The commitment of les Fontaines recognized by the award of the european ecolable in the category “tourist accommodation services”
The European Ecolabel is awarded for exemplary and large-scale eco-responsible measures. We obtained it in 2008 and it was renewed in 2010 despite stricter criteria being introduced.
The Les Fontaines label was renewed after a complete audit of 29 obligatory and 61 optional criteria applied in particular to the measures introduced to save water, reduce the volume of waste and improve the quality of the environment. The minimum threshold required in the optional criteria for a site like Les Fontaines is 29 points points. We obtained 41.5.
Among the 2010 criteria:
- 50% of the electricity must come from renewable sources. 100% of the electricity at Les Fontaines has been from renewable sources since April 2010.
- 80% of all electric light bulbs must be low consumption (class A) and 100% of the light bulbs that are on for more than 5 hours must be class A. At Les Fontaines, 95.3% of all light bulbs are class A and 100% of the light bulbs on for more than 5 hours are class A.
- Taps and showers must not deliver a flow rate greater than 2.4 US gallons (9 liters) per minute. At Les Fontaines, all the guest rooms have flow reducers.
AFNOR Certification has highlighted the involvement of all the associates on the site, the scale of investments resulting from environmental objectives, the efforts of all the cleaning staff and the significant reduction in waste volumes.
By distinguishing the Domaine des Fontaines, the European Ecolabel has recognized an exemplary and large scale eco-responsible approach involving a multitude of concrete actions: organic breakfasts, low consumption light bulbs, green electricity, elimination of single-serving packages (personal care and restaurant products), water savers, recyclable packaging, waste sorting and compacting, energy optimization plan, client awareness etc.
Eco-responsible since our beginnings in 1998, our continued commitment is marked by the award of the Ecolabel. Harmonious blending with the environment has been a major concern, as demonstrated by situating the garages underground beneath the guest villas and thus providing concealed logistics access for delivery trucks, carrying out a study of the flora and fauna in view of the protection of species, etc.
What is the Ecolabel?
The European Community Ecolabel is the only official European ecology label that fosters services with a high degree of respect for the environment while guaranteeing performances identical with those of parallel services.
The European Community Ecolabel is founded on a multicriteria approach: all environmental impacts have been studied at each stage in the life cycle of the service including purchases necessary in the production of the service, the use of facilities of the service, the management of waste from the services provided.
These criteria are aimed at limiting the main effects on the environment of the three phases in the life cycle of the service (purchasing, provision of service, waste). They aim in particular to:
- limit energy consumption,
- limit water consumption,
- limit waste production,
- favor the use of renewable resources and substances that are less harmful to the environment,
- promote communication and education about the environment
To keep the Ecolabel, service providers must undergo audits every two years. The criteria for obtaining and keeping the label become stricter each time.
