This past week was a busy news week. First, Marriott International released its 2015 Sustainability Report. Found here, it includes 12 different sections ranging from Business Ethics and Human Rights to Environmental Performance. Of note, Marriott has reduced its energy intensity (kWh of per square meter of conditioned space) by 9.4 percent since 2007, its water intensity (cubic meter per occupied room) by 22.9 percent, and its greenhouse gas emissions intensity (kilograms per square meter) by 10 percent. If you would like to compare Marriott’s performance from year to year, the company now has six years of sustainability reports posted on its website. I will be chatting with Mari Snyder, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility at Marriott this coming week to learn more about the company’s efforts.
In a press release announcing the company’s first recipient of a 500kW fuel cell (the Hyatt Regency Greenwich), Hyatt Hotel Corp. revealed that its 2014/2015 Corporate Responsibility Scorecard is now available. The Scorecard highlights the progress the company has made on its social and environmental commitments and goals. By 2016, for example, Hyatt will be incorporating sustainability in purchasing criteria for brand-standard products. Also by 2016, all franchised hotels will track and report environmental performance data. And, during 2013 and 2014 Hyatt required 54,000 colleagues globally to undergo training to combat human trafficking.
Also this past week, it was announced that the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and Greenview have launched the free Hotel Footprinting Tool which allows anyone easy access to the carbon and energy footprint of hotels worldwide. The Hotel Footprinting Tool uses data from the annual Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Study. It’s now far easier for hotels to compare their own carbon footprint to industry averages in their locality. Businesses seeking to map the footprint of their own hotel stays and meetings can now access more accurate figures for hotels in the area and market segment, rather than using broad industry averages or having to contact individual hotels for information. The footprint report function enables businesses and event organizers to create and download reports for reporting of their scope 3 business travel emissions, or to offset those emissions.
Data Compliant with HCMI Methodology
Hotel Footprinting data is compliant with the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) methodology, developed by ITP, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and a working group of 23 global hotel companies which created a universally recognized methodology for measuring and recording carbon outputs in hotels. Information on the water footprint of hotels will be available from 2017, following the launch of ITP’s Hotel Water Measurement Initiative in September 2016.
Just released is the second Green Venue Report and Survey, which invites convention centers from around the world to participate in an in-depth survey. The survey is made up of 158 questions covering topics of venue space, events, energy, waste, water, accessibility, food and beverage, staff involvement, and communications. The Green Venue Report and Survey is done in partnership between Washington D.C.-based sustainability consulting firm Greenview and Oakland-based event planning company Twirl Management. The survey was conducted in the spring of 2015 and is based on 2014 operational information. The 2015 data set includes: 30 convention centers from six countries and four continents. A total of 9,900 events were held in the reporting convention centers in 2014, hosting 35,740,600 attendees.
Interestingly, 70 percent of centers participating in the survey have a dedicated Sustainability Manager or Coordinator on staff. Having a dedicated staff member is a key performance indicator for the environmental operations of the venue. Seventy-seven percent of centers have a Green Team with an average of 11 cross-departmental members engaged in sustainability programs and employee engagement. Ninety percent of centers have achieved or are working towards green building certifications such as LEED.
Watch for additional reporting on these stories in the coming weeks.
Who is Your Sustainability Champion?
Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
Looking for Guest Columnists
Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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