Spanish hotel giant Sol Melia has taken great strides to make their hotels more sustainable and eco-friendly — and now those labors have been officially acknowledged.

Only a year after Sol Melia's Board of Directors approved an arduous Global Sustainability Policy, the hotel chain has become the first certified "Biosphere Hotel Company" in the industry.

The certification was awarded by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI) at Leeds University, the leading responsible tourism research center.

Biosphere certification is unique in that it covers a broad scope of criteria. To meet the guidelines, Sol Melia had to implement a sweeping series of changes to their existing hotels — not only environmental, but social and cultural, as well.

That means that alongside the obvious adjustments like eco-efficient lighting systems, geothermal heating and rigid new water recycling systems, Biosphere-certified hotels are also required to purchase food and supplies from local, sustainable businesses. Sol Melia spends about 90% of its purchasing on local suppliers.

In the cultural realm, Sol Melia has emphasized local architecture in the design of their hotels. For example, their Chinese locations have closely followed the Feng-shui aesthetic. Area artists furnish and decorate the hotel walls with culturally relevant arts, crafts, and pottery, giving Sol Melia's resorts an authentic local flair that is lacking in so many cookie-cutter resorts.

Sol Melia also employs local culinary experts to design menus around local cuisine, culture, and flavor. They even stage food festivals that aim to nurture the local heritage while building cultural awareness and exposure for hotel guests.

Another interesting aspect of the certification is the burden it places on the hotels visitors and patrons. Part of the Biosphere certification requires customer involvement in responsible behavior.

This is unique, since many travelers are used to the luxury of staying in a hotel, which by its very nature runs anathema to sustainability. And while most travelers champion the idea of green hotels, that enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate into changing behavior by reusing towels or waving luxuries like fresh bed sheets each evening.

I think the key is getting more and more hotel chains to implement this type of broad certification. The more exposure to sustainability measures like those mentioned above will eventually train travelers to think twice before tossing that clean towel on the bathroom floor.

Sol Melia is the world's leading resort hotel chain. If they can pull off such an ambitious sustainability push, it should go a long way in persuading other companies to follow suit.

And bravo to the Responsible Tourism Institute for acknowledging that cultural sustainability is intrinsically linked with ecological sustainability.

Until next time,

Jimmy