Sustainable Wellness Hotel in Austria:
Hotel Hochschober Awarded SDI Gold

How sustainable is a hotel really? This is a question many travellers ask today – and banks ask it as well when it comes to financing. After all, sustainability should not only sound good, it should also be measurable.

That is why the Hotel Hochschober regularly undergoes an evaluation through the SDI Rating (Sustainable Development Index). This rating assesses hotels according to the international ESG criteria – environment, social responsibility and good corporate governance.

The result makes us particularly happy: For the third time the Hochschober has been evaluated – and each time we have improved our score. This year again we hold the Gold Status. Currently, only about 20 hotels in Austria achieve this level.

Gold in the SDI Rating

The current results clearly show where our strengths lie:

• 100 points in corporate governance
• 83 points in social responsibility
• 58 points in environmental performance

This adds up to a total of 70 points and therefore Gold Status.

Among the measures contributing to the improved score are:

• our training app for employees
• an expanded health prevention programme for the team
• a clearly defined anti-corruption code
• consistent waste reduction
• and the purchase of many regional products

At Hochschober, sustainability is therefore not the result of a single measure – but of many small decisions made every day.

Best Practice in CO₂ Emissions

There is another figure we are particularly proud of:

With 4.85 kg of CO₂ emissions per overnight stay, the Hochschober is considered a best-practice example within the industry.

This value is around 50 percent below the industry average – even though wellness hotels with pools, saunas and spa areas naturally have higher energy demands.

This is made possible by several factors:

• heat from a biomass heating plant
• electricity generated by photovoltaic panels
• a precise energy monitoring system that makes consumption visible and helps optimise usage

In this way we combine wellness comfort with a responsible use of energy.

Learning, Comparing, Improving

For our host family Leeb and Klein and the entire Hochschober team, the SDI rating is above all a learning process.

Each assessment shows us where we are already doing well – and where there is still room for improvement. For the coming years we are therefore planning:

• further expansion of our photovoltaic system
• even more consistent avoidance of microplastics
• increased use of organic cleaning products
• additional measures to reduce food waste

Step by step. Year by year.

Small Actions, Big Impact

Our guests can also contribute. A very simple way:

Bring your own bath slippers.

This helps reduce plastic waste – and many small contributions together make a real difference.

Sustainability at Hochschober is not a trend. It has been part of our story for generations – and it will continue to shape our future.