Sustainability in Hospitality: A Look at the Hotel, Conference, and Events Space

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There is a firm consensus that meetings and events produce large amounts of waste which lead to harmful effects on the environment. Hotels, for example try to tackle this issue by incorporating sustainability as part of company wide corporate social responsibility efforts. Global companies including Hilton, Marriott, and others have initiatives in place where they try to limit the amount of water used during events and guest stays. One way they implement this is by offering guests the option not to wash their towels if they think that they don’t need to be washed. In addition, newer properties are gaining LEED certification. As explained by Christine Brown from Pinnacle Advisory Group, LEED certification is a growing trend and concern among hotel developers, hotel brands, and consumers. The certification was developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). To earn a Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certificate, a building must satisfy a set of requirements, the categories include, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design (Brown, 2018). Hotel companies have realized that guests and perspective event holders are taking into consideration how environmentally friendly the hosting hotel is. It is due to this pressure that the hospitality sector has transitioned to focus on sustainability.

Radisson Blu has taken sustainability initiatives to the next level expressing efforts to push for Carbon-Free Meetings. According to Meetings Today, in May of 2017 Radisson Blu launched its new initiative “Blue Planet for Meetings” with the objective of making meetings carbon-free at all Radisson Blu hotels worldwide. The project in in line with supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Inge Huijbrechts, VP of Corporate Social Responsibility for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group stated, “Since the COP21 climate accord, an increasing number of corporations are concerned about fighting climate change and about reducing their carbon footprints, also when they plan meetings”. (Meetings Today, 2017).

As mentioned, technology is central to helping shift hotels and convention centers to the complex sustainable model. Some of the new features implemented into the Radisson Blu property include, advanced technology in rooms to limit energy waste, waste recycling technology, towel reuse program, eco-labeled keys and material to display ecological awareness.

It must be noted, there are only a handful of hotels in the US that are LEED certified, so properties don’t have to be LEED certified start begin incorporating technology that will support environmental initiatives in the future. The hospitality sector will continue to be a leader in moving the rest of the world to a society that relies on sustainable initiatives such as ‘zero waste’ and ‘carbon free’. The hospitality sector is client facing, it is clear that the guests value sustainable initiatives. That in itself shows the power guests have as well as the direction the industry will continue to take to invest in technological advances and move the industry forward.

References:

"Radisson Blu Pushes For Carbon-Free Meetings". Meetingstoday.Com, 2017, https://www.meetingstoday.com/newsevents/industrynews/industrynewsdetails/articleid/30675/title/radisson-blu-pushes-for-carbon-free-meetings.

"How Hotels Are Becoming Smarter About Waste | Hotel Management". Hotelmanagement.Net, 2018, https://www.hotelmanagement.net/operate/how-hotels-are-becoming-smarter-about-waste.

Brown, Christine. "What Does LEED Certification Mean To The Hotel Industry". Pinnacle Advisory Group, 2018, https://pinnacle-advisory.com/press-room/what-does-leed-certification-mean-to-the-hotel-industry-presented-by-christine-brown/#.