The Sol Club Falcó has been awarded the �Distinction for Tourism Merit� by the Menorca Hotel Association in recognition for its work to protect the natural environment. The award was presented today, 27th. October during a lunch organised by the Association in Mahón, capital of Menorca, attended by the Vice Chairman of Sol Meliá, Sebastián Escarrer. 

According to Escarrer, �this award confirms the excellent work done by the Sol Club Falcó to conserve and respect its natural environment�, adding that, �we must also applaud the fact that this is the first Spanish hotel and the first Sol Meliá hotel to receive certification for its environmental management under ISO 14001 standards by the Spanish Certification Association (AENOR)�. 
 

The Sol Club Falcó, with a magnificent location alongside Son Xoriguer Beach in Menorca, began working on the adoption of the guidelines given by UNE-EN-ISO 14001 standards in 1998, at the same time as it decided to position itself as an �ecological hotel�, an ambitious project that grew from the naming of Menorca as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

The management of the Sol Club Falcó is responsible for setting reasonable objectives in line with standards and regulations and the resources available to the hotel. The training and awareness of personnel is one of the main focuses of much of the work. 

The implementation of environmental policy is co-ordinated and supervised by a specific person placed in charge of environmental matters and designated by the hotel, whose main function is to analyse and evaluate the ecological consequences of each and every activity undertaken by the hotel. 

Other functions include reductions in the use of harmful products, the recycling of waste, energy saving, anti-noise pollution systems and the use of environmentally-friendly products, as well as the preservation of island traditions, the identification of environmental problems and compliance with legal requirements. 

In 1995 Sol Meliá issued a company-wide Environmental Protection Manual, which is gradually being applied in all company hotels. Together with the Sol Club Falcó, other Sol Meliá hotels have also received awards for their commitment to respect for the natural environment , amongst them the Meliá Bali (Indonesia), the Meliá Bávaro (Dominican Republic) and the Meliá Cancun (Mexico). 

For the spring/summer 2000 season, coinciding with the future upgrading to 4 stars, the Sol Club Falcó will be changing its name. When it reopens, the hotel will be known as the Sol Élite Falcó - Club Hotel. 

The change in the brand name of the hotel reflects the improvements that have been carried out in the hotel, including, amongst other things, the renovation of all guest rooms, the redecoration of the lobby and main lounge, the enlargement of the buffet restaurant and the construction of three new freshwater swimming pools located in a newly created Mediterranean botanical garden. 

Sol Meliá operates 30 hotels in the Balearic Islands, 5 of which are located in Menorca.