Fresh towels, clean linens, and toiletries are a few of the items guests expect when checking into a hotel room. They're considered basics at just about any hotel, but they also contribute to the large amounts of water and energy consumption by the hotel industry--not to mention the waste it produces. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News. The long-term effects are not only bad for the environment but they're also bad for hotel costs. For instance, about 15% of total water use in commercial and institutional facilities in the U.S. takes place in hotels and other lodging businesses, according to the EPA. The largest uses of water in hotels are restrooms, laundry operations, landscaping, and kitchens. Some experts say global tourism, which goes beyond hotels, is responsible for 8% of the world's carbon emission. Some hotels are catching on and taking action. Earlier this year, Hilton Hotels announced a major sustainability initiative including plans to cut carbon emissions by 61% (in line with the Paris Climate Agreement) and reduce water consumption and produced waste by 50%. Hilton, which celebrates 100 years, says it's looking to be part of the solution for sustainable tourism. "We wanted to show leadership by setting goals in line with the bigger global frameworks. As a company, as we look to our centennial want to redefine sustainable travel and tourism," says Max Verstraete, Hilton’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility. Sustainability isn't a new endeavor for the hotel industry. Most large hotel chains have enacted some form of sustainability efforts whether its water reduction ("Save the environment by re-using your towels") or reducing waste (eliminating individual toiletries in favor of refillable full-size soap and shampoo bottles). Nicolas Graf, associate dean of the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, says the conversation has been happening for over a decade. Graf says the industry first started discussing sustainability as a result of regulatory requirements then moved on to thinking about it as a cost efficiency measure. LEED certifications gained more popularity among developers and hotel owners because they typically led to higher room rates and cost efficiencies. More recently though, the conversation around sustainability has been driven around the hotel guest preferences. "There's now a push by a younger generation of travelers who say sustainability is a factor in their [travel] decision making," Graf says. Not only that, corporations are paying attention too. "Corporate travel segments are also more demanding in terms of sustainability. Some companies would never organize a conference at a hotel that wasn't complying with its own internal values," he adds. Indeed, Hilton surveyed 72,000 guests and that a number of them consider social, environmental and ethical standards in their buying preferences. One-third seek out a hotel's environmental and social efforts before booking. The number jumps to 44% for those under 25. Verstraete says in addition to traveler preferences Hilton's efforts are also driven by young employees and its ability to attract new talent. "We have 400,000 team members with 50% of them being millennials. It's important for them to work for a company that's doing the right thing." "The commitment to sustainability is no longer driven by policies and regulation, but by markets and customers," says Graf. The hotel industry has a unique challenge, however. Large chains like Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt don't own the hotel real estate. Most of their hotels are owned by third parties including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), private equity firms, big investors and individual entrepreneurs. Hotel brands like Marriott and Hilton either manage the hotels, meaning they bring in its own employees to run the places, or franchises their brands and operating systems to hotel owners who hire third-party managers. Owners agreements are written up and detail certain requirements such as how often the furniture needs to updated and what it should look like. The agreements also include requirements related to sustainability including efficient shower heads and low-flow toilets. Megan Epler Wood is the director of the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative (ISTI) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She says Hilton has helped lead the way including sustainability standards in brand agreements with owners. "It's one thing to give owners standards to follow it's another to give them the technology to measure progress," Wood says. Hilton's proprietary LightStay platform lets hotels track their energy and water usage. LightStay was unveiled eight years ago to help Hilton hotel owners account energy and water use and waste and carbon outputs associated with building operations. The company says LightStay will now help it reach its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 61% across its portfolio by 2030. To see the full 100 and sort by category (worker treatment, etc), click here. And for everything else Just 100-related, visit JustCapital.com.
Hilton is among the hotel brands now utilising sustainable business practices to better relate to younger, environmentally conscious customers. Sustainability in the industry had previously been driven more by regulatory needs and cost-saving. Preferences for a more ethical approach from individual guests and companies is encouraging greater overall efforts. Hilton is looking to lead and introduced a sustainability initiative earlier in over a decade, with it targeting carbon emission cuts of 61% and reduced waste production and water consumption by 50%. Owners of real estate used by its hotels are being aided here by its LightStay platform to help track energy usage.