For a long time I have wondered how the various green lodging certification programs address the smoking/nonsmoking issue. After a bit of research over the past few weeks, I found out. (See article.) What I really wanted to know was whether or not any programs require that a facility be 100 percent nonsmoking in order to be certified (there are two, maybe three). I also wanted to know what programs ask about the makeup of a property’s room mix when it comes to smoking/nonsmoking rooms (not many ask at all).
I know there are those who believe there are far more important issues to address (energy reduction, water conservation, etc.) when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of a facility—especially given the fact that most lodging establishments these days only set aside a relatively small portion of room inventory for smokers. Given the overwhelming evidence about the dangers of second- and yes, third-hand smoke (see article), however, I have to continue to make the case that a hotel cannot truly be considered a “green lodging”—even if smoking is allowed on just one floor, half of a floor, or in just a few rooms—until it is free of tobacco smoke poisons such as hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, butane, ammonia, toluene, arsenic, and lead, to name a few.
What shocked me about my research and some of the conversations I had for my article is how the public health impact of second- and third-hand smoke—on guests and especially housekeepers and other employees—is almost never addressed in green lodging certification programs. What is ironic is the number of programs that address indoor air quality issues related to radon gas, glues, cleaning chemicals, etc., but never even mention smoking. One leader of a fairly prominent certification program said he never even thought about asking the smoking question. Wow.
LEED Makes Room for Smoking
Even some of the most well-known green certification programs allow smoking in guestrooms, with no limits whatsoever on the number of rooms in which smoking can occur. The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program makes room for smoking in guestrooms. You almost need to be an engineer to understand how they do so. One scenario involves creating a tight seal around the guestroom door with weather stripping—a great way to keep the toxins inside the room if you ask me. Green Seal, in its GS-33 standard, does not address the air quality impact of smoking. Green Globe supposedly forbids smoking in guestrooms but one Green Globe certified property I called—the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia—has smoking rooms. Most state level certification programs do not ask about smoking. Green Key allows it but penalizes for it.
It is easy for me to suggest that all green lodging certification programs require that a property be 100 percent nonsmoking in order to earn certification when I am not the one who has to actually carry out the changes. Having a 100 percent nonsmoking requirement for certification should, however, be the ultimate goal—and soon. At the very least, all green lodging certification programs should include a question that asks whether or not a participating property has smoking rooms. That should not be too difficult. If a program is points based, it should reward those properties that are 100 percent nonsmoking and penalize those that are not.
If you agree with my approach and are currently part of a green lodging program (or are considering being part of one), let those who run the program know that you believe their application should ask whether or not an applicant’s property has smoking rooms. Ask them to reward those properties that are 100 percent nonsmoking and penalize those that are not. Emphasize to those that run each program that requiring a property to be 100 percent smoke free should be the ultimate goal.
Industry Won’t Kick the Habit
For business reasons apparently—to serve that small percentage of the traveling public that still smokes—the lodging industry is still reluctant to kick the smoking habit. I just attended a hotel company conference. During a speech, a representative of the company made a point of highlighting the fact that the company requires a certain percentage of its rooms to be smoke free—as if that is supposed to be progressive at a time when companies like Marriott International (in the U.S. and Canada) and numerous others have been smoke free in all guestrooms for quite some time. Another example of a prominent company still reluctant to take the nonsmoking step.
It is not surprising that the lodging industry still accommodates smoking the way it does. It is very troubling, however, that most of those who run green lodging certification programs have failed to show leadership in this area. With your help, maybe change will come.
I would love to hear from you with your thoughts. I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com, or by phone at (440) 243-2055.
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