The Greening Of Hospitality Ultimately Means Green Jobs

Perhaps no U.S. industry has taken sustainability as seriously as the hospitality sector. And I don't just mean those towel-reuse programs.

Hotels are serious about sustainability because their guests are demanding it. 75 percent of hotel visitors want green programs, according to the JD Powers Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey. Kimpton Hotels found that 16 percent of their guests chose them because of their award winning EarthCare policy.

For decades now, hotels of all sizes have been increasingly sourcing sustainable products, implementing water and energy efficiency technologies and establishing public commitments to the planet.

And seemingly overnight, green building is becoming the price of market entry for any new major resort or development. For perspective, at the end of 2007, only five U.S. properties were LEED certified (the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council's rating system); now there are at least 120 in development from major brands like MGM MIRAGE, Marriott and Hilton. Starwood is even launching an entire brand, dubbed element, for eco-conscious travelers this summer.

The majority of hotels are now tracking their energy, water and waste but there is still plenty of room for improvement on existing properties. According to a recent American Hotel and Lodging Association Green survey, only around a third of all hotels have had an energy audit or building re-commissioning in the past five years. Furthermore, only 30 percent have developed a green purchasing program and even less now use low VOC paints and green cleaning chemicals. Few hotels have begun to address carbon concerns, even as consumer awareness around the impact of car and plane travel increases.

To address these challenges, hotels are hiring dedicated green staff to coordinate the process across their diffuse operations as well as to ensure a successful return on green investments. There are almost 14 million hospitality jobs in the U.S.; if even a fraction focus on sustainability, the ramifications for the green economy and job market will be huge. This multibillion dollar industry is in a unique position to use its significant purchasing power to support nascent, local green entrepreneurs and manufacturers.

So next time you are booking a trip, ask the front desk about their sustainability strategy. If they don't have an answer for you, support one of the many hotels that do. A good place to start is the Green Hotels Association. Many States, from California to Maine and Florida, also now manage their own green lodging programs. You will find its one of the easiest (and most rewarding) ways to support your local, green economy.

Diclosure: The Element Agency has, in the past, worked with the MGM Mirage.

Comments

[ssfs]

Hotels need to get their guests involved too. I feel that too many times, people check their environmentalism at the door when they stay at a hotel or resort.

[jsknow]

... Hemp is the earth's number one biomass resource or fastest growing annual plant for agriculture on a worldwide basis, producing up to 14 tons per acre. This is the only biomass source available that is capable of producing all the energy needs of the U.S. and the world...

Hemp will produce cleaner air and reduce greenhouse gases. When biomass fuel burns, it produces CO2 (the major cause of the greenhouse effect), the same as fossil fuel; but during the growth cycle of the plant, photosynthesis removes as much CO2 from the air as burning the biomass adds, so hemp actually cleans the atmosphere. After the first cycle there is no further loading to the atmosphere...
Source: USA Hemp Museum

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[jsknow]

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Email your representative in congress and push the issue: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Hemp can produce several different kinds of fuel. In the 1800's and 1900's hempseed oil was the primary source of fuel in the United States and was commonly used for lamps and other oil energy needs. The diesel engine was originally designed to run on hemp oil because Rudolf Diesel assumed that it would be the most common fuel. Hemp is also the most efficient plant for the production of methanol. It is estimated that, in one form or another, hemp grown in the United States could provide up to ninety percent of the nation's entire energy needs.
Source: Schaffer Library of Drug Policy

Hemp is 4 times more efficient than corn as biofuel. Hemp pellets can be used to produce clean electricity.

... so powerful it could replace every type of fossil fuel energy product (oil, coal, and natural gas).
Source: USA Hemp Museum

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