We are thinking sustainably
PRODUCE & SAVE ENERGY
For over ten years, a combined heat and power plant in our basement has been producing electrical energy and heat using combined heat and power. We use 100% of the electricity we generate ourselves. We obtain the rest of our needs from the Elektritizätswerke Schönau (EWS), which offers 100% green electricity from renewable energies.
Over 90% of the lighting is generated by energy-efficient LED lamps. In the hotel corridors, motion detectors control the lighting as needed.
We consciously avoid electricity-consuming air conditioning. In the summer months, fans provide fresh air in our rooms. Small refrigerators are only available in rooms that are rented out as apartments on a long-term basis. There are no other mini-bars in the guest rooms: Instead, we offer our guests chilled drinks in the so-called “Maxi-Bar”, a large refrigerator in the foyer for self-service on a trust basis.
SAVE WATER & ENERGY
We ask all guests at check-in about their individual wishes regarding room cleaning. This means that the rooms are only cleaned upon request during the stay and our guests can use the towels several times.
In addition to save water and energy, there are steel regulators on all taps in the hotel that reduce the amount of water flowing through. The toilet flushes also have a stop button so that the water required can be dosed as required. We also make sure that we only start our washing machines when they are fully loaded. The same applies to our dishwashers.
AVOID WASTE & PLASTIC
We support the fight against food waste with a food subscription from etepetete. In this way we bring organic fruit and vegetables that are too small, too big or too crooked for the grocery store to our breakfast buffet.
We bake the rolls and bread for the breakfast buffet fresh every morning in our small bakery. This saves on daily deliveries and therefore CO2.
Also we collect the leftover bread separately and leave them to dry. A hobby farmer from the region collects them regularly and feeds them to his sheep. This ensures that leftovers are not wasted but find their way back into a sustainable cycle. We also completely avoid portion packs and disposable tableware, including in the form of straws, stirrers or to-go cups. However we gladly fill reusable cups for our guests.
We also use economical dispenser systems for hotel cosmetics. There are no small portions in plastic bottles in our bathrooms. Hand soap and shower gel in dispenser cartridges can be dosed by guests as required. The cartridges are made from 50% recycled PET. This enables us to avoid over 75% plastic waste.
And of course we separate the unavoidable waste. We collect white glass, colored glass, paper, organic waste, plastic and residual waste separately and have them disposed of in accordance with the German Commercial Waste Ordinance.
WE USE REGIONAL PRODUCTS
There have been two beehives on the roof of our hotel since last summer. A member of the Kreuzberg Beekeepers' Association (Imkerverein Kreuzberg e.V.) maintains a natural honeycomb beehive there. In the city, the bees benefit from the variety of flowers in gardens, parks and on balconies. And in the hotel, guests benefit from a beautiful souvenir to take home (unfortunately only while stocks last...).
At Hotel Johann, we offer our guests locally produced drinks: for example, lemonades from the "Proviant Fruchtmanufaktur" from Berlin-Marzahn or craft beers from the "BRLO" brewery in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Our apple and pear juice comes fresh from our own field in Brandenburg and is served on our breakfast buffet (only available seasonally and while stocks last).
GOOD CAUSES
We welcome all our guests on arrival with a free bottle of Viva con Agua mineral water inside their room. Viva con Agua supports water projects worldwide to give more people access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation. With this welcome drink, we hope to sensitize our guests to the issue of clean water.
We buy and sell over 90% of our drinks in returnable bottles. Other bottles that our guests leave behind at the hotel we donate to people in need in the area via the "Pfandgeben" App.
Whether coffee, tea, milk, eggs, sausage, cheese or muesli - we offer many products in organic quality to promote sustainable agriculture.