ITHACA, N.Y.—The Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) has posted the proceedings of its inaugural Sustainability Roundtable. The proceedings, which are available at no charge from the CHR website, cover the roundtable’s examination of key points regarding the lodging industry’s efforts to operate sustainably, including such issues as the definition of sustainability, emerging regulations and laws, engaging guests, and the complexity of carbon neutrality.
“When we issued highlights of the sustainability roundtable late last year, people were interested in learning more about the discussions,” said Rohit Verma, CHR executive director. “So, with the assistance of our panel members, we now have the expanded proceedings.” The roundtable was chaired by associate professor David Sherwyn.
The roundtable participants agreed that guests expect hotels to operate in a sustainable manner—so the question no longer is whether to be sustainable, but how to do it. To ensure that sustainability programs pay off, they must be carefully constructed, with an eye toward revenues as well as costs. Additionally, hotels must demonstrate their sustainability commitment so that guests will respond by participating in sustainability initiatives.
The CHR roundtables are open to partners and invited guests, while students at Cornell observe the discussions. More than 60 students took advantage of the opportunity to sit in on all or part of the sustainability discussions.
Center roundtables are a meeting place for invited senior-level hospitality industry executives and Cornell faculty members. Each roundtable lasts one day and is divided into four or five sessions. Sessions begin with a short research presentation (by a Cornell faculty member, faculty from another institution, or an industry leader) that lasts five to 10 minutes. Immediately following, one or two industry discussants either support or contest the researcher’s hypothesis or conclusion. The conversation is then opened up to the entire roundtable for discussion. For more information on roundtables, click here.
To view the proceedings from last fall’s roundtable, click here.
