ADVICE: How to turn your hotel green

As part of our sustainability special, TRISTAN SEYMOUR, director of hotel and B&B reservation site Lodging World, offers some advice on how to begin to ‘go green’ with your hotel and the benefits of doing so.

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The hospitality sector has historically had a dramatic environmental impact through energy and water consumption, use of consumable and durable goods, and solid and hazardous ware creation. Hotels consume energy for lighting, fuel and other power needs. Water is used for bathrooms, food, beverages, laundry and general operations such as cleaning, maintenance and irrigation. Waste is generated by the disposal of paper, batteries, bulbs, furniture, equipment, appliances, food, plastics, and more.

In an attempt to make the hospitality sector more sustainable, many hotels have ’gone green’.  Hoteliers are turning their attention to the importance of sustainability in the hospitality industry as it relates to hotel development and operations and is a major issue being faced in today’s world.

How can to get the sustainability project started:

• The first place to start is to reduce energy consumption. Introduce environmentally friendly equipment; operate all boilers, pumps, dishwashers, etc. effectively with the appropriate setting and to the manufacturer’s instructions. Get the right equipment for the job and make sure equipment is turned off when not in use and use power saving technology where you can and use energy efficient light bulbs.
• Roughly one third of the food produced in the world, approximately 1.3 billion tonnes, gets lost or wasted each year. It’s very important that the hospitality sector conducts food waste in a sustainable manner. Food waste doesn’t just lie in customers not clearing their plates. Think of all the out of date produce, peelings, trimmings and inedible products such as bones – this is where the largest amount of food waste lies. It’s important to measure your food waste in all forms. Develop an achievable action plan to reduce food waste. Set targets, timescales and responsibilities and review your progress after every couple of months. Optimise your food recycle programme; make sure you and members of staff are using the right bin for the right type of waste – you don’t want recycling going into the waste bin and you don’t want waste ending up in the recycling!.
• Encourage staff members and work with other local businesses. Explain the importance of sustainability to staff members. Explain the importance of reducing energy consumption, for example; tell staff to turn off lights and turn down heating/air conditioning in unoccupied rooms or employee-only areas. Check for and respond to leaking faucets and toilets. Help them understand the proper way to recycle waste. Create a green committee at the hotel, who will take responsibility for all sustainability effort and meet regularly to discuss the hotel’s progress. Consider working with other businesses local to you; combine food waste and recycling collections – it is way more efficient to work together as part of a team.
• Control your water waste. Water can be aerated, reduced in pressure and recycled as a means to reduce water waste. A good way hotels can ensure they’re reducing water consumption is by replacing current appliances with water-efficient ones.

What factors are encouraging sustainability in the hospitality sector?

• Cost savings: Cost reduction and efficiency strategies can be achieved by investing in better operational procedures and emerging environmental technologies. Cost savings [in any form] is a big incentive for hotelier to ‘go green’.
• Guest experience: Investments in environmental technology can have a direct positive impact on guest experience and many hoteliers are beginning to realise this.
• Brand image: Having sustainable business practices will lead to an enhanced reputation and brand image, which means the hotel can expect great profits in the long term.