Commission Decision of 9 July 2009 establishing the ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label for tourist accommodation service (notified under document number C(2009) 5619) (Text with EEA relevance) (2009/578/EC) (repealed)

GENERAL MANAGEMENT U.K.

Applicants with an Environmental Management System registered under Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) or certified according to ISO 14001 automatically fulfil the following general management criteria with exception of criteria 27, 28 and 29 (data collection and information). In such cases, the means of verification of compliance with those criteria is the EMAS registration or ISO 14001 certification.

23. Maintenance and servicing of boilers and air conditioning systems U.K.

Maintenance and servicing of boilers and air conditioning systems shall be carried out at least yearly, or more often if so required by law or need, by appropriately qualified professionals, following CEI and national standards where these apply, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

For air conditioning systems the maintenance (check for leakage and repair) has to be carried out according to Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2), in line with the amount of F (fluorinated greenhouse) gas contained in the application, as follows:

• at least once every twelve months for applications containing 3 kg or more of F gases (this shall not apply to equipment with hermetically sealed systems, which are labelled as such and contain less than 6 kg of fluorinated greenhouse gases),

• at least once every six months for applications containing 30 kg or more of F gases,

• at least once every three months for applications containing 300 kg or more of F gases.

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a declaration of compliance with all parts of this criterion, together with a description of the boilers and their maintenance programme, and details of the persons/companies carrying out the maintenance, and what is checked during the maintenance.

For air conditioning systems containing 3 kg or more of F gases the applicant shall provide records on the quantity and type of F gases installed, any quantities added and the quantity recovered during maintenance, servicing and final disposal as well as the identification of the company or technician who performed the servicing or maintenance, as well as the dates and results of the leakage checks and relevant information specifically identifying the separate stationary equipment with more than 30 kg of F gases.

24. Policy setting and environmental program U.K.

The management shall have an environmental policy and shall draw up a simple environmental policy statement and a precise action program to ensure the application of the environmental policy.

The action program shall identify targets on environmental performance regarding energy, water, chemicals and waste, which shall be set every two years, taking into consideration the optional criteria and the data collected where available. It shall identify the person who will act as the environmental manager of the tourist accommodation and who is in charge of taking the necessary actions and reaching the targets. The environmental policy shall be available for consultation by the public. Comments and feedback from guests collected by means of a questionnaire or check list shall be taken into account.

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a declaration of compliance with this criterion, together with a copy of the environmental policy or the policy statement and action program, and procedures for taking into account input from guests.

25. Staff training U.K.

The tourist accommodation shall provide information and training to the staff, including written procedures or manuals, to ensure the application of environmental measures and to raise awareness of environmentally responsible behaviour. In particular, the following issues shall be taken into consideration:

• Concerning energy saving:

  • Staff shall be trained on how to save energy.

• Concerning water saving:

  • Staff shall be trained to check every day for visible leaks and to take appropriate action as necessary.

  • Flowers and outside areas shall normally be watered before high sun or after sunset, where regional or climatic conditions make it appropriate.

  • Staff shall be informed of the tourist accommodation’s policy regarding criterion 14 about towel change and be instructed how to comply with it.

• Concerning chemical substances:

  • Staff shall be trained not to exceed the recommended amount of detergent and disinfectant indicated on the packaging.

• Concerning waste:

  • Staff shall be trained to collect, separate and bring to appropriate disposal waste into the categories that can be handled separately by the local or national waste management facilities as defined by criterion 18,

  • Staff shall be trained to collect, separate and bring to appropriate disposal hazardous waste as listed in Decision 2000/532/EC and defined by criterion 18.

Adequate training shall be provided to all new staff within four weeks of starting employment and for all staff at least once a year.

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a declaration of compliance with this criterion, together with details of the training programme, its content, and an indication of which staff have received what training and when. The applicant shall provide also copies of procedures and staff communication concerning all mentioned issues.

26. Information to guests U.K.

The tourist accommodation shall provide information to the guests, including conference participants, on its environmental policy, including safety and fire safety aspects, inviting them to contribute to its implementation. The information conveyed to the guests shall refer to the actions taken on behalf of its environmental policy and provide information about the Community eco-label. This information shall be actively given to the guests at the reception, together with a questionnaire covering their views about the environmental aspects of the tourist accommodation. Notices inviting guests to support the environmental objectives shall be visible to the guests, especially in the common areas and the rooms.

Specific actions for the different areas shall be:

• Concerning energy:

  • Where applicable, according to criteria 7 and 8, inform guests on switching off heating/air conditioning and lights.

• Concerning water and waste water:

  • In the bathrooms there shall be adequate information to the guest on how to help the tourist accommodation to save water,

  • The guest shall be invited to inform the staff of any leak,

  • In the toilets, signs shall request guests to dispose of their waste into the waste bins instead of the toilets.

• Concerning waste:

  • The guest shall be informed about the waste reduction policy of the tourist accommodation and the use of quality product alternatives to disposable and single portion products, and should be encouraged to use non-disposable products, in case where any legislation requires the use of disposable products,

  • They shall be informed how and where they can separate waste according to local or national systems within the areas belonging to the tourist accommodation and where to dispose of their hazardous substances.

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a declaration of compliance with this criterion, together with copies of the information signs and notices provided for the guests, and indicate its procedures for distributing and collecting the information and the questionnaire, and for taking the feedback into account.

27. Energy and water consumption data U.K.

The tourist accommodation shall have procedures for collecting and monitoring data on overall energy consumption (kWh), electricity and other energy sources consumption (kWh), and water consumption (litres).

Data shall be collected where possible, monthly or at least yearly, for the period when the tourist accommodation is open, and shall also be expressed as consumption per overnight stay and per m² of indoor area.

The tourist accommodation shall report the results yearly to the Competent Body that assessed the application.

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a declaration of compliance with this criterion, together with a description of the procedures. On application, the applicant shall provide the data for the above-listed consumptions for at least the previous six months (if available), and thereafter shall provide this data every year for the previous year or opening period.

28. Other data collection U.K.

The tourist accommodation shall have procedures for collecting and monitoring data on consumption of chemicals expressed in kg and/or litres specifying if the product is concentrated or not and the quantity of waste produced (litres and/or kg of unsorted waste).

Data shall be collected where possible, monthly or at least yearly, and shall also be expressed as consumption or production per overnight stay and per m² of indoor area.

The tourist accommodation shall report the results yearly to the Competent Body that assessed the application.

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a declaration of compliance with this criterion, together with a description of the procedures. On application, the applicant shall provide the data for the above-listed consumptions for at least the previous six months (if available), and thereafter shall provide this data every year for the previous year or opening period. The applicant shall specify the services offered and if laundry is cleaned on the premises.

29. Information appearing on the eco-label U.K.

Box 2 of the eco-label shall contain the following text:

‘This tourist accommodation is actively taking measures to use renewable energy sources, save energy and water, to reduce waste, to improve the local environment.’

Assessment and verification: The applicant shall provide a sample of how they will use the label, together with a declaration of compliance with this criterion.

(1)

OJ L 114, 24.4.2001, p. 1.

(2)

OJ L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1.