“Going green, in addition to benefitting the environment, makes good business sense – particularly for hotels,” says Premier Hotels & Resorts Managing Director Samuel Nassimov. “Advantages of being more environmentally friendly include financial savings, increased competitiveness, employee retention, customer loyalty and minimising environmental risk.” He elaborates on these below:
Financial Savings
With hotels having high energy, water and waste disposal costs, amending the way we do things, such as installing energy saving light bulbs, makes financial sense.
Increased Competitiveness
As the cost of non-renewable energy continues to climb and regulatory pressure intensifies, green practices in the hospitality industry will become a requirement. Hotels that have already implemented these will have a competitive advantage by being ahead of the emerging sustainability curve.
Employee Retention
Environmental programs have proven to be an effective method for engendering enthusiasm and motivating staff to work as a team to achieve a common purpose. At Premier Hotels & Resorts, for instance, we have green teams that are supervised by a ‘green committee’ that facilitates ongoing green training.
Customer Loyalty
Over the last few years we have seen more consumers striving to be greener in their own homes and they expect the businesses with which they engage to do so too. This obviously extends to where they choose to stay when away on business or holidays.
Minimising Environmental Risk
Traditionally, a hotel’s risk management strategy has been focused on health and safety concerns such as fire or water damage and guest security and safety. In recent years however, environmental and social issues are emerging as a key risk issue for the lodging sector. In fact, research shows that companies that integrate the environment into their business decisions as well as reduce their environmental risk and potential liabilities are in a better position to secure investment and reduce their financial and reputational market exposure.”
Some of the many ways in which Premier Hotels & Resorts has opted to be greener include: providing recycling bins in some conference centres to encourage guests to participate in waste separation at source; utilising vendors who supply their products in returnable containers and crates; installing low-flow showerheads and using local, environmentally-friendly cleaning products.
“Our green goals are ambitious and represent our commitment to impacting the lives of our staff, guests and community in a meaningful way. We aren’t perfect, nor do we have all of the answers but we believe we can make a difference in the little things we do. Our goals are not a lofty dream of good intentions, but rather a commitment to transform ourselves and our environment. Some of these have already been reached, some are still in the planning stages and other goals will need your help,” concludes Nassimov.
