Swiss hospitality group Mövenpick has announced that all of its 21 hotels in Europe have now achieved Green Globe certification.

The move is part of the luxury hotel group's strategy to invest heavily into environmentally friendly practices as it plans to become one of the most sustainable hospitality companies in the world.

To assist it with finding sustainable models, Mövenpick has adopted the Strategic Sustainable Development framework, a scientific model devised by Sweden-based Natural Step, which is aimed at helping businesses to better understand and integrate sustainability in its strategy and operations.

Ola Ivarsson, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts' chief operating officer for Europe, said: "We've been very committed to achieving Green Globe certification across all our properties in Europe and in the process enjoyed very positive feedback and engagement from our employees."

Along with the certification process Mövenpick aimed to encourage all employees to learn more about environmental and sustainability issues and use that knowledge at work and home.

To achieve this, the company developed its own bespoke e-learning tool kit that all employees could access online.

All European employees spent a total of 10,000 hours in training, and each property established a team to liaise with Green Globe to identify, analyse and implement opportunities to improve sustainability.

The scheme became very popular among staff, with an average audit score of 90 per cent across the hotels, including the certification and training of the company's entire corporate headquarters in Zurich.

The group has also introduced the Green Globe process to all its suppliers. Partners were asked to commit to the development of more sustainable practices and products.

Examples of customer-facing actions taken by Mövenpick include the introduction of biodegradable pens, wooden key cards, ecological bathroom amenities and Mövenpick Fairtrade Coffee, as well as ensuring that where possible, food is sourced locally and from organic farming.

Every hotel also collaborates with organisations that work towards improved community welfare.

Mövenpick currently has 70 properties in 24 countries. A further 36 properties are planned or already under construction, including this year's openings in Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Abu Soma (Egypt), Ankara (Turkey), Chiang Mai and Koh Samui (Thailand), Palawan (Philippines) and Dubai (UAE). To read more about the company's expansion plans, click here.

The hotel company is owned by the Mövenpick Holding (66.7 per cent) and the Kingdom Group (33.3 per cent). For more information click here for www.moevenpick-hotels.com.