Barcelona: Dataset Overview

Barcelona Green Key Dataset: This page documents the dataset used in articles referencing Green Key Certified Hotels in Barcelona.
It provides the source, scope, boundary definitions, and interpretation context for city-level certification figures cited in published research.

This dataset exists to support verification and comparability, not hotel ranking or selection.

Data Source

Green Key International — Certification Registry
Administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE)

The Green Key registry records hotel-level certification status and validity but does not include performance metrics such as emissions, energy consumption, or operational outcomes.

City Definition

For the purposes of this dataset, Barcelona refers to Barcelona city proper, as defined by the municipal boundary of the Ajuntament de Barcelona.

The following are explicitly excluded from this dataset:

  • hotels located in the wider Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona outside the city boundary

  • coastal or airport-area properties recorded under adjacent municipalities

  • regional accommodations listed under non-urban jurisdictions

This boundary definition is applied consistently to avoid metropolitan spillover and to preserve comparability with other Iberian cities.

Certification Count (December 2025)

  • Green Key certified hotels: 15

  • Distinct properties: 15

  • Certification validity: All listings valid into 2026 or later

No weighting is applied by hotel size, room count, or brand portfolio.

Population Baseline

  • Barcelona municipality population: 1,686,208
    (2024 municipal register, most recent available city-proper baseline)

Per-capita normalization is used to contextualize scale rather than to rank cities.

Interpretation Notes

Green Key certification is interpreted in this research as a baseline sustainability signal, indicating that a hotel meets the programme’s environmental management criteria at the time of certification.

Certification presence:

  • ✔ indicates participation in a recognized sustainability framework

  • ✖ does not indicate absolute environmental performance

  • ✖ does not measure carbon footprint, transport emissions, or supply-chain impacts

In Barcelona, certification is selective rather than widespread and often functions as a governance confirmation signal rather than a baseline requirement.

The absence of certification is not assumed to indicate weak sustainability practices, particularly in contexts where regulatory oversight and public scrutiny are high.

Methodological Context

City-level certification figures for Barcelona are interpreted using:

  • municipal boundaries

  • per-capita normalization

  • governance, regulatory, and scrutiny context

Full assumptions, boundary definitions, and limitations are documented in:

  • Methodology & Assumptions

  • Research Desk

This ensures Barcelona’s certification figures are evaluated relative to local governance conditions, not in isolation.

Limitations

This dataset does not include:

  • hotel-level carbon or energy data

  • Scope 3 emissions

  • operational performance indicators

  • real-time certification updates

Figures represent a snapshot of registry data as of December 2025.

Independence & Use

Hotel inclusion does not imply endorsement, ranking, or commercial relationship.

This dataset is intended to:

  • support verification of published analysis

  • enable transparent comparison

  • provide methodological clarity

It is not intended for booking decisions or consumer recommendations.

Related Research

  • Green Key Certified Hotels in Madrid and Barcelona: Why Fewer Certifications Can Mean Deeper Scrutiny (2026 Guide)

  • 10 Hotels with Green Key Certification in Lisbon: What to Actually Expect (2026 Guide)

  • Green Key Certified Hotels in Porto: Adoption Without Saturation (2026 Guide)

← Back to Research Desk

Download

  • barcelona_green_key_city_2025.csv

  • barcelona_green_key_city_2025.xlsx

“dataset only — no interpretation.”

Final confirmation

✔ Same structure and analytical tone as all other city dataset pages
✔ Clear distinction between Barcelona city proper and metropolitan listings
✔ No rankings, hotel lists, or promotional language
✔ Safe for citation by journalists, policy analysts, and ESG audiences