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BREEAM

Sustainability is a top priority at Van der Valk Hotel Haarlem. For example, our hotel is BREEAM certified and we have the Green Key Gold certificate.

During the renovation of Hotel Haarlem, everything was done to make the hotel as sustainable as possible and to meet the requirements of the BREEAM-NL quality mark.

BREEAM-NL New Construction and Renovation is the hallmark in the Netherlands for assessing new construction projects and large-scale renovations on sustainability performance.

Buildings are assessed on nine different sustainability topics, including energy, water, materials and waste.

BREEAM stands for Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method and was originally developed and introduced by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), an English research institute comparable to the Dutch TNO.


The main innovative and environmentally friendly design measures of the building are:

  • Low temperature heating and cooling (ATES).
  • Air treatment with heat recovery and CO2 control.
  • Linking hot tap water to residual heat from cooling and freezing technology.
  • Daylight and presence switches in lighting.
  • Energy-efficient LED lighting and fluorescent lighting with high-frequency ballasts.
  • Rainwater drainage from the building ends up in a Wadi. In this way it is prevented that clean rainwater is led to a sewage treatment plant, and the amount of
  • groundwater is also replenished in a natural way.
  • PV panels.
  • Application of FSC wood.


What else do we do?

  • Bee hotels have been installed on the roofs of the bicycle sheds.
  • Green roofs have been built on the bicycle sheds.
  • We recycle plastic, glass and paper.
  • We use biodegradable chemicals and cleaning agents and use minimal solvents.
  • Where possible, we use regional and seasonal organic products and sustainably caught fish.
  • We provide information and training to our staff on how they can contribute to a more environmentally friendly hotel.
  • We have electric charging points for bicycle and car.
What role does Green Key play?

What role does Green Key play?

Van der Valk Hotel Haarlem is certified with the "Green Key Gold" quality mark.

The Green Key is the international quality mark for companies in the tourism and recreation sector that are verifiably engaged in the company's environmental care.

In order to qualify for the Green Key, entrepreneurs have to take many measures with regard to environmental care and CSR. These measures are partly mandatory, partly optional.

Green Key Netherlands has three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The more optional measures an entrepreneur fills in, the higher the final result.


The Green Key guarantees the voluntary commitment of the entrepreneur to do more for the environment than the laws and regulations require of him. This is also a means of communicating the company's sustainable image to guests, governments and business relations.


After a thorough inspection by the 'Stichting Keurmerk Milieu', Safety and Quality, the golden certificate of the Green Key has been extended year on year since 7 May 2013.