SOFS Boutique Hotel has been committed to sustainability since the opening in 2021.
Our annual sustainability plan helps ensure the above.
So why? And what do we actually do?
Guests
Create less CO2 emissions in connection with cleaning. Asking guests upon check-in whether their rooms need cleaning all days.
Increase information on sustainability.
Employees
Give our employees the opportunity to come up with ‘green’ proposals.
Make accounts for product consumption so that we can measure that the consumption of cleaning products is falling.
New personnel offer, which benefits employees’ mental health.
Suppliers and business partnerships
Annual talk with suppliers about their sustainable actions, and documentation of improvements.
Can some of our products be optimized and made more sustainable with the aim of becoming more sustainable and saving costs.
We make demands on ourselves and our suppliers. For us, it is a completely natural part of running a business. We (like any hotel) have a large consumption of linen, food and beverages in particular, but by setting green requirements for how our suppliers manufacture and transport their goods, we can contribute to making a difference.
We are definitely not holy, or necessarily better than anyone else – we simply want to help look after our environment and each other. This applies to both local and remote environments. As the only hotel in Jutland, we have therefore chosen to be certified with a very extensive certification (Green Globe), which puts us in a league where being a green business really matters.
Here at SOFS, we are proud to be the first and currently the only hotel in Jutland to be awarded the Gold Organic Food Label – with a percentage of 98% out of 100%. Read more about our certifications below.
We mainly have one large food supplier, which reduces the number and frequency of deliveries and eventually saves CO2.
Our small suppliers like Føtex, Hans & Grete and Grand Fromage, are all located here on Guldsmedgade and deliver the goods on foot.
At SOFS, we work with circular thinking – in every aspect of the hotel. We aim to recycle and upcycle as much as possible.
We encourage our local suppliers to reuse as many of their carrier bags as possible – this way, some of our carrier bags are used for several months before being thrown away (and sorted, of course) The plastic bins containing food are thoroughly cleaned and used to store other food in our fridges or for soapy water for dirty cutlery. In other words, a lot of small measures that can hopefully make a small difference.
SOFS Boutique Hotel has succeeded in obtaining Green Globe Certification in 2023 – newly recertified in 2024.
This makes SOFS the only GG certified hotel in Jutland.
The Green Globe Certification takes into account environmental and social issues in the travel and tourism industry. The certification is holistic and requires a dedicated effort. Green Globe focuses on supporting the nature, culture, history and economy of the “tourist destination”. They require companies to pay decent wages, support local producers and hire local people – also in management positions. The certification also contains requirements for water and energy consumption, waste management and biodiversity protection.
SOFS is the only hotel in Jutland with a gold eco-label – 98%.
Our requirement to ourselves is no less than 95%. Currently, we are on 98 %.
This is a free government-controlled labelling programme for restaurants/cafées. The Organic Food Label shows how much of the food and drink purchased at the restaurant is organic. The eco-label comes in three versions; gold (90-100%), silver (60-90%) and bronze (30-60%).
We have high demands on the quality of our products, but fortunately we find that it is easy to find delicious products that are organic and are in line with the concept.
And of course, our staff are allowed to eat any leftover food. This keeps them from going to bed hungry and minimises waste. During the summer, we make iced coffee from leftover coffee for our employees to cool themselves down during busy shifts. And in winter, you ask, we drink our coffee hot and warm ourselves with it.
Too-good-to-go beautifully combines business and care for the earth. Here we have the opportunity to sell our surplus food to happy customers – often people who work around the corner and need a packed lunch. They usually pick up themselves, mostly on foot or by bike – i.e. no Co2 emission.
The remaining water from the teapot and the water jug, both hot and cold, is used for cleaning floors and watering plants.
For drinking water, we have some of the best and cleanest groundwater in the world in Denmark. As much as 99.9 per cent of the Danish drinking water comes from groundwater.
Our cleaning staff receive important training in effective cleaning with sustainable products and work processes. Meaning they save on cleaning products, but not on effort. Bathrooms become 100% clean – because it is not the amount of soap that makes the room clean. Beyond that, we train them to sort the rubbish and only remove the plastic bag, if necessary. This is because the garbage in the bin can often be picked up, so we do not have to throw away a good garbage bag. Likewise, the garbage that is picked up is sorted together with our other waste sorting.
Our cleaning products are carefully selected in collaboration with Ditlev Jørgensen. The brand features the first Cradle to CradleTM Gold Certified* collection in the cleaning industry (made from 100% recycled plastic), is biologically degradable and has the ECO flower.
This protects not only the environment, but also, very importantly, our beloved cleaning employees who use it every day.
The detergent for our washing machine that washes cloths, bathrobes and towels comes from German Sodasan. They produce organic and natural ingredients that are free from harmful chemicals and additives.
Our bathroom products (soap, shampoo etc.) are made by Danish Yrolì, manufacturer of Blue Beauty products. Yrolì guarantees that only sustainable and ocean-safe ingredients are used, and all packaging is either recycled, recyclable or refillable. Blue Beauty also gives the products a wider range of uses, minimising the number of products we each need to use and the amount of cosmetic waste we leave behind.
Danish Down is our supplier of duvets and pillows. They utilise the RE:DOWN concept, which ensures recycling of resources and basically eliminates raw material waste. No chemicals and only natural detergents are used to wash the recycled down. And the water used in the process is from natural thermal heat sources in the ground. Recycling in this way gives a zero-waste solution. Down that is too damaged to be used in new duvets is given a new life in fertiliser products, while pillow and duvet ticks are recycled into insulation materials.
We have donated SOFS old duvets and pillows to DanishDown where they can be reused and recycled into new hypoallergenic and sustainable products.
Our linen is cleaned and delivered by Elis, a Nordic Swan Eco-labelled laundry. Elis works with a circular business model, so we know that the linen used in SOFS is utilised in the best possible way.
Linen and towels are environmentally certified with Oeko-tek and Eco-label and are made from 100% organic cotton. Bed linen is blended with recycled polyester to make it more durable.
SOFS took over a different hotel concept in 2021, and how do you proceed when you want to change to a new concept? You recycle as much as possible – naturally.
Beds, tables, TVs, lamps and chairs are used in the rooms as part of the new concept. The remaining furniture that could not be included was delivered to the local second-hand shop Kirkens Kors Hær, who sold the furniture or used it in their shop as part of their own furnishings.
The damaged furniture and the spare furniture that the second-hand shop did not want was taken to the recycling centre for sorting.
SOFS is furnished without taking trends into account, which was initially a personal wish of the owner, but from a sustainable point of view, it makes a lot of sense. We always stay on trend and our furniture can be used for a very long time.
SOFS Boutique Hotel
Guldsmedgade 40
8000 Aarhus C
CVR: 42471437
