighted to receive this award!
In cooperation with DIE WELT, the analysis institute ServiceValue GmbH has examined in the study "Sustainability Champions" which companies act in a particularly environmentally conscious and ecological manner from the consumer's point of view. Motel One emerged as "Particularly Sustainable" with an evaluation result of 2.53 in the category "Hotels - Budget" and is in first place. With this score, Motel One was able to improve once again compared to the previous year.
The broad-based consumer survey on the environmental awareness of German companies is based on a total of over 324,000 customer assessments of more than 1,375 companies from 83 sectors. The answers were recorded on a scale by means of which a sustainability awareness score was calculated. The award once again underlines Motel One's high commitment to sustainability.
Here you can find the online publication of the Sustainability Champions Study
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Green energy at Motel One
Renewable energies are considered the most important pillar of a sustainable power supply. Since 2016, we have gradually switched to green electricity and all Motel One hotels now obtain 100% of their electricity from renewable sources such as hydropower, solar or wind energy. This includes Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Spain, France, Poland and the Czech Republic.
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Sustainability from the foundations up
A growing number of our hotel buildings have been awarded sustainability certificates. The following hotels are currently certified:
- Motel One Hamburg-Fleetinsel, Munich-Haidhausen, Nuremberg-Hauptbahnhof, Frankfurt-Römer and Warsaw-Chopin: ‘LEED Gold’ certificate
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, known as LEED, is a globally recognised certificate that sets standards for sustainable, eco-friendly and resource-saving construction. - Motel One Amsterdam and London-Tower Hill: BREEAM Excellent
- Motel One Manchester-Piccadilly, Barcelona-Ciutadella, Manchester-Royal Exchange, Paris-Porte Dorée: BREEAM Very Good
BREEAM is a leading global sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings. - Motel One Cologne-Waidmarkt, Cologne-Messe and Berlin-Upper West: DGNB Gold
(the Motel One Berlin-Upper West is located in the Upper West building in Berlin, which is DGNB Gold certified)
Established in 2007, the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) is a non-profit organisation committed to demonstrably good buildings and urban districts worth living in – essentially, a built environment designed for the future. - Motel One Prague: GreenBuilding certificate
GreenBuilding is a European Union programme aimed at improving energy efficiency in non-residential buildings.
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Sustainable Interior
We prioritise local manufacturers in every country and work with designers who use raw materials and materials responsibly. For example, German leather manufacturer Fiedler tans and dyes with natural materials, and the curtains from Swiss manufacturer Fischbacher are made from recycled polyester. The carpets in rooms and corridors from Danish company Ege are recyclable and Cradle to Cradle certified. That means less use of resources and a better indoor climate. As part of any redesign, existing furniture, carpets and curtains are salvaged where possible.
A prime example for this is the redesign of the guest rooms and floors in our Motel One Munich-Deutsches Museum, during which we also launched a project of waste wood recycling, processing and re-usage.
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Sustainable mobility for employees
Reducing CO2 emissions is the order of the day. Motel One has expanded its comprehensive range of employee benefits and invested in sustainable mobility. All employees across more than 50 Motel One locations in Germany have the option of hiring a bicycle or e-bike for free through Motel One or obtaining a public transport allowance. This helps us reduce CO2 emissions and invest in the health and wellbeing of our employees.
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New breakfast with more organic produce*
All of the cheeses, sliced meats and sausages and eggs in the new breakfast concept are organic, adding to the wide range of organic food already served at Motel One in Germany and Austria. Across our group, all our eggs are free range at a minimum. In Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands and Spain, all our eggs are organic.
*This breakfast offer is available in all Motel One locations in Germany. Partial organic certification according to DE-Öko-037.
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Natural toiletries without microplastics
The toiletries provided to guests at Motel One avoid plastics in two ways. The refillable pump dispensers are made from recycled PET and are reused many times over. We use and dispose of only three to four dispensers per product (handwash and hair and body shampoo) in each room each year. The two products provided are Ecocert and Cosmebio certified and do not contain microplastics.
All cleaning products used at Motel One are also completely free from microplastics.
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ONE FOUNDATION
Giving children and young people a future through education
‘Helping young people determine their own futures and giving them opportunities through education and support is something that really matters to me.’
Dieter Müller, founder and Chairman of the Motel One Group
The One Foundation is a non-profit organisation promoting equal opportunities in society. Our funding projects primarily support socially and economically disadvantaged young people, helping to give them new prospects.
In particular, we support the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into society, education and training at school and in the workplace. The One Foundation also helps train and educate people with exceptional skills and talents (promoting excellence). The mission of our organisation is to lay the foundations for a future they determine themselves.
More on the One Foundation
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ONE COMPLIANCE
We are aware of our responsibilities and have jointly undertaken to perform our day-to-day work in line with our underlying values and in accordance with the applicable law.
One Compliance helps us to do so. In particular, our Code of Conduct – the One Code.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Seventeen goals for people and the planet.
The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of people all over the world. The 17 goals were agreed by all UN member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which sets out a 15-year plan for achieving these goals.
Progress is currently being made in many different areas, but on the whole, measures to achieve the goals are not moving forward at the necessary speed and scale. In 2020, a decade’s worth of ambitious measures must be introduced in order to achieve the goals by 2030.
Find out more about the SDGs here.
The design of the new Motel One Bonn-Hauptbahnhof also happens to be inspired by sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals. Take a look inside:
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