made of recycled paper and in the Regrowing Rooms the carpets are made of recycled fishing nets and they use pressed straw in the ceilings and walls. Furniture is made from local solid wood, but the hotel also recycles and upcycles a lot of materials for guest rooms and elsewhere on the property, in order to reduce waste; including a bridge in their courtyard which is made of old steel and wooden beams which were discarded during renovation, as well as planters made of old jam jars.

power stations). They also have a heat-lowering system in the night, use living plants to improve room temperatures and have a central control for the air-conditioning. There are also electric car and e-bike charging points in the garage for guests to use. As well as there being a car sharing car park for the car sharing club Erlangen.

Creativhotel Luise uses their website and social media; showing that being sustainable can be fun (for example, by raffling sustainable products), and to provide information and tips about sustainability on social media. They have also used social media to quash myths about sustainability and to show that there is prejudice within it. In terms of their website, they use it to encourage people to become more green; finding stories and facts about sustainability, for example, they have an informative guide with sustainable shops in Erlangen.

for plants, animals and supports biodiversity (136,362 square metres since 2010). And despite the central location of the hotel, almost half of the 3000 m2 hotel venue is green and vegetated and they have a big ‘shepherd’ garden with many nesting places for birds, hedgehogs and insects in the city.

And they avoid up to 90% waste at their breakfast compared to other hotels, and even offer a zero-waste buffet without plastic.

hotel garden. And there is also a herb garden, meaning they always fresh herbs for their guests. They also provide a rich breakfast buffet with organic, Fairtrade and regional products, offering information about the organic and local food, like brands, ingredients and origins of the products. This is supposed to convince guests to buy these products at home. Similar to this, there is a lot of information in their drinks menu about the importance of buying local and organic products and where their beer and wine comes from.

Furthermore, guests can take a guided tour through the hotel, where they can learn what the hotel is doing to be one of the greenest hotels in Germany. The hotel shop offers zero-waste and other sustainable products to encourage guests to become eco-friendlier in their daily life. And the hotel has a ‘lookbook’ about the hotel which includes articles that deal with their effort for sustainability and includes some ‘behind the scene’ insights. Most of the electric lines in and around the hotel are shielded to avoid electro smog. Numerous studies have provided sufficient data to support the conclusion that electrosmog is harmful.

Cradle to Cradle Certified. All paper towels and toilet paper are made from recycled paper and they only have big refillable soap dispensers. All of this comes from just one supplier, to reduce delivery routes and packaging. Guests can only get bathrobes, shower sandals and towels for the spa at reception on enquiry. This is to reduce cleaning resources, as well as water and energy consumption. And as a standard, bedlinen is not to be changed until after one week (obviously only if the guest stays for so long).