Our eco philosophy

Over the years, we have hosted and looked after many guests, offering comfortable warm rooms, heated pools and generous meals and buffets. As a host, we accept full responsibility for our guests and employees as well as for the nature and environment which surrounds us. It is a task and a challenge which we are happy to accept.

ORGANIC is an important issue in the Salzburg region: more than half of Salzburg’s agricultural area is farmed in accordance with organic guidelines and many direct marketers offer a wide range of fantastic organic products which are much tastier than the standard flavour of industrially produced foods.

We are therefore in the fortunate position of being able to purchase a great deal of regional and seasonal produce. And this offers plenty of benefits: shorter transport and storage times, less CO2 consumption, the promotion of local producers and a higher level of flavour and quality as the products can be processed and enjoyed at the point of optimal ripeness. Fair trade is another important issue which we take into account when purchasing.

The ‘GRÜNE HAUBE’ (GREEN CHEF’S HAT) title, awarded to us again this year, indicates the use of regional and predominantly organic and fair trade food products. Further pre-requisites are a balanced and comprehensive menu including vegetarian options and a consideration of individual food intolerances and diets. We also offer a fully organic option available all day. Since our dishes taste so delicious, Gault Millau has ranked us among the top 10 well-being hotel gourmet kitchens in Austria.

Careful handling of resources is particularly important to us: 2 years ago, we eliminated oil heating from our building and introduced an energy-saving heat recovery concept which utilises waste heat from the hotel (from the kitchens, laundry, restaurant, bathrooms, etc.) to heat the swimming pools and pre-heat the water. Our water is extremely soft (water hardness of dH 3.56!) and is therefore great for the hair and skin! This soft water means that we only need to use small doses of detergent in the laundry and can forgo the use of fabric softener altogether – which helps protect man and the environment.  Chlorine is added to our pools in accordance with the minimum quantities specified by Austrian law. Wherever possible, we use energy-saving bulbs, avoid excessive packaging when purchasing and adopt a thorough recycling process. We have had our own mountain spring for more than 60 years located some 250 m above the hotel.

It goes without saying that we only use cleaning agents which have an ecolabel (the official EU ecolabel) for cleaning throughout the hotel.


We have teamed up with 16 other hotels to establish a qualification organisation for employees which offers further education and training for our employees, free of charge. Furthermore, we offer our team free and attractive accommodation close to the hotel in our new ‘Anna’ employee block as well as delicious catering, also free of charge. We are particularly proud of the ‘Promenteus’ – formerly the ‘Social Oscar’ – awarded by the province of Salzburg in 2007 for our exemplary commitment to the professional and social integration of workers with disabilities. Our employees and guests also appreciate the fact that the hotel is smoke-free.

Paper and screens can say whatever they like – so how can you be sure that food which claims to be organic really is? We have pursued a policy of voluntary certification since 2002. This means that we are subject to unannounced checks by ‘Austria Bio Garantie’ (Austria Organic Guarantee) as proven by our certification number (Hotel Theresia: 4-01113-2010). As a member of the ‘BIO AUSTRIA’ (ORGANIC AUSTRIA) association we guarantee to use predominantly local organic produce.

In 2008, the ‘Bio-Paradies Salzburger Land’ (Organic Paradise in the Province of Salzburg) was founded, an association comprising organically certified inns, restaurants, hotels and farms. As one of the 4 initiators of the association, we have been involved from the very outset and Ms Brettermeier is a board member for this group of 25 committed establishments.

She is also an active member of SLOW FOOD Austria, Convivum Pinzgau. Slow Food is a movement of and for people which aims to protect all things peaceful, sensual and down-to-earth about food. Especially in this age of ‘fast life’. A philosophy of enjoyment and a slow, deliberate lifestyle is contrasted with the hustle and bustle of modern life; the focus is on promoting the right to a culture of dining and the regional diversity of food. Slow Food was founded at a vineyard in Italy in 1986 and has now spread across the world, gaining more fans all the time.

Exploring in and around the hotel is a pleasure in itself: inhaling the smoke-free air, sampling the wild strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and cherries in the garden and, if you are lucky, watching animals like deer and hares at dawn in the unspoilt natural landscape on the hillside behind the hotel. The property is even home to a spring and is based in a water protection area. Ms Brettermeier takes guests on excursions to visit our small-scale local organic suppliers where you can see the quality and origin of our delicious produce for yourself.

To complete and further develop our offers, you will be awaited by the new "Mountain GREEN SPA" at the Theresia from December 2010. Through the exclusive use of this eco-certified natural cosmetics range from Annemarie Börlind – the premier range of natural cosmetics – and its associated medical cosmetics range DadoSens (suitable for those with allergies in particular) our newly refurbished GREEN SPA will soon be offering the very latest ecological highlight.

Last but not least, we ‘reward’ guests who travel by train as an environmentally-friendly form of transport with a free transfer service from Zell am See station (21 km from the hotel) and provide bicycles to use for the duration of their stay. The new Summer Joker Card also offers guests unlimited use of the hiking bus and valley train.

These are just some of the small active contributions we are making to help protect the environment and the health of our planet. We as people need to DO something to ensure that our planet remains a pleasant place to live for us, our children and our children’s children. NOW! We are very committed to this. Are you?







09.02.2012
http://www.hotel-theresia.com/designhotel/en/theresia/oeko_philosophie/oeko_philosophie.php

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