The Croatian Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce have recognized Valamar’s green business philosophy, as Valamar Riviera receives the highest recognition for social responsibility.

Namely, HRTurizam reports that Valamar Riviera is the best large company in Croatia according to the CSR Index for 2019.

The Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSR Index) evaluates the practices of the most successful companies in Croatia, taking into account seven key areas – economic sustainability, the inclusion of corporate social responsibility in business strategy, work environment, environmental protection, market relations, community relations and responsible policies diversity and protection of human rights.

Valamar Riviera is a leading Croatian tourism company that continuously invests in employees, products, and destinations with extremely great concern for sustainable development and socially responsible business. It has invested more than 400 million kuna in the past five years.

“In this challenging year for the entire economy, especially for tourism, the importance of responsible business, and the quality of relations with stakeholders were crucial for successful crisis management. In the crisis, Valamar acted quickly to preserve jobs, liquidity, and key resources to be ready for the recovery period. We have succeeded in this largely due to the trust of employees, shareholders, and partners in the long-term sustainability of our business. Therefore, we are extremely proud to be recognized as the best large company in Croatia in the field of social responsibility and sustainable business,” said Ivana Budin Arhanić, Vice President for Business Development and Corporate Affairs at Valamar Riviera.

Through the “Good job at Valamar” program, Valamar provides systematic care for its employees and has been declared the most desirable employer in tourism in Croatia and is the 6th best employer in Croatia.

Valamar also launched a comprehensive educational platform for employee development and education called Valamar Excellence, which provides employees with more than 160,000 hours of training per year. In 2020, Valamar preserved all jobs through the “Pause, Restart” program, which will continue until the beginning of the next tourist season with the support of the Government and social partners.

Around HRK 97 million has been invested in the “Green Valamar” program in the past 5 years, and 100 percent of the electricity in Valamar’s hotels, resorts and camping resorts comes from renewable sources. Over a period of several years, Valamar has managed to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 70 percent and has also implemented several photovoltaic power plants at many tourist facilities in its portfolio.

“In the coming period, Valamar will continue to focus on renewable energy sources and cooperation with local suppliers, in which Valamar is already an important partner to local producers through the Valfresco Direkt online store, which includes more than 100 small producers and family farms across Croatian. Valamar will continue with the “plastic-free” initiative by replacing disposable plastic packaging with environmentally friendly ones, as well as other initiatives aimed at significantly reducing the carbon footprint, contributing to responsible destination development, and supporting sustainable tourism development in Croatia,” Valamar concludes.