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Conscious Future

Our Conscious Eye On
- Bank Hotel Istanbul

Conscious Hotel

Thebankhotel 1
Thebankhotel 2

Location

Istanbul, Turkey


Architecture 

Han Tümertekin


Interior Design 

Sinan Kafadar


Certification

Sustainable Tourism Certification of GSTC

Built in 1867 as the headquarters of a bank, the Bank Hotel Istanbul emerged from a restoration project initiated by architect Mimar Khan, with preservation and conservation at the heart of its sustainability model. The hotel focuses on reducing its environmental impact by using renewable energy, minimizing waste, and promoting responsible tourism. Its effort includes the use of energy-efficient lighting, water-saving fixtures, and locally sourced organic food products. It also provides eco-friendly amenities and encourages guests to participate in its sustainable practices. With a certification issued by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, the hotel is bolstered in its conscious journey. We caught up with the Bank team below to hear more.

Architecture

Architecture

The building was updated according to the principle, “Restore without damaging authenticity and protect its artistic value.” Because of this, energy and resources were reduced during construction.

Waste

Waste

The hotel does not offer any single-use plastics or products. Paper waste is reduced through digital filing, and plastic room keys have been replaced with wooden cards.

Energy

Energy

The hotel uses solar-powered energy across the venue. In addition, energy-efficient lighting helps to curb excessive energy consumption.

Water

Water

The water supply is limited to prevent excessive use. By informing guests about the effort to limit the changing of towels and sheets in their rooms, the hotel aims to decrease water consumption.

Products

Products & Produce

Products are sourced predominantly via local suppliers and businesses. Guests are also encouraged to purchase textiles, handicrafts, and other local items from nearby vendors.

Culture

Culture

This is an important principle for the hotel. Guests are informed of any relevant cultural offerings. The hotel also organizes private guided tours that allow guests to learn about Turkish culture and history.

Healthyworkplace

Healthy Workplace

The hotel aims to provide a positive working environment for staff, where people with different beliefs and opinions can work in harmony. It prioritizes the occupational health and safety of employees and stakeholders.

Communication

Measure & Communication

The hotel has a sustainability policy that it shares with guests on its website and via email. The hotel values regular feedback from guests, to continue developing and improving on its sustainability efforts.

Learn about our conscious principles

What is your sustainability philosophy?

The main principle we abide by is to protect our history and culture. Looking more ecologically, we focus on waste management, power management, and sustainable material supply efforts, in order to minimize the effects of tourism on our environment.

How do you forge a connection to the local community and cultural surroundings?

Our facility is close to some important cultural monuments. We contribute to local development by protecting our historical building in a way that is most suitable for today, embracing the “protection” principle, and choosing locals for our suppliers. We contribute to the promotion of our region by motivating our guests toward cultural tours.

What do you see as the biggest sustainability hurdle for hotels? How are you combating that?

We believe that the biggest obstacles to sustainability for hotels are being unable to manage power and resource consumption, and not making purchases correctly regarding the products used. It is a major hurdle for us to not be able to intervene directly in the resources consumed by our guests: electricity, water consumption, and personal plastic and paper waste. For this reason, we try to reduce power and resource consumption every year by measuring water, natural gas, and electricity consumption per room and per person with the meters we installed.

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