The Stay Hotels becomes Turkey’s first carbon-neutral independent hotel group

Posted in News on 16 March, 2022

The Stay Hotels (www.thestay.com.tr) has been awarded carbon-neutral status by the internationally recognised sustainability specialist Bureau Veritas (https://group.bureauveritas.com).

The certification marks a big step forward for The Stay Hotels’ commitment to sustainability, making it the first carbon-neutral independent hotel group in Turkey. The Stay Hotels also aims to be zero waste by the end of this year.

In a pioneering move for Turkey’s independent hospitality sector, The Stay Hotels engaged with Bureau Veritas to evaluate its adherence to the general requirements of ISO 14064-1, the international standard for greenhouse gas verification.

The Istanbul-based group underwent a thorough audit of its operation and has invested in domestic and green-energy projects locally and globally to counter any greenhouse gases produced. The company also identifies and works with companies that are similarly committed to using green and sustainable products and processes. For example, in its quest to use recycled materials as widely as possible, The Stay Hotels is working with a provider of brown sugar-cane straws, which will be introduced across all its properties from summer 2022.

The Stay Hotels operates four properties, with a total of more than 100 guest rooms, in Istanbul and Alacati. To achieve certification, the group met three strict criteria, which it will now implement each year:

• Measuring total carbon emissions over the consumption plan of the group’s four hotels, headquarters and other venues and vehicles;
• Investing in and supporting projects approved by international certification systems including Gold Standard (goldstandard.org) and IREC (www.irec.cat);
• Undergoing an audit by an internationally recognised institution.

“We are very happy to be Turkey’s first carbon-neutral hotel group,” said The Stay Hotels’ Managing Partner Ali Ispahani. “This process will continue to contribute to the world and the future as we implement these stages every year, by offsetting emissions and continuing to invest at home and across the world.”

About The Stay Hotels
The Stay Hotels operates four properties with a total of more than 100 guest rooms in Turkey. In Istanbul, the collection includes The Stay Nisantasi, which is set in the heart of the Fashion Quarter, The Stay Bosphorus, a revamped 19th-century waterfront mansion, and Bebek Hotel by The Stay Collection, a glamorous and storied hotel by the Bosphorus. In Alacati, The Stay Warehouse is a cool former industrial space close to the coast, which won the Best International Hotel category of the Food and Travel 2021 Readers Awards.