Climate protection competition for the Alps: The winners for 2022

The winners of this year’s “ClimaHost” climate protection competition show how vacation, leisure, sustainability and climate protection go together in the Alpine region. adelphi conducted the international competition in close cooperation with the Alpine Convention.

This year’s winners were announced at the “Allgäu Tourism Summit” in Füssen. Christian Kühn, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV), honoured five businesses that won over the jury with innovative climate protection and energy efficiency measures and a coherent overall concept. 

The following companies are the winners for 2022:

• 1st prize, “Overall” category: Naturhotel Rainer, Ratschings (South Tyrol, Italy)
• 2nd prize, “Overall” category: Biohotel Eggensberger, Füssen (Bavaria, Germany)
• “New Building” prize: Sunrose 7, Bohinjska Bistrica (Gorenjska, Slovenia)
• Special prize “Local Hero”: Ecohotel Primavera, Riva del Garda (Trient, Italy)
• Special prize “Monument Protection”: Salecina Education and Holiday Centre, Maloja (Grisons, Switzerland)

Outstanding sustainable ideas

The climate protection measures of the winners include the use of renewable energy sources for electricity and heat,  exemplary insulation, cooling systems with groundwater and rainwater, mobility options that motivate guests to travel by train, and the use of regional organic products, partly from their own farms. The contest also took into account, for example, sustainable procurement or raising employee and guest awareness of climate protection issues.

Parliamentary State Secretary Kühn emphasised that these ideas are not only sustainable, but also necessary: “This summer, the consequences of the climate crisis, especially in the Alps, have become clear once again with the dramatic melting of glaciers. Climate protection and adaptation to the consequences of the climate crisis are ongoing, cross-generational tasks. The winners of the ClimaHost competition have dedicated themselves to this task and show how economy and ecology can be used profitably together for the benefit of the climate, nature and people.”

Christian Kühn, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV)

Meeting the challenges of climate change

“Tourism has changed the Alps significantly in the last century and shaped their economy and societies. ClimaHost rewards those who work hard to make a positive impact. The holistic and alpine-wide approach of the competition is central to meeting the challenges of climate change. The award contributes to the Alpine Convention, the international treaty between the eight Alpine countries and the European Union for the protection and sustainable development of the Alps,” emphasised Alenka Smerkolj, Secretary General of the Alpine Convention.

This is the second edition of the competition “ClimaHost – climate protection and energy efficiency in hotels and restaurants in the Alps.” The BMUV supports the competition as part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). For more information on the Climate Protection Award for Alpine Hosts, visit the ClimaHost website (in German, Italian, French and Slovenian).

Contact: beckeradelphi [dot] de (Juliane Becker), Senior Manager

Source: BMUV