Building Sustainable Supplies

Thinking about the condition of our planet today and the environmental needs of our time, would we be complacent with our inheritance to the next generation?

At Candia Maris, we believe that progress and prosperity lie in providing a more reliable future through Sustainable Development.

This is the time for a people-centered action to change.

This is the time that we all come together to build a world we would be proud to bequeath to future generations.

We promote a business spirit that contributes to society

Since our establishment in 1975, we have been standing together with society to co-create, use and enhance new values with our local communities and customers. Embracing a more sustainable future in the Hospitality Industry is our goal and responsibility.

We commit to meeting the highest sustainability standards

At Candia Maris, sustainability has always been the horizontal constant penetrating our entire corporate governance.

Sustainable, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible policies and practices have been the core philosophy of our strategic management. Our strategy includes Food & Beverage, Supply Chain, Building & Reconstruction, and Chemical Substance Management. Our long-term environmental vision is embodied in all our hotel development stages, from planning and construction through operation.

We aim to stay ahead of the curve by following global trends for guest experiences based on sustainability and ecological footprint criteria.

We have come a long way to create a green, responsible business model

Candia Maris is a sustainability pioneer in Greece. We strive to create a solid, responsible business model in line with the ESG criteria and the UN’s 2030 17 SDGs. A case in point is that in 1999, we launched our first report regarding the environmental and social identity of our hotels.

We believe that the values of sustainable development outweigh the costs. Our goal is to convey this message to millennials, Gen-Zs, Gen-Xs, and new generations of executives, employees, and associates.

At Candia Maris, entrepreneurship and ethics go hand in hand, characterizing our presence in the market for more than four decades. They are a top factor for the competitiveness and development of our organization on stable and indestructible relationships of trust.

We earn the confidence of our neighbours by building on each other’s strengths

At Candia Maris, we believe that highlighting the best our regions have to offer will create authentic experiences for our guests. Our local communities are at the heart of this effort. Seeking to build a robust engagement, we collaborate with local suppliers and choose local products for our hotels.

In 2021, Candia Maris collaborated with 41 local food producers, supporting the economies of Santorini and Greece. The following figures speak for themselves:

• 74,14% of the hotel’s suppliers are strategically located in Crete and Greece
• 22 major categories of products are sourced at a local and Greek level at an average of 90,5%
• 100% of all Greek desserts, eggs, juice, ice cream, juices, yogurt, wine, fresh meat come from the local supply chain.

We envision a brighter future for all

The European Union’s call for Climate neutralization requires changes in the corporate governance of the industries, including the hospitality industry. Sustainability is “the new normality” for the tourism sector, as stated by the Global Organization of Tourism.

At Candia Maris, we take our role in shaping a better world for people everywhere very seriously. We make sure that our business practices adhere to the following crucial components for the Green Transition of our hospitality services:

• In-depth Understanding of Our Supply Chain: We design, price, approve, and implement our supply chain understanding.
• Measuring Our Impact: We redesign luxury per sustainability ethically and responsibly.
• Determining Our Social Footprint: We seek new improvement opportunities and measure achievements, which can benefit reporting and communication, and supplier selection.
• Inspiring Transformation Through Our Guest Experience: We encourage guest mindset transformation through an evolving hotel brand identity.

At Candia Maris, now more than ever, we touch the global momentum and focus on how we should start thinking about regenerative hospitality services.

The Sustainbale Supplies Initiative: An Introduction

Key message/tag line of the campaign: Action for a sustainable future.

Our long history in sustainability and environmentally friendly practices revolves around a simple question: What would be Nature’s next step of action?

The answer lies in the transition from the Local Product to the Sustainable Product. We took the initiative to create a group of sustainable suppliers and train them into a sustainable procurement team.

For us, 2021 marked a national breakthrough moment: Candia Maris was the first hotel chain in Greece to filter down a sustainable way of thinking to its suppliers.

For the needs of this project, we collaborated with Local Food Experts, a leading social cooperative company specializing in building sustainable supply chains.

The new initiative started in September 2021 and will last until January 2023, for a total period of 17 months.

The Sustainable Supplies Initiative:  The Context

The initiative regards suppliers specialized in the Food & Beverage sector. Fourteen suppliers have decided to participate in this project. 

Participants will receive comprehensive education on innovative entrepreneurship, including environmental, societal, corporate governance, and supply chain practices. Candia Maris is committed to providing the entire information material, education procedures, and KPIs per catering sector.

Regularly scheduled meetings — in a physical or digital format — will take place in terms of education projects. Any guidance will be given by trained executives under the supervision of the Candia Maris Sustainability Committee.

By the end of this project, suppliers will:

• Gain essential knowledge in sustainable procedures in food production
• Understand the meaning of sustainable corporate governance
• Boost their brand awareness
• Improve their competitiveness through the adoption of new innovative practices
• Receive a participation certificate for their significant contribution to this action

The Sustainable Supplies Initiative: Important Milestones

1. Selection of suppliers – Completed
2. Suppliers self-evaluation – Completed
3. Analysing results – In Progress
4. Suppliers education – Scheduled for May – October 2022
5. Suppliers self-evaluation revisited after the education program — Not Started
6. Certification and Reward – Final Step

The Sustainable Supplies Initiative: Participants  

The 11 participants in the Sustainable Supplies project:

The Sustainable Supplies Initiative: Self-assessment

During the stage of self–assessment, every participant completed a questionnaire of 188 questions, assessing the status and progress of their business procedures and sustainable practices. 

The key performance indicators to achieve Green Transition were based on nine globally recognized modules:

1. Sustainable Governance
2. Water Management
3. Energy Management 
4. Waste & By-Products Management 
5. Infection Prevention
6. Ecosystem Management
7. Supplies & Purchases
8. Human Resources 
9. Neighbors & Community

The Sustainable Supplies Initiative: A Reflection

The Sustainable Supplies initiative is interwoven into our long-term environmental vision. We aim to make it a step closer to Green Hospitality, thus maximizing our contribution to society.

Candia Maris will act as an ambassador, creating satellites that will broaden our sustainable way of thinking outside the box toward a more fulfilling world.

In terms of communication, we expect that the Sustainable Supplies initiative will enhance our brand awareness, positioning us as a Sustainability Pioneer in the Greek hospitality industry.