We contribute our bit to a green future
At Van der Valk Hotel Brussels Airport
At Van der Valk Hotel Brussels Airport
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Van der Valk is a family business that is constantly looking for innovation for their hotels. Standing still is not an option! As a family business, a lot of importance is attached to the sustainability of their hotels.
That is no different at Van der Valk Brussels Airport. Corporate social responsibility flows through our veins. It is part of our DNA. It is a way of doing business where we already think about the impact on the next generation, our children. The falcon children, but also the children of our employees and those of our guests. The next generation!
The Next Generation Promise
Van der Valk Brussels Airport makes them a promise, The Next Generation Promise!
The promise is as follows:
As a family business, we understand the importance of sustainable entrepreneurship. The promise to our children is the same as that of our business: Working hard with its social impact in mind. With this promise, we support good causes such as nature initiatives, integration projects, sustainable innovations, and local sports together.
“Small steps to a better world for the next generation.”
This vision is shared globally, but each Van der Valk hotel determines the implementation and concrete execution of it for itself. Promise is debt! Curious how we approach this concretely in Brussels? Let's go through each of the 3 pillars on which CSR is based.
People
Van der Valk Brussels Airport wants to be more than just a hotel. We strive to be a safe haven for our guests, our employees, and our stakeholders. Creating a healthy corporate culture is fundamental for a family business like ours.
Our staff is given space to develop themselves with the aim of feeling more self-confident and competent. Our employees are allowed to attend training sessions several times a year according to their interests, enabling them to add value to themselves and their current role.
We also want to be a good employer for people with a distance to the labor market. In collaboration with the Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW), we have several reintegration projects running within our hotel, many of which are real success stories.
Additionally, we support regional and international projects and organizations wherever possible. Two of these wonderful organizations we support are Villa Clementina and Kids Rights.
In addition to this involvement, we are also closely involved with various regional organizations. As a loyal sponsor of the Belgian National Rugby Team, we want to show the world that we attach great importance to health, relaxation, and exercise.
Planet
Planet
Van der Valk Brussels Airport tries to minimize its ecological footprint as much as possible. This is done in terms of waste and food waste, water consumption, and energy consumption.
Waste and Food Waste
Concretely, this manifests in an efficient waste management policy. Weekly internal training sessions are held to emphasize the importance of sorting. In addition to the legally required waste fractions paper/cardboard, glass, PMD, residual waste, small hazardous waste, we also collect food waste separately. These are processed via the Swill machine for bio-digestion to later convert it into green electricity.
Water Consumption
Our water consumption is also being scrutinized.
By installing water-saving nozzles in showers and faucets, the water flow will decrease.
The water consumption of toilets is reduced by using two buttons (short and long flush).
Guests are also involved in the CSR policy. The towel program allows guests to choose to use towels and bed linen for multiple days.
Energy Consumption
The number of lighting hours is limited by the use of switches (rooms) and sensors that ensure that lighting is not used unnecessarily. The use of only LED lamps and an infrared hood ensures that as much energy as possible is saved. The use of triple glazing for windows reduces heat and energy loss.
Additional examples of how Van der Valk Brussels Airport takes care of our planet:
Grease separation
Filtered water
Shampoo in refillable bottles
Solar panels
Profit
Thanks to the sustainability initiatives already implemented, we, Van der Valk Hotel Brussels Airport, achieve both social and economic gains without compromising the quality of people and the environment.
Reducing waste and water waste leads to a decrease in costs, resulting in economic gains. This profit can then be used to invest responsibly in both the short and long term.
“Where does Van der Valk Hotel Brussels Airport want to be in the future?”
In the future, the hotel aims to operate even more sustainably without compromising the required hotel comfort of the guest.
More about us
Local
In 2014, Van der Valk International decided to make more investments to reduce CO2 emissions in order to become CO2 neutral in the long term.
The hotel wants to focus even more on purchasing fair and local products.
Green
The hotel wants to focus more on the green environment of Machelen. They want to make the roundabouts greener by planting greenery, grass, and fountains.
The hotel wants to provide more training on the importance of CSR, particularly raising awareness about waste.
Green Stays
Prevent food waste by establishing an efficient policy regarding leftover food (creating food packages, ...) in the catering chain.
Furthermore, the hotel wants to create forests through the Green Stays project of the Pure Benefit association.