WASHINGTON, D.C.—The third annual industry study of sustainability performance benchmarking of energy, water, and carbon emissions is now open for participation. Hotel owners and operators of all sizes are invited to participate in this innovative industrywide collaboration.
Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB) 2016 is an initiative of the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), Greenview, and an industry advisory group. Eleven hotel companies—including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott, and Wyndham—supported the previous study with more than 4,750 hotels globally. This year’s study will expand its global locations and segments, add hotel types to the benchmarking results, and further analyze the drivers of energy and water usage. “We encourage more hotel owners and operators to join us in this industry effort,” said Maury Wolfe, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, at IHG. “Collectively we’re able to fill the long-standing gap of providing accurate sustainability benchmarks to stakeholders across the hotel industry.”
Participants receive a confidential performance report that includes comparative benchmarking by market, a data validity test, and a carbon footprint generated through a unified calculation method. “Participation in CHSB’s annual study allows us to vet all of the environmental data analysis we do through LightStay, our sustainability performance measurement platform,” said Maxime Verstraete, Vice President of Sustainability & ADA Compliance at Hilton Worldwide. Data will be aggregated and analyzed in the industry study, slated for publication in the spring of 2016. Interested parties may contact Eric Ricaurte of Greenview at eer3@cornell.edu for further details.
