Our Commitment to Sustainability
In a time where tourism depends more and more on the environment, we embrace our corporate social responsibility by committing to sustainability. We therefore levy an environment fee of CHF 3.50 per overnight/person, which is used for specific internal and external environment projects.
A part of the environment fee will be donated directly to certified aid projects in Switzerland and abroad. At the end of the year the considered charity organisations and the respective donations will be published here.
The environment fee also enables us to run our hotel with a focus on sustainability and to consider environmentally friendly partners. The internal environment measures are continuously evaluated and extended.
We have been able to support these organisations so far:
SANNI Foundation
The SANNI Foundation is a charitable foundation with a focus on India and Myanmar. We focus on fighting extreme poverty, educating children and young people, providing healthcare and empowering women.
Children have wishes - they often come true at Christmas. Not so for children from families on a tight budget. Caritas Zurich fulfils a Christmas wish for these children with its Christmas wish campaign.
Usthi Foundation - Perspectives for young people since 1976
Usthi Foundation has been working for young people in India and Nepal for over 40 years. With the aim of helping them to build a self-determined and dignified life, Usthi specifically supports disadvantaged children, adolescents and young women. Each year, the 12 projects provide around 30,000 beneficiaries with access to education, vocational training and medical care, and offer protection against the dangers of human trafficking. In addition to its long-term project commitment, Usthi also provides rapid assistance in disaster and emergency situations.
SSOS Children's Villages provides a loving home for children in need and strengthens families at risk in over 135 countries. With programmes for education, health and income generation, we empower children and families to shape their own future.
The SOS Children's Villages Switzerland Foundation is a private, politically and denominationally unaffiliated children's aid organisation and finances SOS Children's Villages and associated programmes to strengthen families in developing countries.
WfW has the vision to change the way we deal with water in a sustainable way and implements projects in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in Zambia, Mozambique and Switzerland. In Zambia and Mozambique, WfW is active in structurally disadvantaged urban areas and works to ensure safe access to drinking water and sanitation for all. In addition, WfW is committed to raising awareness of the value of a safe drinking water and wastewater supply and the environmentally friendly consumption of water.
In Haiti, poverty means not having a roof over your head. In Switzerland, on the other hand, poverty means not having enough income to live on, not being able to afford health insurance or adequate housing, or not being able to afford a visit to the dentist. Poverty is often hidden in this country, but the consequences are severe: social contacts are lost, it becomes increasingly difficult to connect to society and perspectives are lacking. In 2021, 745,000 people in Switzerland were affected by poverty. Among them are an above-average number of single parents and people with little education who cannot find a new job after losing a job. Poverty also affects 134,000 children. Caritas Switzerland and the regional Caritas organisations offer a wide range of support services.
Cuisine sans frontières - project BAF Zurich
The BAZ Zurich is home to men, women, families and unaccompanied minors who have been assigned to the asylum region of Zurich by the SEM and are currently in the asylum procedure. Once a month, a Csf team cooks with and for the residents of the BAZ Zurich. The cooking in the afternoon ends with a joint dinner at long tables. Csf sees it as its task to support social contacts among the residents of the BAZ Zurich. The aim is to promote community, reduce social tensions and thus improve the quality of life of the refugees.
For 50 years, MSF has been providing medical aid where human lives are threatened. Armed conflicts in particular, but also epidemics, pandemics and natural disasters or exclusion from the health system are reasons for our interventions. Adequate medical and logistical resources are needed for these situations. MSF is independent of all political, religious or military powers and acts impartially, taking into account medical needs.
Since 1987, RUDEM has been on the side of orphans and street children in South India. With local professionals, RUDEM implements projects so that these children also receive a safe home, a good school education, a healthy diet and medical care.
Every day, Schweizer Tafel collects around 18 tonnes of perfect, surplus food from retailers and distributes it free of charge to 500 social institutions, such as homeless shelters, street kitchens, emergency shelters or women's shelters. In this way, they build the bridge from abundance to scarcity and help needy people in Switzerland.
Sozialwerk Pfarrer Sieber in Zurich is consistently and professionally committed to helping people in need, regardless of their origin, religion or social status. It offers emergency sleeping accommodation and meals in the Gassencafé to those in need and accompanies them in their distress.
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world. Time and again, the country is shaken by terrorist attacks. This violence makes many people - especially women - displaced in their own country, so-called internally displaced persons. In the capital Ouagadougou, large groups of women live in the most precarious conditions. The Foyer FAMA is a house in Ouagadougou where women find shelter. In the large communal kitchen, the women can feed themselves and their children. At the same time, this kitchen serves as a production site: the women produce dishes and snacks there, which they sell in the city with so-called mobile restaurants. These are cargo bicycles that have been specially converted for this purpose. In this way, the women earn a living, can provide for themselves and their children and master their lives independently in the long term. At the same time, the mobile restaurants create an exchange with the local society and thus a connection to it, because until now the women have lived separately in the outskirts of the city.
SRC supports emergency relief in the border areas of Ukraine, where thousands of people seek shelter every day. The majority are women, children and elderly people who have to leave their homes with only the bare necessities to save their lives. Disaster Relief SRC supports its sister organisations directly and financially. At the request of the Ukrainian Red Cross, Disaster Relief SRC team is working in western Ukraine. In this western border area, too, thousands of refugees are in need of emergency shelter and medical assistance. In Switzerland, the SRC and its cantonal associations are helping with the initial care and integration of families who have had to flee Ukraine.
Pink Cross - against violence and discrimination
Gay and bisexual men should not be verbally or physically attacked because of their sexual orientation. They should not censor themselves out of fear of a homophobically motivated attack, but live their sexuality openly and without fear. Pink Cross calls on politicians to implement effective measures at all levels to prevent Hate Crimes against LGBTQ people in Switzerland.
Here we support the El Fogon education project in Ecuador with our donation. El Fogon is a training programme in Ecuador that aims to enable students to set up or run a tourism business. It provides graduates with a nationally recognised diploma with which they can find work throughout Ecuador. El Fogon training provides knowledge and practical know-how, but also helps to promote indigenous students' ownership and support them in preserving their cultural identity. The focus of the training is on: Gastronomy, environmental protection, hotel management, languages, marketing, tourism promotion.
WfW has the vision to change the way we deal with water in a sustainable way and implements projects in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector in Zambia, Mozambique and Switzerland. In Zambia and Mozambique, WfW is active in structurally disadvantaged urban areas and works to ensure safe access to drinking water and sanitation for all. In addition, WfW is committed to raising awareness of the value of a safe drinking water and wastewater supply and the environmentally friendly consumption of water.
In 2020, an extraordinary year marked by the Corona pandemic, we wanted to use part of our commitment to sustainability to say thank you to a small group of everyday heroes. That's why we donated 30 accommodation vouchers to the nursing staff of the intensive care unit of Universitätsspital Zürich, giving them a recharge with an overnight stay in our hotel. Thank you for your tireless efforts.
Requests
If you wish to apply for donations for your charity organisation we will gladly evaluate your inquiry based on our catalogue of criteria.
If you wish to be contacted or have any other questions regarding the environment fee, please contact our environmental representative Sarah Thoma (sarah.thoma@acasasuites.com).