Climate Change - A Hotelier’s Guide
There are thousands of articles, reports, papers & books printed outlining how reckless we 'humans' have been over the last 250+ years. The ramifications of creating and allowing so much greenhouse gas (GHG) into the atmosphere are frightening. The science behind the problem is proven in terms of the hotel industry. I have tried to fit the basics into a 5-minute guide.
What have we done?
Our use of fossil fuels has increased considerably over the last three decades, and we are only now taking on board the error of our ways. It's been progressing, but at a cost! The GHGs form a 'blanket' in the atmosphere, which traps heat. This atmospheric rise in temperature & heat is absorbed by the land & the sea.
If CO2 were black, we would have sorted this out decades ago!
What is happening?
Earth has been around for a long time & a slight rise in temperature results in worldwide catastrophic consequences; severe prolonged weather conditions, resulting in exceptional floods, droughts & fires, all of which have recently been experienced throughout the world. This will continue & nature always wins!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVLcj-XKnM
What have we agreed to do about it?
2015 – The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, where 195 countries signed the 'Conference of Parties (COP 21) agreeing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will stave off the worst impacts of climate change on health, food security & extreme weather.
2016 - The UN Foundation – where 189 countries (99% of global emissions) signed the Paris Climate Agreement committing all signatories to review & re-assess their pledges every five years.
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
2017 – The International Tourism Partnership published the Hotel Global Decarbonisation Report, which analysed the science-based implications for hotel accommodation & set out goals. The hotel industry needs to reduce its GHG emissions by 66% from 2010 levels by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
2018 – 'The UN works with Global Hotel industry to reduce emissions.'
Action is now required to reduce the temperature rise, and the agreed, realistic target is 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve this, we must reduce the levels of GHG we emit, with the primary concern being CO2. The reductions adopted need to be permanent to safeguard the planet & generations to come.
https://unfccc.int/news/un-works-with-global-hotel-industry-to-reduce-emissions
2019 – 'The UK becomes first major economy to pass net-zero emissions law' https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-becomes-first-major-economy-to-pass-net-zero-emissions-law
Solutions:-
Use less electricity
Use fewer fossil fuels
Use less water
Eat less food
Eat less meat
More solar power
More wind power
More nuclear power?
Hydrogen fuel
Developers/Owners
· Reduce CO2 emissions during the hotel construction & fit-out – it's a lot easier to operate a hotel sustainably if the property is constructed sustainably initially.
· Utilise non-fossil fuel power where possible
· Ensure the supply chain operates in a sustainable manner
Hotel Groups/Operators – minimise the operational carbon footprint;
· Utilise energy-efficient lighting
· The re-use/recycling of plastic waste
· Reduce water consumption & adopt the use of 'grey water' where possible
· Adopt sustainable linen & cleaning processes
· Minimise the use of plastic
· Remove any 'single use' plastic
· Reduce food waste
· Buy local produce & supplies where possible
· Educate the hotel staff & guests on sustainability
· Require all suppliers to prove they are operating in a sustainable manner
Generally, hotels are high emitters of CO2 emissions; this can be attributed to the fact that they tend to prioritise the comfort of their guests and the guest mindset is centred on experiencing a luxury without the added pressure of behaving in an energy-efficient manner that they might encounter perhaps elsewhere in the office or at home. In addition, hotels operate 24/7, 365 days a year basis.
All hotel groups, brands and operators are adopting their own operational goals. Some have been doing it for years and succeeded, while others aren't. Regardless, more needs to be achieved in order to hit the goals set.
Investment/Debt
All high street banks & debt providers have their own 'sustainability' officer(s) & offer standard development debt facilities. Banks, however, will only show what their clients want. A recent announcement by Larry Fink to his investor clients has now placed sustainable investment at the forefront of corporate investors' minds. https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/blackrock-client-letter
Other investors are now following BlackRock daily & looking at the entire lifecycle impact & costs of developments as opposed to the customary 3-5-year ROC.
To align the balance of sustainable & non-sustainable assets, equity & debt providers will need to change their investment criteria now and favour the long term sustainable options available.
Approximately 40% of the CO2 emitted by commercial buildings is done before the property is occupied & 'open for business. Together, building & construction are responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions globally.
https://www.worldgbc.org/news-media/WorldGBC-embodied-carbon-report-published#_ftn1
It's a vast worldwide team event; The UK is leading the way & some UK city centres have recently committed to being zero carbon zones by 2030 – subject to private investment! One hundred seventy-seven multinational companies have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. https://sdg.iisd.org/news/177-companies-have-pledged-to-reach-net-zero-emissions-by-2050/
Don't be fooled by 'net-zero'. In layman's terms, this means 'business as usual, but we will plant thousands of trees & contribute to renewable & community projects to compensate for our CO2 emissions. This is positive, but with another 2 billion people on the planet by 2050 & less land (rising sea levels), are we going to have the area to plant trillions of trees?
The future
Approximately 80% of the hotels operating in 2050 are already built & operational. These hotels have already or will be adopting sustainable policies. The majority will find the main issue with utilities, particularly heating, cooling & the associated power usage.
We need to adopt sustainable construction policies for the other 20% - of new-build hotels over the next 30 years.
