The Ribno Alpine Resort, a family-run gem located near Bled, Slovenia, offers guests a truly unique and peaceful experience. Tucked at the edge of an idyllic village and bordering a serene spruce forest, the resort is a haven for nature lovers and active travellers alike.
Beyond its stunning location, Ribno has become a trailblazer in sustainable hospitality. Over the past six years, the resort has embraced a deeply rooted commitment to environmental stewardship. In 2022, it made headlines by becoming the first hotel and glamping site in Slovenia—and in all of Europe—to receive the Zero Waste Hotel Certification. And now, as of April 2025, Ribno has gone even further, achieving the highest possible level of certification with a prestigious 3-star rating—a first in Europe.
In this Driving Change interview, we speak with Ana Golja, the MiZA Mentor who has guided Hotel Ribno throughout their zero-waste journey. From early audits to culture shifts and continuous improvement, Ana has been a key force behind the resort’s transformation.
Ana, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Could you please introduce yourself and your role in helping tourism experts achieve ambitious sustainability goals?
I come from a small coastal town in Croatia, known for its tourism since the 19th century. Growing up surrounded by the tourism industry, it felt natural for me to attend a tourism and hospitality high school and work in hotels during those years. But I’ve always had five big passions—nature, animals, travel, culture, and books. That curiosity led me to study archaeology in Ljubljana and later work for an environmental NGO and a museum.
During my time at the NGO, I began collaborating with the Ekologi brez meja (Ecologists Without Borders) team on the Let’s Do It World Cleanup campaigns. When they expanded into tourism and began learning from the Italian Rifiuti Zero network, they asked me to help translate lectures. By then, I was already disheartened by how tourism was negatively impacting my hometown—unchecked development, poor policy decisions, and a lack of long-term vision were taking their toll.
But discovering the Zero Waste philosophy and seeing the early results at Ribno Alpine Resort gave me hope again. I realized that with the right people and the right mindset, change is possible. Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to mentoring events, hotels, restaurants, museums, and cultural institutions across Slovenia. I use my background, experience, and love of learning to help these spaces transition to more sustainable practices and embrace a zero-waste way of working. It’s about changing systems, not just ticking boxes—and showing people that a better way forward is absolutely within reach.
Fantastic. I understand you’ve been working closely with Ribno Alpine Resort over the years and are still actively mentoring them. In fact, they recently reached an incredible milestone—becoming the first hotel in Europe to earn the highest level of the Zero Waste Hotel Certification with a third star in April 2025. Could you tell us a bit about that process and what it entails?
The Zero Waste Business Certification (ZWBC) criteria provide an excellent framework—a set of ambitious yet achievable goals that push businesses to make meaningful changes across all areas of operation. But the mentoring process is far from one-size-fits-all. Every business, event, or venue I work with is unique: different structures, workflows, clients, and sizes. So applying a checklist approach simply doesn’t work if you want lasting, impactful change.
My role as a mentor is really about listening and learning first—understanding how a business operates, asking the right questions, and then offering tailored suggestions and guidance. Often it’s not about giving answers but about nudging them to discover solutions that fit their specific reality. It also means training and educating staff in a way that empowers them—helping them see the difference they can make and encouraging them to take pride in their progress.
That’s exactly how it’s worked with Ribno Alpine Resort. Our collaboration began in 2016, and we’ve grown together ever since. Initially, they started reducing waste because of the rising waste management costs in Bled. They quickly achieved around 70% waste separation, but reaching beyond that required deeper systemic changes.
Together, we examined every waste stream, their procurement processes, how food was served—everything. Step by step, they made thoughtful adjustments. Not just adding more bins or cutting single-use plastics, but also changing internal communication and guest education. That’s what brought them to where they are today: 90% waste separation, 60% total waste reduction, and just 0.29 kg of waste per person per day (as of 2024)—far below the European average of 1–2 kg.
To this day, they continue to weigh all waste fractions on a weekly basis, collecting consistent monthly data that allows them to monitor progress and adjust swiftly. And there’s always more to consider—new regulations, product innovations, and the growing risks of greenwashing. Together, we navigate these challenges while keeping zero waste and true sustainability at the core.
Honestly, it’s a privilege to work with the Ribno team. Being pioneers isn’t easy—especially in a sector that caters to comfort and luxury. But they’ve found a way to offer a high-quality 4-star hotel and glamping experience while staying true to zero waste principles. They’ve also managed to shift mindsets—not just among guests, but suppliers too—encouraging refill, reuse, and return systems. It’s brave, bold work, and I’m proud to be part of it.
Are there any specific metrics or benchmarks that hotels must meet to qualify for a Zero Waste Certification?
Most of the work done by the Zero Waste Business Certification involves inspecting products, the way the business is run, and the processes and materials used. The aim is to find alternative materials and methods to reduce waste, while also improving the success of separately collecting the waste produced by the business, its staff, and its customers. A great deal of this process is also about communication and education—both internal and external—toward suppliers and clients.
Only by viewing the hotel as a whole organism can we make changes that will have a real effect. The goal is not just to achieve great results but also to reduce and simplify processes and waste management so that the hotel staff doesn’t have extra work—they’re already overloaded. When the whole staff is on board and educated, they also come up with their own ideas and better ways to do things. This can lead to 90% of waste being separately collected, and a reduction of 30-50% in waste, all within a six-month period.
As we discuss the journey towards zero waste, could you elaborate on why such a transition is essential for hotels and businesses in general?
We all know that we produce waste, but what many people don’t realize is that a tourist typically produces 1kg of waste per day. The tourism sector alone generates 35 million tons of waste annually, and that number is predicted to increase by 251% by 2050. By moving towards zero waste, we can start to reduce that impact, but hotels, restaurants, and cafés can do so much more on a larger scale.
The more waste a hotel produces, the more costly it becomes—not only for the hotel but also for the local waste disposal system. During the tourist season, the volume of waste can increase by 30-60% or more. Tourism accounts for 15% of communal waste, which is a significant number, but it’s also something that can be easily changed.
It’s clear that there are substantial environmental benefits to embracing zero-waste principles. How about economic implications?
There are several economic implications. On one hand, the less waste you produce, the less you pay for waste management. Then, there’s the optimization in the food sector. Food waste is incredibly costly for a hotel—and even more so for the environment. By reducing food waste—through better optimization of portion sizes, menus, and procurement—you can not only reduce the costs of waste disposal but also the costs associated with purchasing excess food that ends up being uneaten.
And then there are the reputation benefits. These are really evident in the case of Ribno Alpine Resort. Known for years as the only and the first zero-waste hotel in Slovenia (and the first to receive ZWBC certification in the EU), Ribno has gained a lot of free publicity, both nationally and internationally. Every year, they attract different groups interested in learning about their practices, including hotels, municipalities, waste management companies, tourist agencies and others from across Europe. Even Slovenian high schools and colleges for tourism bring their students for visits.
There are also regular eco-conscious travelers who choose to stay because they recognize the work and dedication put into the hotel (which, unfortunately, is often rare due to greenwashing in many places). These guests are willing to pay more for their stay and are the kind of guests who won’t waste food, will turn off lights and air conditioning, won’t waste water, and will keep the surroundings clean. This type of guest is the best, and, in turn, they help save the hotel’s resources as well as those of the planet.
What were some of the key challenges Ribno Alpine Resort faced in transitioning to a zero-waste model?
There were—and still are—challenges that we face. But that’s the role of the mentor: to identify those challenges and make them less difficult for the hotel. We provide suggestions, try a few different solutions, and see which works best. The biggest challenge was and still is to find local, eco/bio suppliers (with returnable packaging) that have enough products to supply Resort on the yearly basis.
Are there any ongoing requirements or maintenance efforts that hotels must undertake to maintain their zero-waste certification status?
Yes, there are ongoing requirements, such as the proper placement of bins, continuous education of staff, communication, and procurement. These are always areas to work on and improve. It’s important to assess what’s working and what’s not, and then find better solutions.
Today, making these changes is much easier than when Ribno started their journey. Back then, there weren’t as many ecological, reusable, or sustainable products and solutions readily available as there are now. Working with suppliers has also brought many advantages. Now, when suppliers have better, more sustainable solutions, they alert Ribno so they can make more informed procurement decisions.
Now, achieving the first Zero Waste Hotel Certification is undoubtedly a significant accomplishment. How do you see this achievement impacting the hotel’s reputation and bottom line?
For years, Ribno was the first and only hotel in Slovenia to have a zero-waste sign approved by Ekologi brez meja. That already brought them a lot of fame and branding within Slovenia—media coverage, visits from schools and universities, and foreign delegates from other municipalities and the HoReCa sector. But customers also recognized them as a true “non-greenwashed” sustainable hotel that walks the walk and talks the talk, and they were willing to pay more to stay there.
In April 2025, Ribno achieved its third star and became the first hotel in Europe to reach the highest Zero Waste Hotel certification level. This accomplishment has brought even more fame and recognition, and the impact on their reputation and bottom line has been immense. Ribno is now not just a leader in Slovenia, but a pioneer in Europe and beyond.
Finally, what is a message you would like to share to other tourism specialists considering a Zero Waste Certification for their properties?
Just do it! It might sound cliché, but the numbers don’t lie. Why not make changes that benefit both your hotel—financially and in terms of publicity—and the environment? Zero waste certification proves that both can be achieved simultaneously, without resorting to greenwashing or spending a lot of money on large equipment. But it does require commitment and a shift in mindset. Start small, but take those steps.
