Three Alpine Club huts have been awarded an environmental seal

For over 25 years, the Alpine Clubs have been awarding their strict environmental seal of approval to those Alpine Club huts that live by the idea of ​​sustainable, climate-friendly operations. Especially in challenging times when saving energy becomes the order of the day, a resource-saving and sustainable way of working is becoming increasingly important.

The Austrian Alpine Club unveiled three very special huts at its 2023 annual general meeting: the Arthur-von-Schmid-Haus (Ankogelgruppe, 2.281 m), the Franz-Senn-Hütte (Stubai Alps, 2.147 m) and the Freschen-Haus (Bregenzerwald Mountains, 1.846 m) were awarded the environmental seal of approval for their outstanding ecological commitment.

With its refuges, the Austrian Alpine Association is one of the largest accommodation providers in the Alpine region. In the interests of environmental protection, he wants to develop his huts into exemplary accommodation facilities. The goal: to keep the climate footprint of the huts as small as possible. Due to their insular location in largely undeveloped areas, the idea of ​​“avoidance and reduction” has always been a constant and indispensable companion, from the planning to the maintenance of the refuges. “From an ecological point of view, our huts are exemplary. This results from the difficult conditions on the mountain,” says Andreas Ermacora, President of the Austrian Alpine Club.

An incentive that motivates sections and hut tenants even more to make their hut operations as environmentally friendly and energy efficient as possible is the awarding of the environmental quality seal since 1996 - a seal that is only awarded after a comprehensive examination. In order to receive the environmental seal of quality, factors such as energy efficiency and supply, wastewater treatment, waste avoidance and disposal and a clean cabin environment are crucial. “Energy has always been a valuable and rare commodity. Intelligently managed Alpine Club huts can set an example for everyone,” says Doris Hallama, Vice President of the Austrian Alpine Club.