Milan, 20 November 2025 – UNA Italian Hospitality has reached significant new milestones along its sustainability journey by obtaining international sustainability certification from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council for eight of its hotels located in and around the city of Milan.
Accreditation by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, which the hotel chain carefully selected from the numerous ESG certification providers in the sector, was received by the company’s Milan headquarters and hotels involved in the upcoming Winter Olympics: Milano Verticale | UNA Esperienze, UNA Hotels Cusani Milano, UNA Hotels Expo Fiera Milano, UNA Hotels Galles Milano, UNA Hotels Scandinavia Milano, UNA Hotels Mediterraneo Milano, UNA Hotels Century Milano and UNA Hotels The ONE Hotel & Residence Milano. The eight certified venues comply with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s criteria for the hotel industry, Version 3 – 2016 (certification framework: Hotels/Accommodation), valid for 3 years and subject to annual audits.
“Obtaining sustainability accreditation from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council plays a major role in our commitment to this area, especially in the run-up to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. We have chosen this pathway from the various options available with great care, and will be extending it to more of our group’s hotels in the coming years,” explains Giorgio Marchegiani, CEO of UNA Italian Hospitality (seen on the right of the photo as he receives the certificate from Luigi Mazzaglia, CEO of certification body Vireo). “This certification is just one of the many stages on the Sustainability Journey 2024, our latest Sustainability Report. More than just a brief, it is a working tool that guides our daily decision-making process and enables us to gradually involve all our stakeholders in a shared, concrete approach to sustainability,” concludes Marchegiani.
The accolade is a key landmark in UNA Italian Hospitality’s move towards ever more sustainable and responsible corporate management, operations and governance. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s international standard lays down clear criteria for reducing environmental impacts, supporting local communities and fostering fair, transparent resource management, underlining the company’s commitment towards all its stakeholders.
But this is a starting point rather than the finish line: the company boasts multiple ESG growth levers, and the sustainability, accessibility and usability of its hotels have become strategic milestones in terms of sales and brand equity too. Rather than a simple accolade, it is a concrete achievement on which the group can build future improvements and ensure it maintains certification in the long term.
This significant result, which the company worked towards with Vireo, an accredited certifier for the hotel and tourism sector, falls within the wider remit of UNA Italian Hospitality’s Sustainability Journey 2024: the company’s latest Sustainability Report contains transparent, tangible evidence of the ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) actions it has taken and will continue to take in future. The Report charts a structured, quantifiable route that involves responsible practices in all areas of the business: from energy efficiency and reductions in CO₂ emissions to waste management and the circular economy, as well as actively involving staff members and fostering inclusive and lifelong learning pathways.
The Sustainability Journey demonstrates that guests lie at the heart of what the company does, with the emphasis on offering sustainable, quality experiences; that people are nurtured through training, engagement and growth opportunities; and that its ties to the area are reflected in practical projects supporting local communities, in conjunction with partners and the institutions.
The Sustainability Journey 2024 provides further details of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s certification for the hotels involved in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, as well as presenting more of the group’s achievements. These include an accessibility assessment from Handy Superabile for company HQ and the hotels that will be hosting Olympic athletes, plus circular economy projects in association with Regusto, the platform that focuses on recovering and reusing surplus food and non-food products, helping reduce waste and impacts along the entire production chain.
Like the company’s other ESG actions, these results underscore the coherence and durability of UNA Italian Hospitality’s journey, building a hospitality model which is increasingly sustainable, inclusive and forward-looking.