On the basis of responsible and environmentally friendly management and tourism offer, the LVM Tourist and Recreation Centre “Ezernieki” has received recognition from the monitoring commission of Green Certificate, receiving an honour to be the positive example in the next handbook of Green Certificate, which is meant for business owners in the tourism field.
To prolong the term of Green Certificate, the LVM Tourist and Recreation Centre “Ezernieki” was visited by the monitoring commission of Green Certificate organised by “Lauku Ceļotājs”, which evaluated the work of recreation and tourism centre, regularly following the news in environmentally friendly management. “We have been praised in particular about the use of environmentally friendly single-use dinnerware. Thanks to the green thinking of our company, Tourist and Recreation Centre “Ezernieki” has long been offering paper and bamboo fibre single-use dinnerware. In seminars, and also in larger events of active recreation we offer our clients dinnerware, which has been produced from environmentally friendly material – those are glasses, cups, plates, soup bowls, beverage stirring sticks, and also knives, forks and even spoons. The utilisation of these dinnerware does not cause any difficulties, also visually they become more and more appealing, besides advertisements of company or any other useful information addressed to the client can be printed on them. Though it's true that people use these dinnerware in larger numbers than it would be necessary, for example, during a coffee break, taking a new cup for each coffee. That is why in the seminars taking place here, we have started to ask people to mark their cups, which can be used in the following coffee breaks,” explains Dzintra Stradiņa, manager of guest house of Tourist and Recreation Centre “Ezernieki”.
The trade of single-use cutlery, plates, straws, stirring sticks in European Union will be banned from year 2021, but since July 1 of 2019 it is not possible to receive exemption from environmental taxes about the single-use dinnerware and cutlery that is produced from plastic and its composite materials.
The Tourist and Recreation Centre “Ezernieki” received recognition also as a noteworthy example for its modern heat supply, eliminating the use of fossil fuel. Since the opening of recreation centre in 2003, for heat supply of building the renewable natural resource is used – wood. Technologies continue to develop to decrease also the use of renewable resources and decrease the CO2 emissions.
“During the previous heating season we replaced the old heating boiler, which in its 15 years of use was completely worn out. After the first season we are satisfied. Positive aspect is that the boiler works depending on the outside temperature – temperature is automatically adjusted, according to the needs. Secondly, if compared with the old generation boilers, the new ones have high burning efficiency, namely, 92 %, moreover we have tested in life that it is even 94 %. But it is also important to fix the whole heating infrastructure – by insulating pipes the heat loss is significantly decreased” guest house manager has observed.
The Green Certificate is an eco-label affirming environmental quality for rural tourism properties that follow “green” management principles, saving resources, creating a tourism offer that is friendly both environmentally and for the local community. Rural tourism properties that have received Green Certificate have environmentally friendly management, and at the same time – easy and pleasant recreation for tourist.