Many hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality providers are looking into environmental sustainability these days. ‘Going green’ can be an expensive exercise initially, and so they need a plan for transforming, managing, and monitoring their eco-activities.

What most people don’t realise though, is that after the initial investment, going green can realise huge cost savings over time as you become more efficient and consume less resources.

Many hoteliers and restaurateurs don’t know where to start though – you have to have an understanding of what’s classified as green, or organic, or eco-friendly, before you can decide to go that route.

According to Arthur Weissman of Green Seal, the average hotel buys more products or resources in one week than 100 families do in one year. So when you consider that these products include beds, linen, furniture, appliances, toiletries, cleaning chemicals, energy, water, and lighting – the impact on the environment is huge. Not to mention that there are hundreds of thousands of hotels, restaurants, conference centres, cruise liners, etc. around the world.

Where to start

It helps to focus on just one area to begin with, and most greening activities will fall under energy and water conservation, waste management, or environmental sustainability through eco-friendly practices.

When it comes to energy efficiency, there are loads of ways to reduce the hospitality industry’s carbon footprint. Hotels could install digital thermostats in guest rooms, and make sure that air conditioning can only be activated when guests are in their rooms. And by installing window film, the need for heating and cooling rooms would be diminished.

Motion light sensors could be installed in bathrooms, stairwells, and other infrequently used areas. And the combination of solar panels, energy-saving appliances, and energy-efficient lighting would have a huge impact in cutting down on energy usage. Hotels could even lower laundry temperature settings to save on energy.

What to do with water and waste

There are also lots of ways to get wise with water. Hotels could starts a towel and linen reuse programme to prevent needless washing, and even implement a water recycling programme. Rainwater can be harvested for flushing toilets, and greywater from washing machines can be used for watering gardens. Low flow shower heads and low flow toilets would also save water.

In terms of reducing waste, recycling is the easiest way to go green. You could place recycling bins in all public spaces, and even in hotel rooms. Hotels could also start using refillable dispensers for shampoo instead of lots of plastic bottles.

Plastic and products

In hospitality, there’s such a great reliance on products that even a few small changes, like buying recycled products and certified organic goods, could make a big difference.

Hotels and restaurants can grow their own with organic fruit and vegetable gardens, and purchase eco-friendly furnishings. Another easy change is to switch to compact fluorescent lights with lower mercury content, and use low volatile organic compound (VOC) cleaners which are non-toxic.

These are just a few of the most obvious changes one could make. Many hotels around the world are pioneering new ways of going green all the time, and being rewarded with huge savings – on their energy and water bills, as well as for the environment.