Sustainable Tourism
Lodging
Lodging is a primary part of travel. Operating 24 hours a day, lodgings purchase, use and dispose of substantial resources, products made from forests, mining ores, water, energy, fossil fuels and synthetic materials. Operating costs are very high, so managers and owners continually seek ways to reduce these costs. The strategies Calyx deploys to increase these efficiencies are the same ones that increase net operating income, capitalization rates and sustainability in operations.
There are three prime reasons for putting effort into sustainability: first, it preserves our environment for future generations; second, it adds that extra dimension to guest satisfaction, which in turn makes us a more attractive company; and third, it saves costs and improves profitability.
Jan Peter Bergkvist, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Scandic
Calyx therefore offers properties a methodology for benchmarking and reducing operating costs over time, while increasing profits and enhancing image, marketing and community respect.
An average hotel purchases more products in a week than 100 families purchase in an entire year. (Environmental Protection Agency — EPA). If one extrapolates that figure to all the hotels in the country, this would translate into the equivalent purchasing and consequential waste disposal of more than 100 million homes across the U.S.
Impacts associated with the lodging industry come from two primary sources:
I. The building, landscaping and overall operations of the facility
- The embedded energy, mining ores, forest products and synthetic materials used to build the lodging
- Energy
- Water
- Waste
- Changes in the natural flow of water across your property (hydrology)
II. Physical Items Purchased
- Interior Design Elements
- Furniture
- All equipment
- Chemicals
- Food & Beverage
- Amenities
- Electronics
- Spa supplies
- Plants and other landscaping supplies
Sustainability tools and approaches serve strategic business interests very well, even if conceptually the business is not drawn to sustainability.
Ninety five percent of individual customers surveyed said hotels need to be greener.
Deloitte survey of more than 1,000 business travelers, April 2008.
Benefits to you
- Reduce costs and increase revenues
- Create a healthier environment for guests, meeting participants, tourists and associates
- Reduce risk
- Improve staff retention
- Steward the environment
- Minimize investment and maximize return on investment and equity
- Build public credibility and recognition as a responsible business