The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) has awarded KZN’s first Green Key certification to the Radisson Blu Hotel, Durban uMhlanga, recognising the hotel for meeting international environmental and sustainability standards.

Also read: Glen Anil resident completes mammoth charity run

The certification, administered in SA by WESSA, was presented to the hotel’s general manager, Temba Mpofu, during a handover ceremony.

WESSA CEO Cindy-Lee Cloete said the certification marked a first for the province.

“What makes this achievement particularly significant is that the Radisson Blu is the first hotel in KwaZulu-Natal to achieve Green Key certification,” she said. “This leads the way and sets an example for other tourism establishments across the province to follow.”

Green Key, co-ordinated globally by the Foundation for Environmental Education, has certified more than 9000 tourism establishments in more than 90 countries.

Mpofu said the certification followed several years of work to improve the hotel’s environmental performance.

“We are incredibly proud to become the first Green Key-certified establishment in KwaZulu-Natal,” he said. “This achievement reflects the meaningful steps we have taken to embed sustainability into our daily operations.”

The hotel’s sustainability initiatives include 100% LED lighting, key-card energy management systems, water-saving devices, recycling programmes and food waste monitoring. It also takes part in beach clean-ups with uShaka Marine World and has supported community organisations through donations and outreach programmes.

Cloete said the award recognised more than environmental measures.

“Sustainability is about much more than energy, water and waste,” she said. “It is also about people and communities, and this is an area where the hotel has demonstrated a very strong commitment.”

She said the milestone coincides with WESSA’s centenary year.

“As we celebrate WESSA’s centenary year, it is especially exciting for us to see Green Key reach this important milestone in KwaZulu-Natal,” Cloete said. “We are positive that Radisson Blu Umhlanga will be the first of many Green Key-certified establishments in the province.”

For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook ,X or  Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here