Eco-consciousness is making its presence felt in every aspect of modern life, including the hospitality industry. HRD explores ways to be green and capture the ever-growing market of earth-friendly travellers.
"Green" is still hot - especially with a growing number of eco-conscious travellers determined to tread the earth with tender loving care. Now, eco-tourism is not about sacrificing creature comforts to sleep in a jungle treehouse. Instead, it's about travelling responsibly, protecting and respecting the natural and cultural environments of the countries and communities.
These travellers want to make sustainable choices, like renting a hybrid car for a road-trip. That's why they are seeking out lodgings - from hostels to hotels - that meet their eco-friendly standards. Before they check in, they want to know what kind of recycling programs the hotel has, if they have to option to reuse their bath towels and even how the hotel contributes to the local community. As travellers become more eco-savvy, it's time for hotels to listen to the needs of their potential guests.
But with hotels operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it can be a real challenge to be environmentally-friendly without compromising on a comfortable stay for the guests. Let's see how some hotels do it.
Building In A Green Way
Protecting the environment requires their long-term commitment, according to a spokesperson from Marina Bay Sands (MBS). "Even in the construction process, we use green materials and do what we can to recycle." The hotel - one of the biggest properties in Singapore -?uses non-toxic eco-paints wherever possible, reducing the amount of toxic fumes released into the air. These eco-paints frequently incorporate recycled or leftover paints that would normally go into the landfill.
Meanwhile, waste is cut to a minimum. For instance, MBS segmented waste into organic and construction waste for proper disposal; reused and recycled wood, metal and excavated earth; and reduced the use of diesel machinery to lower carbon monoxide emissions at the site.
Like MBS, Resorts World Singapore (RWS) believes in adopting eco-friendly business practices from the very beginning. Mr Chan Chee Pong, RWS' vice-president for facilities management and engineering, said: "At RWS, considerable efforts have been made throughout our journey - from the design and construction stages where we managed the preservation of 300 trees to using breakthrough green technologies to conserve energy and water."
Powering An Eco-friendly Building
For many hotels, this is probably the most obvious way to go green. A MBS spokesperson explained: "With the hotel up and running, we implement eco-friendly operational processes to look for ways to protect Nature." Following the lead of their sister property, The Palazzo in Las Vegas -?the largest LEED®-certified building in the world, MBS implemented a S$25 million Intelligent Building Management System which allows automated controls over lighting, heating and water supplies for the entire integrated resort to conserve precious resources.
There are a number of energy-saving ways that MBS has adopted. For instance, all hotel rooms are equipped with an advanced eco-mode system to give guests the option of bringing up the room temperature by a few degrees when the room is empty to save electricity. Curtains are programmed to close in unoccupied rooms to keep them cooler. The Sands SkyPark crowning the three hotel towers has 250 trees and 650 plants. In the casino, enthalpy wheels recover cool air in the building exhaust to help pre-cool incoming air and cut down on energy use.
Over at RWS, eco-coolers help to cool the outdoor areas at Universal Studios Singapore by two to six degrees Celsius using only 20 per cent of the energy required by conventional air-conditioning. Mr Chan added: "These represent our efforts in doing our part towards achieving environmental sustainability as we power ahead in contributing to Singapore's tourism and leisure sector."
Every Drop Counts
Water sustainability is also top on the minds of hospitality industry professionals. At MBS, delayed-action, self-closing taps and constant flow regulators in the toilets within the public areas to minimise water usage are installed. Rainwater is also collected on the roof of the Museum in a rain harvesting system. This water cascades into a pool below and is recycled in the museum's washroom flushing system.
AT RWS, an eco-lagoon, equivalent to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools, also acts as a rainwater catchment area. An average of 5,000 cubic metres of rain falls into the lagoon a month, and is then used for the river raft ride at the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure within Universal Studios Singapore as well as to irrigate the landscapes throughout RWS.
Meanwhile, hotels can consider collaborating with the Public Utilities Board. The national water agency has been collaborating with businesses, such as hotels, to prepare the Water Efficiency Management Plans -?a voluntary initiative that includes an analysis of current water use, identifying potential water-saving measures and putting together an implementation timeline to help better manage water use.
Going Organic
Top-end hotels in Singapore like Swissôtel the Stamford and Fairmont Singapore are sowing the seeds of organic agriculture -?and seeing their efforts sprout. In 2009, they joined hands to set up a spice garden within the hotel's shared fifth-floor Sky Garden. There, they grew plants such as basil, pandan, rosemary, thyme and bay in organic soil. The plants are fertilised by decomposed matter from 600 vegetable-fed white worms imported from Australia. Then, these homegrown spices are used in the hotels' restaurants such as modern French restaurant Jaan in Fairmont. Going organic gives the green effort a major push because the foods are produced using sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming methods.
Keeping It Sustainable
Being environmentally-friendly can never be a one-off effort. Instead, hotels should adopt a consistent approach towards going green. Many hotels in Singapore embraced the Earth Hour on the 26 March 2011 from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
RWS supported Earth Hour by switching off non-essential lights like canopy and landscape areas. For essential lights, the integrated resort dimmed them by 50 per cent. Meanwhile, Royal Plaza on Scotts also increased air-conditioning temperatures from the usual 22 degrees Celsius to the more environmentally-friendly 24 degrees Celsius. They even served organic vegetables at their award-winning buffet restaurant, Carousel, to encourage sustainable agriculture without harmful chemicals.
But sustaining the eco-efforts is of utmost importance. RWS is "going beyond the hour" -?the global theme for WWF's campaign this year -?to remain committed towards environmental sustainability by setting air-conditioning temperatures at 24 degrees Celsius where possible across the resort to minimise carbon footprint. Within Universal Studios Singapore, the imposing façade of the Ancient Egypt zone is another showcase of RWS' revolutionary long-term environmental sustainability practice. It houses one of Singapore's largest photovoltaic installations. This $3.6 million solar panel system can generate 550 megawatt hours of electricity per year, equivalent to generating power for 108 typical four-room flats in Singapore!
Like RWS, Royal Plaza on Scotts will continue to set temperatures two degrees higher. Also, the hotel has innovatively tapped on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word on their green effort in March 2011. That brought forth plenty of "Likes" on Facebook and encouraging comments from guests and employees. Even renowned environmentalists and distinguished figures from around the world such as Al Gore, Nicolas Sarkozy, Prince Charles of Wales and Sir David Attenborough have applauded Royal Plaza on Scotts' efforts in turning itself into an energy efficient hotel.
Internally, Royal Plaza on Scotts organised educational activities for the employees as part of their internal Green Campaign during the Singapore Green Month. This includes a visit to the NEWater Plant, a "Green Talk" by Sembwaste and a Power Saver & Green Committee weblog. "These may be small steps but we believe it will go a long way as we continue our endeavours to reduce global warming and stay true to our mantra of being an environmentally-friendly hotel," said Patrick Fiat, general manager of Royal Plaza on Scotts.
High price tag to going green?
Does adopting green technology and initiatives naturally mean higher business costs? Not necessarily, say industry professionals. In fact, going green could be one of the best business decisions hotels can ever make.
While the initial investment and implementation may see hotels incurring additional costs in the short-term, there are long-term benefits of greater efficiency and operational cost reductions. Take Royal Plaza on Scotts. The adjustment of their air-conditioning temperatures two degrees higher can save the hotel $35,000 to $45,000 in a year. Showing that the hotel is committed to being environmentally sustainable also cultivates customer loyalty, as more and more travellers see the rationale behind eco-friendly travel and accommodation. Going green also improves company reputation, credibility with stakeholders, employer attractiveness and community goodwill.
In the long run, green is the golden way.
