New Zealand 1st hotel awarded Green Globe certification. Saturday, 20th December 2008 Source : Green Globe.

The Langham, Auckland has achieved international Green Globe certification -  Green Globe is the environmental accreditation organisation for the travel and tourism industry and operates in 52 countries.

To achieve certification, The Langham’s environmental procedures concerning aspects such as energy consumption, water saving and waste recycling are analysed and assessed against Green Globe’s best practice levels.

Certification is a vigorous process typically taking up to 24 months during which time corrective processes are undertaken to ensure environmental sustainability. Certification is achieved once an organisation has proven itself to be following best-practice environmental procedures.

The Langham achieved certification in four months, described by Green Globe as an “Absolutely impressive achievement”.

“It is clearly evident The Langham’s commitment to ensuring sustainability is at the core of their operations,” said Green Globe New Zealand.

The Langham Auckland’s managing director and environmental principal for the global Langham brand Mr John Dick said: "Operating in an industry that sells itself on its clean green image, we're delighted to lead the industry with certification.”

"This is just the first step for us and we still have a long way to go. We hope other New Zealand hotels see the pride we take in our commitment to sustainability and implement similar procedures for their own properties," he said.