34’600

tonnes of CO₂ reductions financed

6.39 Mio.

bookings with a contribution to climate protection

4.13 Mio.

francs mobilised for local sustainability

Partner since

2007

This is how it works:

Guests of the Swiss Youth Hostels have the opportunity to invest the CO₂ emissions of their stay in climate protection projects with myclimate at CHF 0.30 per overnight stay and make a contribution to local sustainability. At the same time, the Swiss Youth Hostels double these contributions and invest in their own sustainability. In this way, the guests achieve a double effect with their commitment.

How does «Cause We Care» work?

Company profile

For over 90 years, the Swiss Youth Hostels have been the first address for budget- and environmentally conscious travellers. The hostels ensure not only lasting memories of holiday and leisure activities, but also encounters with similarly minded people, and they are actively engaged in sustainable tourism.

The Swiss Youth Hostels are committed to sustainability. Sustainability is an important component of the organisation’s philosophy when it comes to dealing with interest groups, designing products and protecting the environment.
The hostels interpret sustainability as a consideration of social and ethical issues as a whole in addition to reasonable use of resources.

«Cause We Care» Measures

Solar panels in Scuol

In 2007 solar panels were installed in the building of the youth hostel in Scuol to generate warm water. The system is 27 square metres in size and saves about 15 kWh of energy each year.

Photovoltaic system in St. Moritz

A photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of the St. Moritz youth hostel in 2010. 24 young persons from four countries helped install it over the course of a week. The system is 160 square metres in size and supplies up to 26,680 kWh of power a year, thus covering one sixth of the youth hostel’s power consumption.

Wood heating replaces oil heating in Davos

A wood pellet heating system replaced the oil heating in the Youthpalace youth hostel in Davos in 2014. That saves approx. 65,000 litres of heating oil every year, which corresponds to the average annual consumption of 26 single-family homes.

Photovoltaic system in Saas Fee

In 2014 another photovoltaic system was installed in wellnessHostel4000 in Saas-Fee. This system provides around 30% of the establishment’s power consumption.

Photovoltaic unit & e-charging station in Bern

In April 2018, another photovoltaic unit was installed on the roof of the new building as part of the renovation and construction of the new wing of Berne Youth Hostel. The environmentally friendly 172 m2 plant generates around 25,000 kWh of renewable energy per year. This corresponds to about one fifth of electricity consumption and also contributes to the positive ecological balance of the company. In addition, two charging stations for electric vehicles were installed (KEBA x-P30/ c-P30 to 22kW, type 2 connection, GSM 3G, RFID).

From PET to glass bottles

Not only the guests enjoy fine Swiss tap water, but also the employees at the service centre in Zurich! With the conscious decision to do without PET, all employees of the Swiss Youth Hostels have the opportunity to enjoy chilled tap water, with or without fizz, in their own Soulbottles. This has enabled them to reduce their PET bottle consumption from over 4000 to 0 bottles per year.