Sustainability through Sustonica – the Casiola journey – Episode 2

Can a vacation home be both fun and responsible? Casiola is trying to find out. They’re well on their way to making their homes more sustainable and getting certified according to the Sustonica Standard.  let’s follow the team as they continue on the second episode of their journey, showing all of us what it takes to take meaningful steps in the world of vacation rentals. So last time we walked through the steps Casiola needs to take to get that sustainability accreditation from Sustonica.

Now it’s time to review the first criterion, energy efficiency. Using less energy doesn’t just save money, it helps reduce our carbon footprint. For Casiola as a business, it’s about making sure our properties are equipped to minimize energy use. So when Casiola came to me to see if I wanted to be sustainability certified, I thought I’m so glad to hear that Casiola cares about this the way that I do. First of all, we have LED lights throughout the house, that’s very important. Secondly, eco settings on most of our major appliances, including the dishwasher, the washing machine, things like that. We have filtered water coming out of the refrigerator and double pain windows to keep the house cool and warm so we don’t over tax the gas and the electricity. Oftentimes utility companies do not offer renewable energy options such as wind and solar. Renewable energy credits provide a solution. Each REC certifies that the electricity was generated from renewable sources, allowing owners to support eco-friendly initiatives. Some people usually kind of expect that they will have to, I don’t know, put solar panels within their properties or like do a big investment. It’s not. We do have some guides and tips on how do you can improve the sustainability or the efforts towards sustainability within your property with not a big investment. It’s not a difficult process. It is something that you will probably find that takes very little to do. If you need to improve things, you can improve them, but they’re not major overall. And for everyone watching at home, here’s a quick 30-second tip. One of the easiest ways to reduce your energy consumption is a switch to LED lighting. LED bulbs use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and last much longer. Another simple change, unplug devices when they’re not used. Those chargers and appliances still draw power even when they’re off. Small adjustments like these really add up over time. That’s it for identifying the areas where we can improve.

Personally, I’m glad that we can focus on creating a more comfortable environment for our guests. While looking at the insights from booking.com sustainable travel report for 2024, we noticed something interesting. 75% of travelers want to travel more sustainably in the next year. And here’s the kicker. 57% of them are focused on reducing energy use. The guests do receive tips from our dedicated sustainability webpage. While the Casiola team has placed reminders all around the properties to make sure that everyone has the tools to stay efficient during their stay.

How can other companies get accredited by Sustonica? There are like three, four main steps within the whole process. First of all, you just have to of course create your account and create the property. The second step usually is your upload documentation, which would be utility bills, your energy provider and so on information that you can actually provide through invoices and so on. For property managers like us, documentation like electricity invoices might be with a property owner. No problem. They’ve made it easy to forward a link to the upload page directly to anyone who has the right paperwork. Next is the property tour. A visit to the properties and using the app to take photos helps you verify the energy efficient features that meet the criteria. It’s important. We need proof that we’re not just talking about sustainability, but actually living it. And you just have to go through an entire process of taking pictures of the light bulbs, the recycling bins, the windows and many, many other things that the system’s going to ask you for. So you can kind of prove what have you done within your property towards sustainability. Once everything’s checked out, you’ll receive your badge digitally with an ID number recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. And if you’re looking for more ways to prepare your staff and owners, booking.com’s sustainability education page on their XRnet can be a real game changer. It helps ensure that everyone’s on the same page about sustainability and sets us up for future bookings from mindful travelers. Really, I think that it is so important to do. I would do more if I could. And so when given the opportunity, I jumped at it because again, I think that it’s just very important to me and to my family and to the community.