What do Aspen Skiing Co., The Rezidor Hotel Group, Xanterra Parks & Resorts and the Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites all have in common? Each produces a corporate sustainability report—something still very rare in the lodging industry. Outside the industry, corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Dell, and even Wal-Mart generate them. Why are they so uncommon in lodging? I believe it is a reflection of how far our industry still needs to go to not only implement sustainability programs but also document them, measure their progress, and establish short- and long-term continuous improvement goals.
I know that many companies in our industry are tracking their successes in areas such as energy reduction and water conservation but most have not formally published a report for public consumption. Even most public companies, which are required to publish annual reports, choose not to produce sustainability reports. In my opinion, it is a missed chance to share best practices and a missed marketing/public relations opportunity as well. If your top marketing person is not thinking about this type or report or has not suggested it, why not get them started? Most importantly, get buy-in from the top executives in your company; convince them that it is a good idea.
I was in the audience recently for a presentation by Chris Lane, vice president of environmental affairs for Xanterra Parks & Resorts. He had that company’s 2008 Environmental Sustainability Report on hand. If you have never read such a report, I highly recommend getting a copy of Xanterra’s. If you are part of a smaller company or represent just one property, I also recommend taking a look at the report posted on the Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites’ website.
What are some of the most important areas to cover in a sustainability report? Here are just a few ideas:
• Summarize your company, its impact on the environment, and the challenges it faced in the previous year to minimize that impact. Include an introduction from the CEO or president.
• Describe the methodology implemented to come to conclusions about your company’s impact and results. Be sure information is verifiable.
• Citing specific accomplishments, summarize progress made in the previous year. Include case studies, as well as a list of awards.
• Illustrate the report with charts and graphs that are easy to understand and that show progress, or even lack thereof. Include photos of programs in action.
• Include not only environmental accomplishments, but successes in the areas of social/community responsibility as well.
• Detail goals for the coming year and beyond.
The time has come for any hotel or company touting the fact that it is green to prove it. A sustainability report is one way to do that. The benefits internally and externally are many. If your company has produced a sustainability report but is not mentioned above, contact me. Send me a copy of it. I would love to see it.
Two Case Studies Added to Website
Green Lodging News has added its third and fourth case studies to its new Vendor Case Studies section. The third case study focuses on the Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites and its recent transition from traditional PVC plastic hotel keycards to Green-Key paperboard keycards. Green-Key is an environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional plastic hotel keycard. Unlike plastic keycards, Green-Key is recyclable, biodegradable and produced from paperboard, a renewable resource. For more information, call (800) 991-7225, e-mail info@greenkeycard.com, visit www.greenkeycard.com, or click here to read the case study.
The fourth case study focuses on the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and how it has effectively tackled the challenge of safely disposing thousands of fluorescent lamps. The study details how the Las Vegas Convention Center uses Air Cycle Corp.’s Bulb Eater to safely crush and store the lamps. LVCVA now has two Bulb Eater machines at the Convention Center. For more information about the Bulb Eater and other services, contact Air Cycle Corp. at (800) 909-9709, e-mail info@aircycle.com, visit www.aircycle.com, or click here to read the case study.
Community Involvement Ideas
In last week’s column, I asked readers to let me know how they are giving back to their communities this holiday season. Here are a couple of examples:
• The Christophe Harbor resort, Nevis, West Indies, and Loreto Bay, Loreto, Mexico, outsource their philanthropy to The Ocean Foundation (TOF). TOF is working on a set of coastal sustainable development standards. In addition, it is acting as a grant maker, facilitator, advisor to and observer of the partnership’s sustainable development efforts. Among other tasks, TOF is doing the following for the resorts: working to create a visible, friendly presence within the local community so that the development is responsive to community concerns and requests; conducting an initial survey of existing natural resources and an analysis of the threats to those resources; and developing a plan for restoring, conserving and/or protecting those resources along with meeting the needs of the people who rely upon them.
• Stafford Hospitality has established B.I.K.E., Building Incentives for Kids’ Education, an attendance incentive program that has been successful in schools. Stafford Hospitality’s owned and managed hotels donate one bicycle and helmet per quarter to two local schools that teach pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Each quarter, every school has a drawing for the bike. Every child with perfect attendance for the attendance period has his/her name in the drawing pool. Additionally, children with perfect attendance for the entire school year have their names entered in a separate drawing from the quarterly drawings. The bikes are typically given away over the intercom, via closed-circuit television, or at a school-wide assembly. The program has proven to increase attendance among students. Collectively, Stafford gives away more than 100 bikes each year.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
