Tree house in Friuli (Italy), one of Ecobnb's sustainable accommodations
An accommodation can be in the middle of nature and, however, be very unsustainable. How to know, then, if it is respectful of the environment, the economy and local communities? Easy: looking for it on Ecobnb, a new search engine that only includes houses, cabins, farms, apartments, hotels and unique accommodation on its platform that must meet at least five of the following criteria: use organic food on their menus; count on bioclimatic architecture in its construction; get your energy through 100% renewable sources ; heat the water thanks to solar panels; Recycle , at least, 80% of its waste; use ecological cleaning products ; result accessible without the need for a car ; Use Energy saving lightbulbs ; count on water savers in the faucets and take advantage of the rain water for your use.
"We clearly and transparently indicate the ecological characteristics that each lodging owns, and also all the sustainable practices implemented by it", they explain to us from Ecobnb. Thus, for example, if we click on the page of an agriturismo in Trentino, we will see, in addition to the services it offers and the rooms we can reserve, all the points of the Ecobnb decalogue that complies, as well as official ecological certifications.
For now, the platform, born in Italy, has about 1,500 accommodations in this country and "about 150 in each of the most touristic European countries , in particular, Spain, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia...", they explain to Traveler.es. "There are Ecobnbs in more than 60 states around the world."
WHAT REAL IMPACT DOES CHOOSING A SUSTAINABLE ACCOMMODATION HAVE?
With an almost infinite offer of places to sleep, you might ask yourself: Does choosing a sustainable one really change anything? According to those responsible for Ecobnb, yes: for each day of your stay, you will be avoiding eight kilos of CO2, saving 295 trees and saving 302 liters of water . So far, the platform has "saved" 1,505,243 trees in total.
"Even though it is causing global change and destroying our planet, carbon dioxide is hard to imagine, because you can't see it (it's transparent, odourless, colorless). That's why, we decided to measure the CO2 emissions avoided in trees planted ", they tell us from the search engine. "CO2 savings are equivalent to planting trees, while the increase in emissions is equivalent to cutting them down," they summarize.
This relationship between CO2 emissions saved and trees saved has been calculated using HowManyTrees, "a project by two engineering friends that allows us to quantify in a simple and effective way the ecological cost of our actions to publicize its impact" on the environment, according to what they say from the platform. "It is not necessary to spend more or deprive yourself of comfort, simply, choose those who are investing in a greener world every day ", they conclude.