The presentation of the Istria Tourist Board’s annual awards "Golden Goat – Capra d’oro" at the Grand Hotel Brioni in Pula and surrounding accommodation in mid-December 2024 once again confirmed how seriously Istria takes its role as a leader in sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean. Alongside the traditional categories rewarding the best marketing, tourism, and creative projects, a special award "Green Goat – Capra verde" was presented for the first time for the most successful project in the field of sustainable tourism. It was in this newly introduced category that the recognition went to Valamar for the "Sustainability at Valamar" project, in which the Valfresco Direkt platform and the socially responsible initiative "Valamar cares for fine school meals" play a key role.

Golden Goat – Capra d’oro: the Istrian award that defines standards

For fifteen years, the Golden Goat – Capra d’oro has occupied a special place in the Istrian tourism ecosystem. This is an annual award from the Istria Tourist Board presented to individuals, projects, and institutions for their outstanding contribution to the promotion and development of tourism on the Peninsula. Over the years, it has grown into a kind of "barometer" of the quality of Istrian tourism – from visual communications and innovative products to events and tourist experiences that shape Istria's recognizable identity.

The award includes several categories: the main Golden Goat sculpture as recognition for prominent individuals, as well as charters and cash prizes for projects in the segments of visual communications, events, tourist products, and innovations. In 2024, the award was further upgraded with the introduction of the new Green Goat – Capra verde category, making it clear that sustainability is no longer an addition, but a fundamental value of Istrian tourism. This award valorizes projects that show concrete, measurable shifts in reducing environmental impact, strengthening the local community, and preserving the identity of the destination.

This year's ceremony in Pula, a city that in the last decade has positioned itself as one of the most important centers of culture and accommodation in Pula for guests throughout the year, further emphasized how much the synergy between the public and private sectors can change the way we think about tourism. In such an environment, Valamar's sustainability award gained even more weight.

Valamar's step forward: Green Goat – Capra verde award for "Sustainability at Valamar"

The Green Goat – Capra verde recognition was presented to Valamar as the best project in the sustainable tourism category. The expert committee recognized that "Sustainability at Valamar" is not a single isolated project, but a systematic approach that links environmental care, social responsibility, cooperation with local communities, and raising the quality of the tourism product. Valamar has previously clearly defined sustainable development as a business priority, so this award comes as confirmation of years of investment in people, space, and green infrastructure.

Special emphasis was placed on the orientation towards local food and short supply chains, investments in renewable energy sources, a high degree of waste separation, and the development of projects that allow local producers, schools, associations, and residents to directly feel the benefits of tourism. Valamar does not only talk about a "green image," but introduces very concrete standards: from the fact that all electrical energy is sourced from renewable sources, to a network of partners turning Istria and Kvarner into a true region of sustainable gastronomy.

At the award ceremony, it was emphasized that sustainable development implies more than just reducing emissions – it is a model in which hotel and camping facilities are integrated into the destination, beaches, promenades, sports fields, and children's playgrounds remain accessible to the local population, and accommodation in Istria is upgraded with authentic local stories and products.

Valfresco Direkt: a short chain from field to table

One of the most recognizable segments of Valamar's sustainable story is Valfresco Direkt – an online platform that connects family farms, small producers, and end users, whether they are guests in a hotel, campsite, or residents of Istria, Rijeka and surroundings, and the island of Krk. Through Valfresco Direkt, local and seasonal ingredients – vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products, olive oils, wines, craft beers, and other delicacies – travel the shortest possible chain from the producer to the plate.

Within this system, Valamar cooperates with more than a hundred family farms and a number of small producers from different parts of Croatia, with the share of domestic food and beverages in total procurement reaching about 78 %. Such an approach significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with transport, strengthens the local economy, and ensures freshness and authenticity for guests that is hard to replicate in standard, globalized supply chains.

The central logistical point of the system is the modern Valfresco central kitchen in Vinež near Labin, equipped on about 3,400 square meters and designed to prepare tens of thousands of meals a day. Ready-made and semi-ready meals are prepared here and then distributed to hotels, campsites, schools, and end users. It is in this plant that it is visible how logistics, technology, and the idea of sustainable development can merge into one whole – from a controlled cold chain to the use of biocompostable packaging that fits into the circular economy concept.

Valfresco Direkt is not only important for guests looking for local specialties while staying in accommodation in Labin and its surroundings, but also for the local population, enabling them to easily order local products online. Thus, the project transcends classic tourism frameworks and becomes part of the community's daily life – people buy groceries from the neighborhood, and their value remains within the region.

In addition to online ordering and delivery, the Valfresco concept is also present in Valamar's campsites through Valfresco markets, where guests can buy the same products during their vacation that they would find on the digital platform. This further enriches the experience of staying in campsites and family accommodation in Istria, because the guest does not only receive a service but gets to know the real people and stories behind the products.

"Valamar cares for fine school meals": healthy eating in schools as part of the tourism story

The second key component of the award-winning sustainability concept is the socially responsible project "Valamar cares for fine school meals". This program directly connects the tourism industry with the quality of life of the local community, focusing on children and young people. Through a prize competition for elementary schools, Valamar rewards those who design creative, local, and nutritionally balanced school meals, and in return provides them with healthy, cooked meals prepared from local ingredients.

In the school year 2024/2025, more than 6,600 students from 28 elementary schools in Istria, Rijeka and surroundings, and on the island of Krk were included in the project. Through the "Local School Meals Week," instead of the usual sandwiches from their bags, students received meals created in the Valfresco kitchen, based on local and seasonal ingredients. This gave children a concrete, tasty lesson on what healthy eating looks like in practice, while schools, teachers, and parents got a partner who takes over part of the care for the students' balanced diet.

The competition and accompanying activities brought visible results – from strengthening awareness of the importance of breakfast and school meals to discovering new recipes that combine tradition and modern nutritional standards. Students participated in designing recipes, learned to recognize local ingredients, and understand their origin. Thus, the project simultaneously educates, feeds, and connects the school, local producers, and tourism into a unique ecosystem.

It is particularly symbolic that the project is implemented in environments where tourism has a strong impact on daily life – from Istrian towns to the Rijeka ring and accommodation on the island of Krk. In this way, the benefits of tourism become tangible even for families who may not work directly in the sector but live daily in destinations visited by guests.

For the local community, the "Valamar cares for fine school meals" project means more than an extra meal – it is a message that the tourism industry can and should be involved in solving social challenges, whether it is children's nutrition, healthy habits, or education on sustainability. At the same time, for guests choosing accommodation in Istria or Rijeka, such initiatives send a clear message about the values of the destination they are visiting.

Renewable energy, waste, and compost: sustainability in numbers

Behind the Green Goat – Capra verde award are also very concrete indicators. Valamar today uses 100 % of electricity from renewable sources, which in practice means that hotels, resorts, and campsites that receive thousands of guests annually function without relying on electricity from fossil sources. Photovoltaic power plants have been installed on a large number of facilities, and the goal is for at least 15 % of electricity needs to be covered by their own production.

Special emphasis is placed on waste management. More than half of the total waste is separated and recycled, with significant investments in biocomposters. Thanks to this, about 150 tons of compost were produced in the last season, which is returned to the system through the landscaping of green areas, horticulture, and other purposes. This reduces the burden of waste removal and at the same time develops a local circular economy model that reduces the carbon footprint.

Valamar also cooperates with organizations involved in the protection of the sea and fish stocks and adapts its gastronomic offer to the principles of sustainable fishing. Endangered species have been excluded from the menu, while cooperation with fishing cooperatives that fish in a manner consistent with international standards is encouraged. All this ultimately shapes the guest's experience – when they choose dinner at a hotel or campsite, they get a meal that is not only delicious but also responsible.

Pical 5* and destination development: sustainability as an investment logic

One of the most visible examples of applying sustainability principles in investments is the construction of the Pical 5* hotel in Poreč. This is one of the largest projects in Croatian tourism, planned as a year-round hotel that will employ hundreds of workers. In addition to further strengthening Poreč's position as one of the leading Istrian destinations for vacation and high-category accommodation in Poreč, Pical is conceived as a flagship example of green building.

The project includes green roofs, solar panels, smart energy and water management systems, and a strong emphasis on preserving the natural environment. Numerous facilities open to the local population have been integrated – from landscaped promenades and beaches to sports facilities – which confirms an approach where the hotel complex does not close itself off from the community but becomes part of it. The financial effects are also significant: it is expected that millions of euros will be paid annually through various public treasuries, a substantial part of which will remain at the local level.

Such investments further reinforce the message of the Green Goat – Capra verde award: sustainable tourism is not a niche, but a dominant development model in which every segment – from accommodation design to food procurement – passes through the prism of long-term sustainability.

Istria as a laboratory of sustainable tourism

The Golden Goat – Capra d’oro and Green Goat – Capra verde awards have a broader impact than just recognizing individual achievements. They simultaneously serve as inspiration and a kind of public obligation – once a destination recognizes sustainability as a strategic priority, the expectations of guests, the local community, and the profession grow. In recent years, Istria has been profiling itself as a region that systematically builds its identity around a top-tier experience, gastronomy, and culture, but increasingly around a responsible relationship with space, resources, and people.

Valamar's award for "Sustainability at Valamar," Valfresco Direkt, and "Valamar cares for fine school meals" fit into this picture as concrete examples of how sustainability can be implemented in practice – from fields and family farms to school kitchens, from photovoltaic panels to landscaped beaches shared by guests and the local population. At the same time, these projects create added value for other entities in tourism as well, because they set the bar for expectations: guests who experience this level of responsibility once will more frequently seek it when choosing other forms of accommodation in Istria and on the Adriatic.

At a time when there is more and more talk about the burden of mass tourism on destinations, stories like this show that it is possible to harmonize economic growth, environmental protection, and the quality of life of the local community. The Green Goat – Capra verde award to Valamar is therefore both a recognition and an incentive – a signal that the direction is good, but also a call to continue raising sustainability standards, for the benefit of everyone who lives, works, or enjoys Istria.