All eight locations of the serviced apartment brand smartments in Germany and Austria have been certified with the “Biosphere Responsible Tourism” seal. Developed in accordance with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and specially adapted for the travel industry, the rating system recognizes accommodation providers that implement comprehensive sustainability concepts and thus enable responsible tourism.

The Biosphere label is awarded by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI). Its certification method originated from an initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and was implemented by the Spanish office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) through an agreement with UNESCO. The aim of the label is to implement the requirements of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.

The award for the smartments portfolio is also something very special for the Biosphere Organization. “smartments is the first accommodation brand in Germany to receive this international award for its entire product line,” says Beatriz Margallo Moscoso, Export Manager of the Biosphere Organization. According to the Biosphere certification, both guests and the respective destination must benefit from the sustainable concepts of the accommodation establishments and all sub-areas of the UN goals (environment and climate change; society and culture; governance and economy) must be adequately covered. The UN is concerned with achieving holistic sustainability with the help of global scientific expertise, not measures limited to individual topics.

“We are proud to have passed the challenging audit so well,” says Burak Ünver, Managing Director of smartments. “Our aim was to use certification not only to prove the sustainability of our concept in terms of ecology, energy efficiency and climate friendliness, but also in terms of positive social and societal impact. Because that is our aspiration for all our properties.”

However, with the sustainability awards received for all smartments, the efforts in this area are only just beginning. The special feature of the Biosphere seal of quality is that businesses are not only audited once at the beginning of the process. Subsequently, random checks must be carried out annually to prove that buildings and usage concepts continue to meet the sustainability requirements. For future smartments buildings, the criteria of the seal were also established from the outset as the basis for planning. For example, three more smartments for long-stay travelers are currently under construction in Frankfurt and Hamburg.

The certification also has a special motivational aspect for the 50-strong smartments team. “The concept of the Biosphere Programme enables our individual locations to independently and continuously implement and document the sustainability goals in their own company and to submit the necessary evidence online,” emphasizes Ünver: “This decentralized implementation increases the employees’ sense of responsibility for sustainability.” In the Managing Director’s view, motivated local employees who make every decision with sustainability in mind are the best guarantee that the Biosphere requirements will continue to be met in the future. Ünver: “If every employee feels that they themselves can make a difference in terms of sustainability and the teams on site live this approach, smartments will remain exemplary in this respect in the future.”