Sustainability
Just bring a reusable water bottle with you on your next stay. Then you can help yourself to our water station in the restaurant.
Did you forget your own bottle? No problem, we have a beautiful stainless steel drinking bottle for sale locally and it is also ideal for hot drinks.
Others have great ideas for sustainability too. That's why we've set up a 'Guest Box' in our lobby. Here, guests can leave their ideas and suggestions on this topic, either on-site with pen and paper or via email to .
We're excited to hear your valuable suggestions and thank you in advance for your engagement.
In January, a full training day was held for all employees of the Collegium. For the first time, the topic of "sustainability" was included. It was explained why this topic is crucial for each individual as well as the entire company, what steps have already been taken, and what is planned for the future. In conclusion, everyone was encouraged to actively contribute by reporting products, processes, and vulnerabilities that are important for the sustainable development of the hotel.
It's almost ready: the insect hotel at the hotel has recently been placed in the prominent location of the Collegium garden, right next to a wildflower meadow. It was lovingly crafted by our own employees. The fillings, such as cones, twigs, straw, etc., for the various insects were collected by the Volunteer Children and Youth Fire Brigade of Oberems.
The guests of Collegium donated a total of € 245, which we are rounding up to a total amount of € 490 at the end of the year, and used for the building materials. Thank you very much for that!
In order to stay up-to-date on sustainability matters, Collegium has decided to participate in additional training as sustainability manager at the German Hotel Academy. During this 9-month part-time course, the three key areas of economy, ecology, and social responsibility will be explored in-depth, with a particular focus on their relevance to the hotel industry. We expect valuable new insights from this experience.
In a large hotel like Collegium Glashütten, a considerable amount of waste is generated every day. To reduce this, we carefully analyzed all types of waste and adjusted the waste containers and their collection cycles. Simply by transitioning from a standardized to a demand-based collection, many kilometers can be saved annually. Waste collectors now only come when the containers are truly full, eliminating the need to transport half-empty containers around. This saves diesel fuel and reduces CO2 emissions. Of course, we continue to monitor where we can further reduce waste in the future.
We have received new coffee machines! Besides the fact that the two create delicious specialty coffees, each one can also be prepared with either cow's milk or oat milk. After all, the demand for plant-based milk alternatives is also increasing at Collegium. Previously, these were available at the buffet, but now oat milk is directly connected to a separate mini fridge along with the coffee machines and can be frothed. Mmm!
The new reusable stars at Collegium: In August, all employees of Collegium received one of these beautiful stainless steel water bottles. With this, water can now be filled at our water dispensers, and we can avoid single-use bottles. The bottle is also great for hot beverages.
We have recently been purchasing all of our juices and the typical Hessian cider from the regional winery Rapp's in Karben in der Wetterau. Reusable crates, the use of regional fruit for apple juice and apple wine and short delivery routes speak for themselves.
As part of our certification as a sustainable hotel this year, we also had our carbon footprint determined by the myclimate foundation. The result is a carbon footprint of 23.9 kg per overnight stay. We will try to reduce this footprint in the future.
With 127 rooms, the Collegium Glashütten is one of the largest hotels in the region. With the numerous overnight stays, there is a high water consumption just from flushing the toilet, washing your hands and showering. In order to conserve this valuable resource even more in the future, so-called aerators were installed on all fittings in the Collegium, which significantly reduce water consumption without the guest noticing it. In addition, the water flow rate of all toilet cisterns was limited.
More and more guests are now attaching importance to accommodation that is as sustainable as possible. In order to check their own commitment to this topic, hotels have been able to be certified as sustainable locations for some time.
At the beginning of 2023, the Collegium decided to take this step together with the GreenSign Institute. The certification was then completed in mid-March 2023 with an official on-site audit by GreenSign. The auditor particularly praised the Collegium's zero-waste breakfast, i.e. a breakfast that dispenses with all small individual packaging in order to conserve resources.
Managing Director Andreas Nordmann and the entire Collegium team can now look forward to a GreenSign Level 4 certificate, which is also recommended by the Federal Office of Administration. In this way, the hotel can more easily participate in tenders from large corporations and public companies in the future and also meet the requirements of individual travellers. In addition, the attractiveness as an employer increases, especially among young people.
In addition to the serving platters on hotel breakfast buffets, there are often many small packs of butter, sausage spread, nut nougat cream and cream cheese, especially on the breakfast buffet. In the Collegium, this is now a thing of the past. In order to reduce waste, our kitchen team has revised the entire breakfast buffet. Instead of small portion packs, you will now find the products either in small glass jars or in large dispensers. The only thing we haven't found a good substitute for is margarine, but that will definitely come soon.
The regional voluntary children's and youth fire brigade, led by a Collegium employee, is building a large insect hotel. It will find its place in the garden in the summer, in the midst of a wild flower meadow and offer shelter to a large number of insects, both in summer and in the cold season for wintering.
You too can support the project!
You can already select an amount when booking via our homepage, or deposit it directly at the reception!
And the best thing is: every amount of money from you is doubled by the Collegium!
By the beginning of July 2023, around € 170,- have been raised, which we will double. The material is ordered, the construction will start soon!
Every day, a lot of waste is generated by the use of paper towels. To avoid this in the future, the Collegium joins the project "Tork PaperCircle", the world's first recycling service for paper towels. The used paper towels are being collected in a separate container, transported by the recycling partner to an Essity plant, where they are processed with a special dissolving process. In order to maintain hygiene, the product is stored at high temperatures, which are then re-produced so that the resulting tissue paper products can be returned to the cycle.
Just like Commerzbank AG, the Collegium has been getting its electricity from 100% renewable energy sources since 2013. This means that the Collegium is also completely supplied with green electricity.
This autumn, the Café Waldschmitt and the Café Sabel from two nearby neighboring towns could be won as regional suppliers of fresh baked goods and cakes. Due to the short delivery routes, energy can be saved here and the CO2 footprint improved.
In the past two years we have converted a total of over 1266 lights and lamps to LED technology. With the completion of our room renovation in the summer of 2022, we have switched over 95% to LED technology. The remaining 5% in some Atrium and Villa rooms will gradually be exchanged for LED light sources, so that we will use LEDs completely by the end of 2023.
The Collegium has also been making changes to food since the summer of 2022. Dallmayr was added as a new supplier. The tea range in particular not only scores with delicious products and a beautiful design, but also with the organic quality of the tea and the largely resource-saving production.
The large number of conference guests ensures that most guests only spend one night in the Collegium. Rooms that are occupied for several nights, the so-called stay rooms, are no longer cleaned automatically every day, but only at the request of the guest. This saves a lot of water, laundry and cleaning agents.
For many years we have relied on the use of soap and shower gel dispensers in the hotel rooms and have therefore given up the use of small disposable packages such as soap, shower gel or shoe sponges. Instead, we use the Hand, Hair & Body Wash from Haus Ada Cosmetics International. It comes in a bottle made from recycled PET, is fully drainable and therefore 100% recyclable and EU Ecolabel certified.
In order to enable zero-emission travel to the Collegium, there are two chargeable e-charging stations in the hotel car park, which are operated by the regional energy supplier Mainova.
A special cleaning system from Diversey Deutschland GmbH & Co. OHG enables the reduction of cleaning agents through the use of individual dosing and dispensing systems. The high cleanliness and hygiene requirements of our company are implemented with the lowest possible use of bio-based cleaning agents. The agents used contain renewable plant-based raw materials instead of petroleum-based chemicals.
In a large hotel like the Collegium (with 127 rooms) there are huge amounts of towels, bed and table linen as well as work clothes for cooks, service and housekeeping. For the cleaning of these textiles, we have been relying on the company DuVa Tex GmbH from Limburg for several years. They work with certified and ecologically compatible detergents and cleaning on a hydrocarbon basis. A central water treatment plant can save 40% fresh water and waste water.
A large part of the meat comes directly from the area Eifel and is produced and delivered by the company J. Menzenbach GmbH & Co.KG as a regional supplier. Attention is paid to species-appropriate husbandry and short transport routes in order to maintain the greatest possible freshness and to use natural resources sparingly.
Since the summer of 2018 there has been a white (Riesling) and red (Pinot Noir) house wine from the nearby Rheingau under the name CLLGM. This year the winery was changed, so that the new wines come from Allendorf in Oestrich-Winkel and a dry Pinot Noir rosé and a Riesling sparkling wine extra dry were added.
Professional water dispensers from BRITA SE are being used in the Freis' restaurant as well as at the coffee stations to reduce the use of bottles throughout the day. Tap water in three different variants always becomes fresh drinking water.
Since the expansion of the Collegium in the mid-1990s, the adjacent orchard has been part of the hotel. It is leased to a local farmer who tends the fruit trees and mows hay. This serves the landscape maintenance of the Hochtaunus.
In the Collegium Garden, some pine trees had to be felled three years ago due to the bark beetle and the drought of the 2019 summer. In its place has come a flowering meadow, which delights our insects and guests.
Today again a modern topic, especially in cities, a green flat roof was already used in the Collegium when the ATRIUM part of the building was built in the 1990s. Green roofs not only look beautiful, they also make a valuable contribution to unsealing areas. The additional insulation saves energy costs. The roof itself is well protected against solar radiation, weathering and damage (e.g. from hail).
Andreas Nordmann und Katja Ufer are the contact persons for sustainability at Collegium Glashütten and look forward to your feedback.
