HOTELS
points out that “corporate travellers and leisure guests alike are increasingly conscious” of these issues – many will certainly take into consideration a hotel’s sustainability initiatives when deciding where to stay.”
GOING MAINSTREAM It can be easy to associate “eco” credentials with the luxury end of the market, where “retreat” chic often plays a big part in branding. But more mainstream chains are focused on sustainability, too. Take Premier Inn – one of its Edinburgh
properties has teamed up with energy supplier Eon to become the first in the UK to generate its electricity from battery storage. The Gyle Premier Inn installed a five-tonne battery that charges up during off-peak hours. It is expected to be able to power the hotel for three hours per two-hour charge. It’s also estimated to save the hotel £20,000 a year in energy costs – so there is a clear commercial incentive to make this technology work.
The longer-term significance here, in terms of sustainability, is that increasing use of battery storage is critical to making renewable energy a viable replacement source of energy generation. Premier Inn already sources its energy from renewables, but, as for the country as a whole, the problem with renewables (apart from nuclear power, which has other issues) is that they are intermittent. The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. You still need fossil fuel as a back-up, even if, in theory, a country has sufficient solar panels and wind farms to generate all of its energy. But if this energy can be stored efficiently in batteries when it is generated, then released when it is required (often interacting with a “smart grid”, which enables individual users on the grid to both take and give back energy as required), that goes a long way to solving the problem.
THE BEST WAY TO THINK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
AS A TRAVEL BUYER IS TO THINK
ABOUT WHAT IS QUANTIFIABLE
The move is a trial by Premier Inn parent Whitbread, which is aiming to cut its carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2025. As Eon accounts director Richard Oakley puts it: “By adding the flexibility of battery storage we can also help Whitbread to upgrade to the full- board option of drawing electricity from the grid when prices are low, storing that energy for use at peak times and having the ability to sell it back to the grid to help balance supply and demand on the network.” On a wider basis, the company has a sustainability programme entitled “Force for Good”. Under the programme, all waste from Premier Inn is “diverted from landfill”, including beds, pillows, duvets, which are 100 per cent recycled, cooking oil and other food waste. It was the first hotel and restaurant chain in the UK to “sustainably source all wild-caught fish”, and more than 100 of its sites have solar panels.
Hilton, meanwhile, is one year into its plan to cut its environmental footprint in half and double its social impact investment by 2030. It is aiming to double the amount it spends with local and minority-owned suppliers, and doubling its investment in programmes to help women and youth around the world, as part of its Travel with Purpose corporate responsibility strategy. Given the growing importance and visibility of sustainability issues, is there anything that a travel buyer can do to raise the profile within their organisation? A lot of it – unsurprisingly – comes down to money, says David Mollov of hotel specialists TripBAM. “As what gets measured is what gets done, the best way to think about sustainability as a travel buyer is to think about what is quantifiable and pursue projects that will demonstrate quantifiably the benefit for their company. Larger managed programmes can have quite an impact by influencing travellers to make specific sustainable choices through education and channelling decisions.”
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A SUSTAINABLE HOTEL
IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY to find good-quality information on sustainability, or to compare properties on this basis. One option is to look for hotels that have certifications from the Global Sustainable Tourism
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Council (GSTC) – Melia is among the members. Certifications include the Biosphere certificate, which requires that a hotel strives to meet certain standards, such as maximising recycling, and putting in place requirements related
to its supply chain (using local suppliers and fair trade products).
2019
MARCH/APRIL
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