The luxury 5-star hotel has just achieved the prestigious Qualmark Sustainable Tourism Business Gold Award of approval for an exceptional commitment to sustainable tourism while also providing an unforgettable and genuinely Kiwi heartfelt experience for its guests.
The award-winning team at Cordis Auckland is thrilled to announce the hotel has just achieved another significant accolade for its strong sustainability focus on top of the already prestigious EarthCheck Master status the hotel achieved in in 2022.
After being one of only 15 hotels globally to have reached EarthCheck Master status, Cordis Auckland is now being further recognised for providing a quality experience in every sustainable way while also protecting what makes New Zealand unique and special.
Qualmark is a certification that assures guests are rewarded with one of the best quality, safe and sustainable experiences New Zealand has to offer. Cordis Auckland stands out for its commitment to protecting our beautiful natural environment and enhancing connections with our local communities, while also delivering a quality, safe experience for all visitors.
With the recent launch of the new Pinnacle Tower, which brought an extra 244 rooms to the hotel, a number of new sustainable-focussed initiatives were implemented including high performance double glazing, energy efficient LED lighting and controls, water metering and guest bathroom water flow restrictions. A new centralised air conditioning system that avoids electrical heating requirements and native landscaping increases biodiversity while minimising the need for watering.
Guests can also utilise the hotel’s biking facilities, e-charging stations for electric vehicles, easy access to public transport and PressReader, the paperless newspaper and magazine for guests.The hotel also removed single use amenities where possible, including its toiletries, and swapped to liquid re-usable pumps, reducing the plastic waste.
Straws, cocktails sticks, stirrers, bags in guestrooms and dining outlets also continue to be phased out and guests now have the option of refilling their water bottles with water fountains on every hotel level.
Plans for a water bottling plant at the hotel would ensure all plastics are removed in the near future.
There is also an urban beehive on level 7 of the hotel from which it harvests its own honey. The hive can produce 45kgs of honey, known as Pohutukawa Honey, which is used in the hotel’s food and beverage outlets, much to the pleasure of the staff and guests.
Cordis Auckland buys seafood that is caught sustainably from reputable companies, with approximately 80% of its seafood completely sustainable. The seafood the hotel sources and uses in its food and beverage outlets is all managed under the Quota Management system by the Ministry of Primary Industries.
In future, the hotel has targets to make all its seafood sustainable and fresh and have no endangered species on its menu, including tuna which is not currently available in the hotel.
Cordis Auckland has also used ORCA for many years pre-Covid and will be re-introducing this in the near future. ORCA is an innovative food waste solution that uses mostly air, along with water and microbiology to turn food waste into an environmentally safe liquid that goes down the drain.
Managing Director of Cordis Auckland, Franz Mascarenhas says he is delighted the hotel has been recognised once again for its strong sustainable focus and heartfelt Kiwi signature service. “We pride ourselves on always providing an environmentally friendly experience for our guests with a genuine welcome and true New Zealand hospitality, so this is truly a great honour.”
“I’d like to sincerely thank Qualmark for recognising our efforts in this important area of sustainability. I’d also like to thank our wonderful staff, who live and breathe our sustainable efforts every day and are the ones that really make the difference.
We know that the sustainable growth of tourism businesses is critical to the success of our industry, and to be honoured as one of the best in New Zealand for doing exactly this, only makes us want to strive to do more.”
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Published: 6 August 2023