BENGALURU, INDIA—The inaugural Hotel Industry Sustainability & Development Convention organized by GreenOtels in Bengaluru recently demanded disruptive changes in the mindset of hotel owners, architects, PMCs, hotel operators, etc., to address issues of sustainable development in the industry. Held at ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru, the conference was supported by Department of Tourism, Karnataka, and was attended by an array of experts associated with hotel development, including architects, hotel owners, hotel consultants, etc.
Setting the tone for the conference, Minakshi Agarwal, Founder and CEO, GreenOtels said that while nature has been creating a zero waste lifestyle for 3.8 billion years, we also can if there is right intention. Laying out the obstacles on the road ahead, she said, “The biggest challenge in becoming a green hotel is our mindset. So, in a country, where we put seat belts not to protect ourselves but not to pay that fine, then…perhaps green hotels can also happen either when it becomes mandatory through legislation or when it starts making business sense.”
GreenOtels, as a platform, will drive initiatives to track trends, create platforms for ideation and dialogues among thought leaders, share solutions through consultation and training, Agarwal said. It will also play an advisory role and will drive certification and recognition of best practices by collaborating closely with the state governments and recommend green concepts and technology in their respective tourism and hospitality policies.
Government ‘Serious’ About Green Agenda
In her inaugural address, Dr. N. Manjula IAS, Director, Karnataka Tourism, mentioned that the government was serious about the green agenda, and in her address, assured the industry of all possible help and support in this laudable initiative.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. C.B. Ramkumar, Director, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, who eloquently explained the relevance of climate change and sustainable tourism, while environmental specialist Niranjan Khatri, Founder and Principal Consultant, iSambhav, formerly of ITC Hotels, made a strong point when he said, “What we need is to make a disruptive change.”
The day-long conference attended by 100 plus hospitality professionals also saw two interactive panel discussions, the first of which was on driving business growth through sustainability and comprised of speakers like P.K. Mohankumar, Principal Advisor of Ozone Hospitality, C.K. Baljee, Chairman & MD, Royal Orchid Hotels; Alwyn Noronha, Executive V.P.-Projects, ITC Hotels; Cherian Ramapuram, Director, Orange County Resorts & Hotels and Suresh Singaravelu, Executive Director of Retail, Hospitality & Business Expansion of the Prestige Constructions Group.
The panel was unanimously of the view that all sizes and segments of India’s city business hotels must embrace green protocol as a philosophy right from the blue print stage and contribute to environmental sustainability drive in metro, cities and towns. The panel called upon the entire hospitality industry including leisure hotels to benchmark both development and operations to world class standards through education, training and sharing insights in a structured manner.
The next GreenOtels meeting has been proposed to take place at Jaipur in February 2017.
