Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin avoids up to 4.6 Tons CO₂e through packaging reduction

GoalDeliver responsible luxury while continuously optimizing water, energy and waste performance.

<p>As a 139‑year‑old historic landmark, located in the protected dune area of Hollands Duin on the Dutch coast, <a href="https://huisterduin.com/">Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin</a> sees sustainability not as an add-on, but as a strategic obligation. <br />Since 2017, responsible Luxury has been embedded across the entire operation, supported by transparent measurement, independent benchmarking, and continuous improvement, culminating in <a href="https://huisterduin.com/sdg-transition-fee/?lang=en">EarthCheck</a> Gold Certification in 2025.</p> <p>Responsible Luxury at Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin is built on an integrated approach: reducing carbon emissions, conserving water, energy and biodiversity, fostering circularity, and strengthening local partnerships and fair employment. All efforts are unified by one ambition: to achieve Net Zero while remaining among the very top of sustainable luxury hotels in Europe.</p> <p>Within this integrated approach, housekeeping plays a decisive role in translating sustainability ambition into measurable impact.</p> <h5>Challenge</h5> <p>As in many hotels, cleaning operations were based on ready-to-use (RTU) products or less concentrated products. This traditional approach required large volumes of product, generated a high number of single-use plastic spray bottles, and resulted in a relatively high scope 3 footprint: transport + packaging. &nbsp;</p> <h5>Solution</h5> <p>Traditional room cleaning can rely on ready-to-use products, disposable packaging and manual dilution, resulting in higher packaging demand, transportation volumes, and resource consumption.</p> <p>Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin chose a different approach. Through its long-established Diversey housekeeping system, powered by <a href="/link/e6f72053c7e64782918138e62e58af2d.aspx"><em>Room Care&trade;</em></a>, the hotel can meet the same annual cleaning requirement with approximately one case of concentrated air freshener (2 &times; 2L) instead of 15 cases of ready-to-use product (6 &times; 750 ml). <strong>Same cleaning outcome. 98% fewer product cases.</strong></p> <h5>Results</h5> <p><strong>Reduced Waste at the Source with Room Care</strong></p> <p>Applied consistently across more than<strong> 60,000 annual room cleanings</strong>, this approach delivers measurable environmental outcomes.</p> <p>Up to 2.20 tons of packaging waste* are avoided annually across 255 rooms, a tangible step towards reducing single-use plastics and supporting more circular housekeeping operations.</p> <p>This equals nearly <strong>8.6 kg packaging waste</strong>* per guest room every year. Over the past 18 years, this equates to more than <strong>39.64 tons of packaging waste </strong>avoided in housekeeping operations alone.</p> <p><strong>*Including reductions in plastic product packaging and cardboard transport packaging</strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><strong>Carbon Reduction Through Resource Efficiency</strong></p> <p>With the use of concentrated products, refillable packaging and controlled dosing, the hotel reduces packaging demand, transportation volumes and associated CO₂e emissions while maintaining cleaning performance and operational efficiency.</p> <p>Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin is estimated to avoid <strong>up to 4.6 tons of CO</strong><strong>₂</strong><strong>e</strong> <strong>annually</strong> in room cleaning. Compared with a traditional daily ready-to-use (RTU) cleaning approach, this is estimated to avoidance the carbon footprint of room cleaning by up to <strong>4.6</strong><strong> tons of CO</strong><strong>₂</strong><strong>e annually (included cardboard avoided)</strong>.</p> <p><img style="max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="/link/ce3c3a21a6d449d2adee1484f3281772.aspx" alt="" width="580" height="340" /></p> <p><strong>Optimized Packaging to Reduce Carbon Emissions</strong></p> <p>The transition from a <strong>1.5-liter to a 2-liter fully recyclable</strong>, mono-material, <a href="/link/591956abef82463285d3db0264241395.aspx">UN-approved pouch</a>, increases product volume by <strong>33% per pack</strong>, helping reduce packaging demand, transport intensity and associated carbon emissions while supporting more resource-efficient housekeeping operations.</p> <p><a href="https://solenis.sharepoint.com/:i:/s/MarketManagersApplicationExperts/IQA16p89Tz34Rq-Rmom7GncdAVlJoPdhj1N0yAxURH353X8?e=I2RhK6"><img style="max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="/link/fecea65bf5ce45fb9344eddd419b84b8.aspx" alt="" width="580" height="340" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Water savings in sanitary cleaning with microfibers</strong></p> <p>Traditional sanitary cleaning often relies on applying cleaning products followed by rinsing walls, showers, bathtubs, and tiles with volumes of water. Depending on the cleaning method, this can require approximately 1.7 to 3 liters of water per bathroom, contributing to higher water consumption, increased chemical use and additional wastewater generation.</p> <p>To reduce water dependency, Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin uses microfiber-based cleaning methods that minimize the need for rinsing. A controlled amount of cleaning solution is applied directly to a microfiber mop, which mechanically removes soil and residues while maintaining the hygiene and quality standards expected in a five-star luxury hotel.</p> <p>&nbsp;As a result, water consumption for sanitary cleaning is reduced to approximately 0.6 to 1.0 liter per bathroom cleaned.</p> <p>For a hotel with 255 rooms, this translates into an estimated annual water avoidance of up to 138,000 liters compared with traditional sanitary cleaning practices.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Solenis contribution to the success</strong></p> <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-style: none; border-width: 0px;" border="1"><colgroup><col style="width: 49.7466%;" /><col style="width: 50.2534%;" /></colgroup> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-width: 0px;"><em><img style="max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto;" src="/link/3bbc363818e048708427ac89a10e13e0.aspx" alt="" width="580" height="340" /></em></td> <td style="border-width: 0px;"><em>"For us, Diversey is more than a supplier. They are a partner who understands that sustainable housekeeping requires a full ecosystem approach, combining product performance with smarter packaging, efficient processes, and measurable reductions in energy, water, and carbon emissions. Looking back at 18 years of collaboration shows how much can be achieved over time, and we are excited about what we can continue to accomplish together in the years ahead.&rdquo; - Natascha Keesmaat, Huis ter Duin</em></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-width: 0px;"> <p>"Housekeeping sits at the heart of responsible and sustainable hotel operations. From water stewardship and the careful use of cleaning products and chemicals to reducing waste and packaging, housekeeping teams help protect and optimise the use of water, waste and energy while delivering the comfort and quality guests expect.&rdquo;</p> <p>At EarthCheck we have always recognised that the foot soldiers of sustainability are often the people guests rarely see: housekeepers and cleaners, gardeners, engineers and kitchen teams. Their care, skill and daily decisions play a key role in helping to turn a hotel&rsquo;s sustainability commitments into action.</p> <p><em><strong>Stewart Moore - CEO EarthCheck</strong> &nbsp;</em></p> </td> <td style="border-width: 0px;"><img style="max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto;" src="/link/55ffec89ed4d4c0c953c0715599765f8.aspx" alt="" width="580" height="340" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp; <strong><a href="/link/54bdf1f578254bb7a1fed86f47d48cde.aspx">Download the full story</a>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>* Compared with a defined ready-to-use cleaning baseline using single-use spray bottles and conventional rinsing practices</p>