PRESS RELEASE
“A great achievement” – ECOINN celebrated its 5th birthday with prominent guests. The ECOINN Hotel am Campus, according to its CO2 footprint the most ecological hotel in Germany, celebrated its 5th birthday with guests including Mayor Dr Zieger, Parliamentary State Secretary of Defence Markus Grübel and Vice-President of the State Parliament Wolfgang Drexler; even the Deputy President of the Tübingen regional council attended.
In his welcome speech, hotel manager Thomas Puchan pointed out, among other things, the 4,500 tonnes of CO2 that the ECOINN has saved the environment through its CO2-free energy generation compared with an average German hotel.
The ECOINN team received unreserved praise for this from all the prominent guests: the hotel had “achieved something great”, said Mayor Dr Zieger, who drew a line from the ECOINN to the climate protection targets and successes of the City of Esslingen in reducing CO2, and on to the Kyoto Protocol and the importance of worldwide efforts on climate protection. State Secretary Grübel discovered common ground between the hotel and the German armed forces, which have also set themselves ambitious targets for saving CO2. Wolfgang Drexler, for his part, praised not only the environmental profile but also the social commitment of the ECOINN, where over 100 people with disabilities have found qualification opportunities and employment in 5 years.
According to Puchan, the hotel currently employs 15 staff, including employees with disabilities. Puchan regretted that, despite greater efforts last year, it had not been possible to find applicants with disabilities for the two vacant training places, although it is known that many people with disabilities do not find a training place. The hotel manager saw a clear placement problem here and asked the politicians present for active help in this matter. Vice-President of the State Parliament Drexler announced that he would raise the issue with the employment agency.
21 June 2014 tp