Det Norske Veritas to certify Scandinavian hotel chain

Petter Stordalen (L), owner and chairman of Choice hotels chain, and Henrik O. Madsen (R), DNV CEO, shake hands when the agreement to certify the hotel chain was made. Photo DNV.

DNV will certify the entire Choice Hotels chain with its 160 hotels in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Choice Hotels is the first hotel group in Scandinavia to introduce certification according to the ISO 14001 standard.

Corporate management and six pilot hotels have already implemented the environmental management system, and initial certification was conducted in December and January last year.

Choice Hotels have also launched an initiative to measure its carbon footprint for its entire business operation. Over 8,500 employees in Choice Hotels are involved in their environmental efforts.

Environmental certification demonstrates that Choice Hotels takes its environmental and social responsibility seriously. DNV has a strong focus on its environmental services and our ambition is to help organizations and businesses face the new challenges such as environmental challenges and climate change challenges,” says Peer Christian Anderssen, country manager for DNV in Norway.

The entire hotel chain is to be certified during 2009.  “We have made ambitious environmental efforts in Choice since 2003. Our new goal is to systemize and strengthen our environmental efforts. Choice Hotels has made a promise to do all we can for the environment. With ISO certification and carbon footprint reporting in place we can systematically improve our environmental impact and be open about the progress we make,” says Torgeir Silseth, CEO of Choice Hotels Scandinavia.

Source: Dnv