Carbon footprint is the primary driver of human-made climate change, affecting other factors like urban air pollution, hazardous acid rain, ocean acidification, and melting glaciers. That’s why businesses feel obligated to work toward cleaner energy practices. The hospitality sector, in particular, is making efforts to lessen its environmental impact. By adopting measures like using renewable energy sources, offering environmentally friendly amenities, and using eco-friendly building practices, they have shown their commitment to environmental responsibility. All of this is being done for a good reason, and we’ll get into the motivation why hotels must take steps to lessen their carbon footprint.
To Improve Public Health
The hotel business has far-reaching effects on the planet’s ecosystem. According to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance’s analysis of the industry’s development projections, hotels will need to cut their carbon emissions by 66% per room by 2030 and by 90% per room by 2050 if they want to avoid an associated surge in carbon emissions.
Excessive usage of resources, purchasing of unsustainably produced goods, waste, irresponsible tourism, and insufficient attention to green development can all harm biodiversity.
The restaurant industry can play a significant part in reversing biodiversity loss. The food industry is the most damaging to ecosystems, responsible for 60% – 70% of biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems and roughly 50% in freshwater habitats.
Without waiting for government targets, the hospitality industry can significantly progress toward a better world by adopting sustainable design and practices.
To Boost Global Economy
According to research published in Nature, the economy loses about half a percent of every trillion tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere. It’s estimated that by 2030, the overall global economic cost of implementing all feasible climate change mitigation measures will be between $240 billion and $420 billion. Although it seems like a lot, it’s expected to account for less than 1% of GDP in 2030. The potential gains from mitigation would outweigh the effort required to achieve them. Moreover, every hotel owner should care about protecting biodiversity.
About 20% – 40% of all international tourism is motivated by the tourists’ interest in learning more about wildlife and their environments.
Consumers Want Sustainable Trips
The 2019 Sustainable Travel Report from Booking.com found that 70% of international visitors would be more likely to stay in an eco-friendly hotel, and 55% of them were more committed to making sustainable travel choices than they were the year before.
Sustainability implies not only profitability but also sound business judgment. According to studies, consumers are more prepared to give back to sustainable businesses by buying their products and services. Moreover, various national and international organizations (including the European Union) provide tax breaks and other financial incentives to advance this goal.
Improved Guest Experience
Sustainability initiatives need not only to cut expenses and lessen their negative impact on the environment but also enhance the quality of the experience for visitors. Hoteliers can benefit from guests’ growing concern for the environment, but that’s not the only reason they’re prepared to pay a premium.
A hotel’s efficiency and sustainability can majorly affect its guests’ feelings of safety, satisfaction, and even pride. For instance, the quality of lighting in public areas and parking garages is often overlooked until there is a problem. Efficient lighting is the solution since they boost light quality while reducing energy consumption.
It has also been shown that when workers have a sense of ownership in their job, they are more invested, and their productivity improves. And since your guests spend money just to stay in your hotel, some even opting for getting a loan with online approval, it’s a must to give them the best experience while making them feel at ease with their impact on the environment.
Without question, the hotel industry relies heavily on the satisfaction of its guests, but this focus must be rooted in environmentally responsible practices.
Positive Publicity
By embracing and implementing extensive sustainability plans, hotel owners and operators can establish themselves as leaders in the hospitality sector. To improve their brand’s reputation, many hotels are now spending money to adopt environmentally friendly policies.
As more and more people become concerned about the condition of the environment, the demand for eco-friendly products and services is expected to rise. Hotels that adopt eco-friendly practices can take advantage of several benefits, including better stakeholder relations and a more positive corporate image.
Most hotel chains today emphasize environmental consciousness, but few provide actual means for individual properties to make major strides in this direction. Those who do so will gain a major competitive advantage due to the positive publicity surrounding their environmentally responsible policies and procedures.
It shows that the hotel management cares about the well-being of the local community and the planet.
Conclusion
Sustainability offers businesses a public relations edge over rivals that don’t attempt to be environmentally friendly. That’s true across the board in the food and beverage, tourism, hotel, and hospitality industries. Finding out what other hotels are doing to promote environmental sustainability might be a good jumping-off point for your establishment’s greening efforts.
Cover image: Photo by Konstantinos Eleftheriadis via Pexels
