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LVM Recreation and Tourist Centres “Ezernieki” and “Spāre” Extend Their Green Certificates

At the end of November, JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) tourist and recreation centres “Ezernieki” and “Spāre” received an extension of the environmental quality mark Green Certificate, thus acknowledging the principles of environmentally friendly management in providing a comfortable and pleasant tourism offer for guests.

The Green Certificate was granted to both “Ezernieki” and “Spāre” tourist centres already back in 2011 and, following the criteria set by a commission of nearly ninety experts, it has been successfully renewed and extended once every three years. For more than 10 years, LVM recreation and tourist centres have been following strict conditions related to aspects such as waste sorting, wastewater disposal in an environmentally friendly way, use of ecological cleaning products, environmental accessibility for people with mobility impairments and many other important elements.

The owners who received the certificate become ambassadors of the green lifestyle. Already at the front door, the Green Certificate logo indicates that people live here in an environment-friendly and nature-friendly manner. Visual cues of a uniform style in the rooms remind of the order of the house and encourage guests to act in an environmentally friendly way, for example, how to sort waste to reduce its amount. In many places there are signs informing the guests that tap water is safe to drink. It can also be refilled in a reusable bottle when going for a walk, thus reducing the consumption of plastic bottles.

“It follows from the information of the association “Lauku ceļotājs” that public tourist service providers will no longer be able to apply for the Green Certificate, the certificate will be presented to private entrepreneurs only. However, the guests of “Ezernieki” and “Spāre” tourist centres do not have to be sad about this decision of the organization – we will continue to work according to environmentally friendly management principles just like we did before. The Green Certificate is only an external acknowledgement of the basic principles of our work. We have been sorting waste for years, we have installed environmentally friendly biological treatment equipment, we also carry out other management measures aimed at saving resources. Moreover, we use only bed linen, blankets, and pillows of natural origin from local producers to ensure the well-being of our guests,” says Dzintra Stradiņa, Manager of LVM Recreation and Tourist Centre “Ezernieki”.

The Green Certificate is an eco-label for agro-tourist farms that respect the principles of green farming, saving resources, making a tourism offer that is environmentally and community friendly. The assessment and development of the Green Certificate takes place with the support of the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund administration.