The Aparthotel Domus de Janas sul mare in Bari Sardo is the first hotel in Sardinia which dedicated itself to a sustainable management, paying attention to the environment and the protection of the nature. We want to be an Eco-Hotel, that respects the world it is in, involving our employees, friends, partners, providers and guests to do so as well, as we consider a thorough treatment of our planet very important. Sustainability means respecting ourselves and the whole world with method, constancy and attention. Only words are not enough, but “walk the way you talk“ we already started with it: We want to leave this world at least how we found it.



The building The building is more than 30 years old, lately we have made some renovation work, and we try to keep improving our hotel every year, to adopt it to the bio construction criteria. We try to focus on energy saving, and CO2 footprint reduction: since we are here, we just used sands, rocks and bricks coming from close places in our region to do our construction works. Floors, wood and iron are treated in a traditional way, with a highly reduced amount of chemical substances. We chose furniture made out of natural wood, without any artificial resin. The building`s structure with big terraces that provide shadowy places during the hottest hours of the day is respected and protected by big flowers which are blossoming until the roof.



The food Since 1999 we use lots of products coming from local farmers. Our menu follows the circle of the seasons and we try to provide as many so-called “Km0“ ingredients as possible. We can guaranty fresh ingredients pretty much always. Every year, at the right moment during the season, we preserve some of our vegetables in oil or salt. What we are very proud of, are our homemade jams, that you can taste every day at our breakfast buffet, which is rich of biscuits and cakes, made after the recipes of the grandmothers and aunts of our employees. Our food is completely organic food, and we only use fresh and genuine ingredients, respecting the kitchen and the products as we do it for our private use. The biggest part of our wine list comprises exquisite local wines, and even our exta virgin olive oil is produced in the vicinity, with regional olives that are very high rated for excellent quality, considering the Italian standards. We are very keen on offering our guests a healthy and pure nutrition, that also has the typical mediterranean taste.



Energy The energy we use is coming to 100% from renewable sources. Since we are not yet able to produce energy on our own, we are buying energy certificates from Edison Energy, who provide us with green power. The European Union has set up this very simple certification system called RECS certificate, that we currently use. Each KW per year of energy produced from renewable sources is registered and compensated with one RECS certificate, that the provider can then sell to costumers who want to use renewable energy. Our energy provider has conceded us 58 RECS certificates, that are covering our full consumption. The heated water is right now of course just available at a small percentage, but soon we will be completely heated by solar panels. We have a project waiting for approval. 95% of the light bulbs we use in the hotel are energy saving.



The water The tap water in our hotel is good and of drinking-water-quality, coming from sources in the hills nearby. All the taps are furnished with a regulator to decrease the water pressure, and we have instructions hanging in every room, advising a smart use of water and energy. In the bar and the restaurant we have installed two cleaning vessels which improve the quality and the taste of the water that is served either natural or sparkling. This way we have reduced the use of plastic bottles for about 90%, protecting the environment from unnecessary pollution through transportation and plastic recycling, which consumes a lot of energy. For the irrigation of the plants we accumulate the rainwater in big terracotta pots, that release the water drop by drop in the course of two weeks. Towels and blankets are changed regularly, but just on the request of our guests, in order not to pointlessly waste water and soap.



Waste seperation We are very strict about our waste seperation. We inform about how to collect and seperate refuse, and also our personal collaborates and supports this matter. Furthermore we have set two seat boxes in the hotel, where guests can exchange magazines and newspapers. The reason for that is, that during a vacation statistically there is an extended purchase of those magazines, of which some always stay unread. Our staff helps the guests with the seperation of plastic, metal and paper in the rooms, the organic waste is collected seperatelly and brought to a compost place nearby. Also in our bar and restaurant there is a strict seperation of waste given.



Packaging We have already sensitized our suppliers that we just purchase products that are packed in a way that respects the environment instead of jeopardizing it: following this rule we serve drinks on tap, give back the empty taps and just buy products with a packaging that is easy to recycle and can be produced on low energy.



The garden Our garden and our plants are cultivated following the good gardener criteria. Everything is growing without the use of any artificial products, we let our plants grow spontaneously, just keeping in mind to protect the natural shadows they create. A very characteristic feature of the plants in our hotel are the huge tendrils of flowers that cover the building from the bottom to the top. Of course all the organic waste of leaves and flowers is brought to a compost, which is right behind the hotel.



Staff All our employees love conservation and have a passion for the protection of the environment, and this for sure is part of our hotel`s success. Open conversations and idea exchanges help to contribute to keep the focus on the nature aspects and identify new important issues. We are trying to support the harmonious collaboration of our staff, as this is essential to enable sustainable thinking that is good for the hotel.



Holidays We are located on the east coast of Sardinia, that allows sunbathing and practicing of the natural talassotherapy on the beach right in front of the hotel under the morning sun, which is known to be the healthiest for that treatment. In the lobby of the hotel we have a huge map of the region with indications how to reach the most popular and impressive natural monuments, chosen by Unicef. Our receptionists will be happy to recommend you some special places to go, will share their insiderknowledge with you and answer all your questions. Some recommended places are:
- Impressive are the mountains in the west, the Rio Pardu and the Parco dei Tacchi, in the north the plateau of Golgo is worth a visit.
- Boattrips to the famous little bays in the north like Cala Mariolu, Cala Goloritze, Cala Sisine and Cala Luna with the beautiful grotto of Bue Marino.
-It is absolutelly recommendable to explore the south coast in the kajak, or to do bicycle and hiking tours. The whole region is known to have an exceptionally high living quality.



Health Our philosophy for a relaxing holiday is based on a mix of lots of sun, a beautiful sea, good and healthy nutrition, some exercise and a combination of massages and hydratherapy to calm down body and soul.



The family and its successes Our little family dedicated itself to the tourism sector already in 1974, and we try to focus on the needs and wishes of our guests, while still taking into account that our actions have effects on the environment. Since our first years in the business we operated here, at Torre di Bari. Over the years we got several awards for our commitment:
Concerning the hotel services we got awarded with .....
For our environmentalism activities we got awarded with:
- Certificate “Ecolabel 2007“,
- Eco World Hotel 2008, -Legambiente Turismi Sardegna 2009,
- Skal Eco Tourism Award 2010.



Savings Thanks to our ecologically sustainable management we could reach the following savings (in percentages) by December 2010:





12% less water and energy, 24% less use of detergents, a reduction of 40% of waste in volume- this allows us to approach a reduction of CO2 emission of 20%. Increasing this percentages is our most important goal. All this activities are very costly of course, but we are happy to support them, because we know that the guests and the environment are grateful for it.

That is our form of sustainability, who we are, what we believe in, what we do. We don`t have absolute safeties, but we know that those circumstances have an affect on what we will do. - We have to try every day to guarantee and support sustainability, because it is the foundation of our company and one of the most important values of the future.