Environmental
The best version of ourselves
The world is calling for proactive actions and better solutions when we as a responsible hotel chain want to make a positive impact on climate change, environmental pollution and disappearing biodiversity. And in a world that is constantly changing and demanding more and more sustainability, we, as one of the leading actors in the Danish hotel industry, have an obligation to not only keep up, but also a desire to help set the direction for a better future.
It's a journey without a final destination. Partly because external requirements and standards are constantly made stricter and more demanding, and partly because we ourselves are becoming more skilled and developed which allows us to do things better, smarter and more efficiently.
Comwell's reduction targets have been validated
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) establishes criteria for companies’ science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, Comwell Hotels became the first hotel chain in Denmark to announce its intention to set targets through the SBTi.
In 2026, our reduction targets were validated by SBTi Services in accordance with the relevant SBTi criteria. The targets cover emissions from both our own operations and our value chain and provide the framework for our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The validation covers the reduction targets themselves—not our specific actions, implementation plan, or progress toward the targets.
Our work to map our emissions and set targets is based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, an internationally recognized standard for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.
See Comwell’s full, validated target text on the SBTi Target Dashboard: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/target-dashboard. Search for “Comwell Hotels a-s”.
Energy
We constantly focus on the fine balance between optimizing and reducing our consumption while ensuring that our guests do not experience a compromise in the service they purchase. For many years, we have been focusing on investing in energy-saving solutions out of a desire to take responsibility for our resource consumption.
Along with other things, we do this in the following ways:
Our monthly records of electricity, water and heating consumption are shared internally among the managers of hotel property, so we keep a constant focus on the consumption of energy. Therefore, we have invested in a new system that collects all data, making it easier to keep an close eye on the consumption.
As in previous years, in 2025 we continued to invest in renewable energy by purchasing certified renewable energy from wind turbines and solar panels equivalent to 100% of our consumption.
By 2025, we will have replaced the aerators in the taps and shower heads at several of our hotels in order to reduce water consumption whilst ensuring a high-quality and consistent experience for our guests.
Waste
At Comwell Hotels, we sort and recycle waste as much as possible.
To further improve our waste sorting and recycling efforts, we have set up recycling stations in common areas and meeting rooms.
Guest rooms also feature waste bins with sorting options and icons so guests can easily identify the different waste types. Here, waste is sorted into organic, paper, and mixed waste. In the bathrooms, guests will also find small waste bins for toiletries.
In 2025, we achieved a recycling rate of 44%. Food waste is not included in the recycling rate, as it is measured separately.
In addition to sorting our waste, we are working to send more materials for recycling. In 2022, nine of our hotels began recycling milk cartons by sorting them as cardboard and sending them for recycling instead of disposing of them as general waste. We have now completed the implementation of this process at all hotels, and at the same time, we have begun sorting out all broken china. This can now be reused in construction materials, among other things.
Our waste is collected by external partners, who provide monthly reports on waste volumes and recycling rates. This data gives us a better basis for monitoring waste sorting across our hotels and assessing where adjustments are needed.
The butter pieces in our buffet have been phased out and canned chickpeas have been replaced with vacuum-packed bags. These are just some of the smaller phase-outs that make a big difference in terms of weight savings in production and post-production processing.
Minimizing waste sorting and recycling is also a priority at Comwell, which is partly achieved by reusing butcher boxes, while styrofoam and foam boxes are replaced with reusable cardboard and boxes in recycled plastic.
- The actual recycling rate is 6% lower than the 2025 target
Achieved 2024
Stop food waste
In collaboration with our suppliers, we have set up a measurement system that provides a detailed overview of the food that is thrown away. This data is subsequently used in production planning. In 2025, we have devoted considerable resources to rolling out our new food waste system, where we weigh and record our food waste, and we are constantly striving to improve.
By 2030, our target is to ensure that waste does not exceed 15%.
In addition to the waste generated by our restaurants, we are also focusing on minimising waste in the production process itself and investigating whether the raw ingredients that are discarded could have been used for something else.
This is also reflected in the way we work:
In collaboration with our suppliers, we have developed a method for weighing and recording the types of food that are discarded. The data is incorporated into kitchen production planning and enables hotels to track trends in food waste.
In 2025, we devoted resources to implementing and integrating the new tracking system into our operations. The tracking covers both food waste from restaurants and raw ingredients discarded during production. The data is used, among other things, to determine whether planning can be adjusted and whether more raw ingredients can be utilized in production.
The implementations that are visible to the customer are for an instance evident in our buffets at the hotels. Among other things, we work with portioning, which, in addition to creating a better experience, also benefits our reduction of surplus food. Specifically, this means that we use smaller plates and dishes, which instead are filled more often by the staff. In addition, our skilled chefs turn food into new dishes - a freshly baked rye bread can easily be transformed into delicious muesli or "øllebrød".
In collaboration with external partners, Comwell regularly trains employees on food waste and ingredient utilization. It is important that our kitchen staff develop their skills through training, inspiration, and knowledge sharing, as they play a central role in our efforts to reduce food waste.
Kitchen staff have the opportunity to participate in Comwell’s Green Chef training program, which focuses on food waste, plant-based diets, greenhouse gas emissions, and ingredient utilization.
Read more about our Green Chef education: Green Chef-uddannelsen
“Something really beautiful happens in the kitchen in the meeting between chefs, wholesalers and small producers who have a passion. Everyone is motivated and inspired to take responsibility for the 'green movement' when you stand there on the training floor and are at eye level”
Marlene Lindegaard, Concept Manager at Dagrofa Foodservice
Strategic partnerships make us stronger, also when it comes to reducing food waste. In this context, Comwell Hotels has entered into a strategic partnership with, among others, Denmark's largest social food waste organization, Stop Spild Lokalt, and therefore also engages in the great social work that the food waste organization ensures and stands for.
At Comwell, we focus on optimizing the use of ingredients and tracking food waste.
Every quarter, we calculate the amount of organic waste sent for processing so we can track trends over time.
We purchase Danish products and seasonal ingredients whenever possible.
All of our Danish hotels have been awarded the bronze level of the Organic Dining Label. This means that 30–60 percent of the food and beverages we purchase are organic.