Green Key hotels in Normandy

What Green Key actually checks

Green Key audits a hotel against roughly 100 criteria, some mandatory and some scored, covering water and energy use, waste separation, cleaning chemicals, food sourcing and staff training. A hotel applies, documents each criterion, and is then visited on site. Certification runs for one year, so a hotel keeps it only by re-submitting evidence and passing another visit. It is the largest scheme in this catalogue and the one you will meet most often across Europe.

What it does not tell you

Green Key measures management practice, not carbon. A large hotel with a pool and air conditioning can hold the certificate while using far more energy per guest than an uncertified guesthouse down the road — it is being judged on whether it manages its resources deliberately, not on the size of its footprint. The scoring is also weighted towards documentation, so a hotel with good records can outscore one that quietly does better.

Run by

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)