ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS

Environmental management in
hotels
David Kirk
The hospitality industry exposes many of the conflicts which arise when implementing environmental
policies

Introduction Conference, but it does affect people’s attitudes towards

Initially, concern about the environment was related to the industry.
those industries which caused direct pollution of the
The hospitality industry is not one which causes gross
environment through their effluents and discharges.
environmental pollution nor does it consume vast
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, environmental
amounts of non-renewable resources and therefore it may
pressures have come to affect a wider range of industries
not be in the front line for environmental concern. It is
until now most industries are affected. At the same time,
made up of a large number of small operations, each of
the concern has now become much broader, relating not
which consumes relatively small amounts of energy,
only to outputs of the operation but to the whole system,
water, food, paper and other resources, and each of which
including inputs and processes[1, p. 14].
adds only a small amount of pollution to the environment
The hospitality industry is an interesting case in that it in terms of smoke, smell, noise and chemical pollutants.
exposes many of the conflicts which arise when However, if the impact of all of these small individual
implementing environmental policies. First, many hotels operations is added together the industry does have a
and restaurants are situated in areas of outstanding significant effect on global resources. This is the dilemma
natural beauty, in historic cities and in areas with a – how can we persuade companies involved in the
delicate ecological balance. The addition of new hospitality industry (many of them small indep endent
hospitality facilities may attract visitors to areas which operators) to take environmental management seriously?
already suffer from too much tou rism. For this reason Will the push of legislation, the pull of consumer pressure
there are often serious planning constraints when groups, together with the financial savings which can
developing a new hospitality facility. result from reducing waste, force all companies to take
Second, many of the customers who seek hospitality environmental management seriously? This article
services do so expecting to be pampered, with lashings of reviews some of the developments within the industry as
hot water, high-pressure showers, freshly laundered linen, examples of responsible environmental management, and
an ample supply of towels, copious supplies of food and investigates some of the attitudes of managers involved in
drink, the availability of swimming pools and saunas and the hotel industry in the city of Edinburgh.
The main themes for discussion are:
the limousine to take them to the airport. Clearly,
q What is the balance between global policies and
whatever is done to reduce waste can only be done either local action?
with the consent of the customers or in such a way that
q How are general concerns translated into
they do not notice any deterioration of service.
individual action?
Third, the customer visits the location of the hospitality q How much will companies contribute to the “cost”
operation, which is fixed by customers’ needs and of protecting the environment?
therefore cannot always be sited where there will be
These last two points are particularly difficult to answer
minimiz ed effect from traffic , cooking smells and the
in the case of small operations, such as are the majority of
noise of the disco. This local environmental pollution may
hotels and restaurants. Many individual operations may
not be an issue on the scale of those considered by the Rio
feel that they are too small to have any real effect, that
these services are very price sensitive, and that the
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 7 No. 6, customer would soon go elsewhere if asked to pay any of
1995, pp. 3-8 © MCBUniversity Press Limited, 0959-6119 the cost of environmental management.
 4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7,6

Environmental management is a broad term, covering developed a concern not only with the outputs of industry
issues such as: environmental impact (aesthetic, cultural, but also with the input side of the equation with the
ecological and social); sustainability; resource realization that stocks of many raw materials were being
management; and pollution. This article concentrates on depleted at an unsustainable rate.
the management of existing hospitality operations in a
manner which is sensitive to the principles of sound Sustainable development, which is one of the
environmental management, rather than on issues cornerstones of environmental management, covering a
concerned with the building of new hotels and broad range of areas from the maintenance of physical
restaurants. resources, the protection of biological systems, plant and
animal species and natural habitats and the preservation
Global and national policies and actions
of cultures, may be defined in a number of ways:
It is possible to consider environmental management as a development that meets the needs of the present without
hierarchy of policies and actions: compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
q global environmental policies; own needs[2].
q national environmental policies; we have a moral duty to look after our planet and to hand it
on in good order to future generations [3].
q responsibility of business;
Global and national interest and the development of
q local action.
policy will, by itself, not be effective in inducing change.
Environmental problems must be tackled at all of these There are five main forces for change:
levels. There is a need for global policy making and target (1) legislation and codes;
setting, such as the Montreal Protocol of 1987, which set (2) fiscal policies;
targets for CFC emissions. The European Union has (3) public opinion;
brought in a large number of Directives which relate to (4) consumer pressure;
the management of the environment. Many of these have (5) financial advantages resulting from saving
been, or are being, implemented as national policies.
Environmental management is also important to the resources.
individual company, since many are now being measured
not only on their financial performance but also on their
responsibility towards the environment. This affects both Principles of environmental management
shareholders and consumers [1, p. 18]. The principles of environmental management have been
Some of the milestone events in recent environmental established in the framework of British Standard
history include: BS 7750: Environmental Management Systems[4]. This
q 1956: Clean Air Act; standard, which has many parallels to ISO 9000 on
q 1970: Department of Environment established; Quality Management Systems, outlines a number of
q 1972: publication of “Limits to Growth”; stages in establishing these procedures in any
organization. The suggested stages are:
q 1973: formation of Green Party; q formulating environmental policy;
q 1974: Control of Pollution Act; q ensuring total commitment of all in the
q 1987: Montreal Protocol (CFC emissions); organization;
q 1987: Treaty of Rome; q carrying out an environmental review;
q 1987: Bruntland Report (sustainable development); q determination of responsibilities within the
organization;
q 1987: HM Inspectorate of Pollution;
q preparing a register of environmental effects;
q 1990: European Environmental Agency;
q 1990: White Paper on Environmental Strategy; q establishing objectives and targets;
q 1992: Rio Earth Summit Conference; q implementing management systems;
q 1993: UK National Sustainability Plan. q commissioning periodic environmental audits;
q performing regular systems reviews based on
Environmental management can be traced back at least performance.
40 years to the post-war years when the e xpansion of
industry was seen to be causing damage to the The first step in this process is usually considered to be
environment and to the health of people. Initial concern the development of a written environmental policy, which
was with gross pollution caused by the discharge of toxic should cover general principles including a total
materials. However, the interest of environmentalists commitment at all levels of the organization, together
 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS
5

with: strategies for complying with laws, codes and q receive expert help in environmental management
comp any standards; the identification of resp onsibility techniques, based on international best practice;
within the organization; and the involvement of partners, and
including suppliers, servicing companies, customers and q demonstrate their commitment through a publicly
the local community. recognized green globe logo.
To be totally effective, the adoption of environmental There are a number of specific issues which relate to
policies must come from the top. Without a commitment environmental management of the hospitality industry.
at the highest level of the company, it is unlikely that First, there are those that relate to the customer, who
ideas developed throughout the organization will visits the establishment as a part of the experience and
flourish. Some companies are starting to incorporate who may arrive with images of luxury, comfort and
environmental values in their mission statements. To be indulgence. For example, the use of soap and shampoo
effective, this vision must be converted into clear dispensers may reduce waste but may be contrary to
objectives and targets together with effective monitoring, customer exp ectations[8]. Second, the business usually
control and communication[1. pp. 40-7]. has a local customer base, has a strong identity with the
The next step is to conduct an environmental audit of the local community and is often a part of the local tou rism
organization[5]. From this it is possible to identify a product.
number of areas for improvement which can be defined in The hospitality industry is not a dirty industry in the
terms of precise targets against which achievement can sense that it causes gross pollution or releases toxic
be monitored. materials into the environment. It is typical of many small
companies, particularly those in the service sector. What
An environmental management system can be seen as damage do hotels do to the environment? The industry
having a number of linked aspects: consumes valuable raw materials such as energy, water,
(1) Purchasing policies: food, wood and plastics. There are a number of
q develop partnerships with suppliers; undesirable emissions, including CO 2, CFCs, noise,
q identify sustainable products;
smoke, smells. The industry wastes energy, water, food
q choose products with sensible packaging.
and packaging and many of these waste materials require
(2) Waste management: disposal. There are also issues about the environmental
q minimize waste in operations;
health of staff. Because of location, the industry may
q reuse as much waste as possible;
q the segregate of waste which can be recycled. encourage the use of the private car rather than public
transport. Some of these issues may seem to be relatively
(3) Waste disposal:
q establish partnerships with disposal companies;
unimportant and yet are significant when added together.
q ensure disposal methods are sound;
As an example, the overall consumption of gas by UK
q only use land-fill disposal as last resort. hotels for heating and hot water results in 5 million tons
of CO2 emissions every year and costs £130 million each
year.
In addition to legislation and local codes, public opinion
Environmental management in the hospitality and consumer pressures can have a significant effect.
industry Whilst this last point may not seem to be important, the
There was not all that much interest in environmental example of McDonald’s demonstrates the force of
management in the hospitality industry until the environmental pressure. This company was confronted
development of the International Hotels Environment with a whole range of issues related to animal rights,
Initiative, which was launched by the Prince of Wales. At tropical rain forest destruction and damage to the ozone
this time, 11 major international hotel chains agreed to layer caused by CFCs in packaging materials. This forced
work together. The first practical outcome was the McDonald’s to develop green policies[1, pp. 16-17].
development of a manual on environmental management
for hotels[6]. More recently, the Hotel Catering & Do guests want green hotels?
Institutional Management Association (HCIMA) and the There have been a number of surveys in the USA, in an
World Travel and Tourism Council have established an attempt to identify consumer attitudes to hospitality and
initiative on environmental management awareness[7]. the environment. According to Feiertag[9], a number of
The programme, known as “Green Globe”, has as its US hotel groups have generated consumer interest by
main objective the aim to provide practical and low-cost having environmental policies and operations. In a
means by which
q commit hospitality
themselves companies
to undertaking can:
environmental su rvey of frequent travellers, 75 per cent of customers
improvements, based on international guidelines;
said they were environmentally minded consumers and
 6 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7,6

54 per cent of customers said they were environmentally savings through good housekeeping measures and 10 per
minded travellers and that they wanted to stay in hotels cent savings by using relatively low-cost measures.
that show concern for the environment. Research in the Heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems are the
US indicates that customers are not willing to pay extra highest cost areas (29 per cent) followed by lighting (21
to fund g reen policies[10,11]. However there have been per cent) and catering (15 per cent).
some interesting pilot schemes whereby guests to a
As an example of the case studies, one describes the
locality are encouraged to contribute to local
InterContinental Hotel at Hyde Park Corner, which was
environmental protection schemes[12]. The concept of
able to reduce energy consumption from 870 kWh/m2/
hotel classification based on environmental testing has
annum to 575 kWh/m2/annum between 1980 and 1992, a
also been developed in some areas such as Thailand[13].
saving of 34 per cent. This was done through a mixture of
This raises the interesting question of whether
methods including changing lighting, recovering heat
environmental management will increase the op erating
from refrigeration equipment, energy management
costs, which must be passed on to the customer.
systems on boilers and staff awareness campaigns.
Environmental management does not have to involve
Another example is the Forte Crest Hotel in West
capital intensive projects and may not necessarily
Yorkshire which converted to energy-efficient lighting to
introduce increased running costs. Indeed, where poor
reduce energy costs by 45 per cent and replacement costs
management is linked to waste, sound environmental
by 85 per cent.
management can reduce costs[14]. This means starting Waste management and waste disposal has been another
with a programme of staff training together with the are a of concern[20]. The importance of differentiating
initiation of low-cost, easy-to-achieve projects. Once between waste minimization and waste disposal
progress has been made and confidence established, it is management is critical in this area since it is much more
possible to move on to projects which require moderate effective to prevent waste in the first place than it is to
investment. It is advisable to leave high investment manage the waste once it has been produced[21]. The list
projects until the principles have been accepted and below shows a hierarchy of waste minimization going
benefits established.
Taking food waste as an example, research in the late from the most desirable form of disposal at the bottom, to
1970s and early 1980s on food waste in UK hotel and the least desirable at the top:
q landfill – most damaging;
restaurants[15] indicated that 15.5 per cent of edible food
was wasted. A similar figure for hospital catering q incinerate – recover energy content;
departments was 30 per cent. These figures represent a q recycle – recover material for reuse;
high monetary value because of high value-added q reuse – reuse the material with no processing;
associated with the waste of prep ared food[16]. It also q minimiz e – use minimum packaging, eliminate
represents a waste of energy because the food has been waste.
transported, stored and cooked. Much of this waste can Other areas of concern have included the change from the
be controlled through sound management practices. use of CFCs in refrigeration equipment to new gasses
Most examples of successful environmental management which will not damage the ozone layer[22].
are in the area of energy management, where there are
clear motivations in terms of financial savings. A survey
in 1987 indicated that 33 per cent of hotel groups had Data from a survey of hotels in Edinburgh
invested in computerized energy management and/or A questionnaire was sent to the general managers of 145
property management systems, 30 per cent in heat hotels in the city of Edinburgh, of whom 53 replied, a
recovery and 23 per cent in combined heat and power[17]. response rate of 37 per cent. The first issue raised was,
In addition to energy consumption in heating, ventilation “Do the hotels have a policy statement?”. This was seen to
and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications, catering areas be important because of the central role of a written
can also be prolific consumers of energy[18]. policy[23], as described by the HCIMA in their Technical
In the UK, the Energy Efficiency Office ( funded by the Brief on Environmental Issues[24]. According to this
Department of Environment), in conjunction with the brief:
Building Research Establishment, has developed a Every business should have a policy statement which
should as a minimum make a commitment to: the concept of
programme on energy efficiency in the hotel and catering
sustainable development; practical action to protect the
industry[19] . They have developed a number of case environment.
studies on good practice in the industry. These case Of the hotels that replied to the survey, 19 per cent had a
studies show that in hotels there is a wide variation in formal written p olicy statement covering environmental
energy costs in the UK, from £300 to £1,000 per bedroom management. Most of these had started this policy
per year. They project that is possible to make 5 per cent
 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS
7
8 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7,6

between one and three years ago. There was no Figure 1. Effects of environmental management on business
Summary
significant difference in the distribution of these replies 6. International Hotels Environment Initiative,
between large Environmental Management for Hotels, Butterworth-
This article hashotels
related andthesmall
way hotels
in which (less
thethan 20
hospitality
rooms). Similarly there was no significant difference
S co re
Heinemann, Oxford, 1993.
industry particularly has responded to some of the local, 5
7. “HCIMA backs new environmental awareness initiative”,
between and
national the response
global issues of independent
concerning hotels and those
the environment. 4. 5 Hospitality, August 1994, pp. 16-7.
which
The were“think
slogan part ofglobally,
a chain or actconsortium.
locally” has been around 4 8. Dagmar, W., “Greening housekeeping”, VOICE, July
in green politics for a long
Of those hotels who had established time but itaispolicy,
still very
the relevant.
most 3. 5 1994, pp. 14-15.
Problems
frequentlyare created
stated at a local level
improvements through
resulting from thethis
business, 3 9. Feiertag, H., “Boost sales with environment-driven
leisure and domestic activities of individuals. These strategy” , Hotel & Motel Management, Vol. 209 No. 2,
policy were: 2. 5
activities may result in effects on the environment at a 1994, p. 8.
q savings on heating; 2
10. Watkins, E., “Do guests want green hotels?”, Lodging
local level and collectively at a national and global level.
Hospitality, Vol. 50 No. 4, 1994, pp. 70-2.
Theq issue
recycling bottles and cans; 1. 5
is complicated by the fact that the
q purchasing ofissue”biodegradable 11.
1 Jaffe, W. F., “Solid waste disposal: independent food
“environmental may be adetergents;
secondary or tertiary Pro f it a bi li ty C u st om er Em pl o yee L o ca l Pu bl ic Ma rke t
service practices”,
sa t isf a ct io sn at FIU
is fa ct Hospitality
i on c om mu ni t y Review, Vol.
re la t io n s ad va nt 11
a g e No. 1,
effect with disputed
q changed policy onlinks towel and mechanisms – skin cancer,
provision; 1993, pp. 69-77.
holes
q installation of low-level lighting. and polystyrene food
in the ozone layer, refrigerants 12. Green, S., “Green partnerships”, Hospitality, February-
Figure 2. Effects on business: size of hotel
containers? If the presence of a written policy on March 1995, pp. 20-1.
In addition to the
environmental specific questions
management is taken about policy, allof its
as an indicator 13. Goodno, J. B., “Leaves rate Thai hotels on ecology”, Hotel
hotels were
relative asked about
importance, thenthe theperceived effects
fact that less thanof20 per Sc ore& Motel Management, Vol. 208 No. 7, 1993, pp. 8, 52.
environmental management on the business.
cent of hotels surveyed in Edinburgh had such a policy is 5
14. Iwanowski, K and Rushmore, C., “Introducing the eco-
Respondents were
disappointing, asked toasrate
particularly a numberhas
Edinburgh of astatements friendly hotel”, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant
related to the
reputation expected
within the UK impacts of environmental
for progressive action on the 4 Administration Quarterly, Vol. 35 No. 1, 1994, pp. 34-8.
management
environment. on a 5-point scale, going from 1 = strongly 15. Kirk, D. and Osner, R. C., “Collection of data on food waste
As mightto
disagree be5expected,
= stronglythe hospitality
agree, with 0 industry
= do not has
know. The from catering outlets in a university and a polytechnic”,
3
resp
statements were, a programme of environmental direct
onded mainly in those areas where there are The Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK),
financial gainswill:
(energy management and waste Vol. 14 No. 4, 1981, pp. 190-4.
management
management) and where there is a fiscal/legislative
q increase profitability; 16. Collison, R. and Colwill, J., “The analysis of food waste
2

results and related attributes of restaurants and public

requirement. Since what
q increase customer research there is indicates that
satisfaction; houses”, Journal of Foodservice Systems,Vol. 4 No. 1,
customers do not want to
q improve employee satisfaction; pay for environmental 1 Pro f it a b ili t y C u st om e r
1986, pp. sa t17-30.
Em pl oy ee Lo ca l P ub li c Ma rk et
is fa ct i onsa t isf a ct i on c om mu n it y re la t io ns ad va n ta g e
management this is probably very sensible. However, the 17.K eyKirk, D., “Computer systems for energy management in
q improve
results relationships
from this su rvey do with the local
point to thecommunity;
fact that some
:
hotels”,
S ma ll ho t el International
s Journal of Hospitality
q help
hotels in with our public
Edinburgh see relations;
significant benefits, in terms of Management,
O th e r ho t el s Vol. 6 No. 4, 1987, pp. 237-42.
effects
q giveona their local advantage
marketing community, overtoour
their public relations.
competitors. 18. Woodward, D., “Energy saving in the kitchen”, VOICE,
This
Somemay give
of the themfrom
result a marketing
the survey advantage so they
are described are
below. The August
influence 1994, pp. 12-13.
of ownership is shown in Figure 3. In
perhaps less aware of the financial benefits. 19. Department of Energy, Guide 35: Energy Efficiency in
Since the number of respondents involved is small, only general, Hotels independent
– A Guide hotels to Owners envisaged
and Managers,less significant
Building
descriptive statistics are used and these result must be benefits when compared
Research Establishment, HMSO, London, to those hotels which were part
1993.
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4 Hotel Catering and Institutional Management
Management
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respBusiness Strategy,
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2. In terms of profitability, customer satisfaction and 2

employee satisfaction there was little difference between

1 P rof i t ab il it y C us to m er
the response of small and large hotels. There was a Em p lo ye e Lo ca l Pu bl ic M ar ke t
sa ti sf a ct io sn at is f ac ti o nco mm un it y re la t io n s a dv an t ag e
greater difference in the areas of public relations and Ke y:
David Kirk where
marketing, is Professor and hotels
the larger Head of Department
perceived of Hospitality andI ndTourism
greater e pe n de n t Management, Que en Margaret College,

Edinburgh,
benefits. UK. Ot h er h o te l s