The German Youth Hostel Association (Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk, DJH) is developing a sustainable business concept for the DJH Landesverband Unterweser-Ems e.V. The concept consists of a comprehensive actual state analysis regarding, among other things, energy efficiency and the carbon dioxide (CO2) balance of the youth hostels in northwestern Germany. Services and goods such as coffee will be tested for their environmental and social compatibility, and program offerings will be more strongly oriented to education for sustainable development. For this work the project has been cited within the framework of the UN Decade Education for Sustainable Development (»UN Dekade BNE«).
This approach, involving the bonding of economic development with social and ecological goals, has a long history in the DJH. This now becomes visible for the first time and is being simultaneously expanded through a systematic sustainability strategy. Concrete goals and figures in the various business departments, from procurement, to personnel development, and all the way to education for sustainable development, are making sustainability quantifiable and tangibly visible.
CO2 emissions and the associated harmful climate effects are to be reduced to the greatest possible extent through targeted measures. Hostel management and employees will be trained in the implementation of sustainable business concepts, and some additionally as »multipliers«. These individuals will be available for consulting and advisement on the program offerings of the youth hostels which fall within the purview of the UN-Decade Education for Sustainable Development.
Project Operation:
Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk
Die JugendHerbergen gGmbH
Landesverband Unterweser-Ems e. V.
Woltmershauser Allee 8
28199 Bremen
http://nordwesten.jugendherberge.de/
babette.pieper@jugendherberge.de
Ref. 27973
