Sustainable development
at the HF Hotels

Environmental commitment and practices

The HF Hotels Group combines emblematic and historic hotels with more recent and modern ones in the cities of Lisbon and Porto. This is how sustainability becomes one of the most challenging areas in the daily management of our operations. Preserving the environment and adopting sustainable tourism practices are key to our commitment and social responsibility.

By increasing our focus on the conscious use of all our essential resources, we consistently seek to reduce the footprint of our business by promoting sustainable tourism. Reducing the social and environmental impact of our operations is a priority, with the aim of preserving natural resources and supporting local communities.
 
This commitment is applied to various sectors, from the construction and remodelling of hotel buildings and areas to daily routines and tasks, raising awareness among guests and all HF employees, alongside social responsibility actions and the adoption of a circular economy policy.
 

Sustainable hotel buildings

The presence of the HF Group in Portugal is marked by continuous investment and innovation. Although the remodelling of hotels is extremely challenging, it also gives us the opportunity to reinvent old buildings, making them more efficient and up-to-date, combining aesthetics, new technologies and the latest materials.
In turn, the hotel buildings built from scratch by the Group - the HF Fénix Music and the HF Fénix Garden - have solar panels to support the production of SHW (Sanitary Hot Water), which is 100% directed to the buildings. In the case of the HF Fénix Music, all surplus production is also directed to the outdoor swimming pool.

Water

Water sustainability is addressed in order to minimise waste and maximise efficiency, with actions such as using flow reducers and water control systems, as well as applying a policy of changing towels/bed linen at the client's request. It is also essential to promote respect for the environment, adopting sustainable tourism practices that preserve local natural resources. The surrounding external spaces have been transformed into green spaces and, in order to better manage resources, intelligent irrigation systems have been installed in the garden areas, while species and plants adapted to the region's climate and with low water consumption and high resistance to climatic fluctuations have been favoured.

Social responsibility and food waste

The entire HF Group follows a zero-food waste policy and is involved in projects that increase social responsibility. The hotel also offers partnerships, guides and tourist information from various local institutions that promote tourism in harmony with the environment.

Energy and thermal efficiency

The HF Hotels Group was a pioneer in Portugal, back in 2008, in replacing all light bulbs with LED bulbs, which are still in use today. The preservation of natural resources is a priority, with the adoption of sustainable tourism practices. Similarly, materials and techniques are used in all renovations to achieve greater energy and thermal efficiency, such as double-glazed windows, among other examples. The HF Group strives to minimise its carbon footprint by promoting the use of local and eco-friendly products and practices.

Plastic

We seek to reduce the use of plastic as much as possible by opting for glass bottles and recycling them, using water dispensers and PET laundry bags (100% recyclable). Sustainability is a priority, which is why we strive to adopt practices that minimise environmental impact. When communicating with employees and guests, a digitalisation process is applied, which favours the use of QR Codes and other tools in order to eliminate the use of plastic and stationery in rooms and common areas as much as possible.

Waste reduction and recycling

Waste recycling/separation and a circular economy policy are applied to all end-of-life materials, not only appliances, but also furniture, bed and kitchen textiles, etc. through recovery or donation. These sustainable tourism practices help protect the environment and improve quality of life.

Amenities and well-being

Reusable dispensers are used in order to reduce single-dose amenities and avoid packaging waste. This way, we promote sustainable tourism practices that contribute to the well-being of local people and the environment.
 
Other sustainable tourism initiatives and one-off actions

All of the units of the HF Group are located close to public transport, such as the bus and the metro, which can be reached in less than 100 metres. Opting for this alternative helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% to 80%.
All of the hotels offer guests the option of renting bikes through partnerships with local organisations, so that they can get to know the city using bicycle paths.
The HF Fénix Lisboa and HF Ipanema Park hotels have charging stations for electric cars, promoting and facilitating their use by all guests and clients.
The HF Fénix Garden and HF Fénix Music hotels have established a partnership with Ebike Lovers so that all guests can rent electric bikes to discover Lisbon.

The HF Fénix Garden and HF Fénix Music hotels have partnered with Too Good To Go to fight food waste, so that the food that is not consumed each day is sold at a symbolic price. This way, food is never wasted.

For the full renovation of the façades of the HF Ipanema Park and HF Ipanema Porto hotels, the techniques, materials and procedures adopted allowed for a reduction in annual CO2 emissions of around 170 tons, by reducing the need for heating in the winter and increasing the ventilation and cooling capacity in the summer.
The hotel buildings built from scratch by the HF Group the HF Fénix Music and the HF Fénix Garden have solar panels to support the production of SHW (Sanitary Hot Water), which is 100% directed to the buildings. In the case of the HF Fénix Music, all surplus production is directed to the outdoor swimming pool.
Since 2008, the HF Hotels Group has been a pioneer in Portugal in replacing all light bulbs with LED bulbs, which are still in use today. Likewise, materials with greater energy and thermal efficiency are used in all renovations.
In the HF Fénix Urban hotel, lifts have a stand-by mode, thermostats are programmed when rooms or common areas are not in use and rooms have energy-saving switches.
All employees have access to information on sustainability such as saving water, paper and energy, and on recycling, in appropriate and clearly visible places.
Sustainable decoration and design have been chosen: the lighting is carefully thought out, with LED bulbs and lighting activated by motion sensors, materials have been recovered and carpet and rugs have been eliminated, reducing the risk of allergies.
Use of double-glazed windows in 75% of the hotels, for greater thermal and acoustic efficiency.

The surrounding external spaces are transformed into gardens, whenever the ground allows it.
In order to better manage resources, intelligent irrigation systems have been installed in the garden areas, while species and plants adapted to the region's climate and with low water consumption and high resistance to climatic fluctuations have been favoured.

We primarily use environmentally friendly detergents and cleaning products, and packaging is reused whenever possible, avoiding product waste.

 
 

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