Today, sustainability occupies a place in everyone's mind. Climate change has become one of the main concerns both for the population and for public and private institutions.
We all have to do our part to stop or reduce the progress of climate change , at a particular level by improving our habits; at the labor level, incorporating more sustainable resources and promoting a more eco-friendly company; and at the institutional level by taking action to improve the environment on a large scale. Private companies are increasingly aware of the importance of being more sustainable. More and more are applying measures such as waste management, the implementation of renewable energies or energy saving. All of them are highly valued both within the organization and with the public, since more and more people look for companies oriented to their values and that are committed to the problems of today's society.
In this article, we are going to focus specifically on hotel companies, since this week FITUR 2020 begins from January 22 to 26, the second most important international tourism fair in the world, where new brands, trends and growth prospects are presented. Therefore, we see what initiatives can be carried out to make a hotel more sustainable and committed to the environment. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism is responsible for 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Of this percentage, hotel establishments account for 20% of the total.
The UNWTO already speaks of sustainable tourism, which consists of taking into account current and future economic, social and environmental repercussions in order to satisfy the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and the host communities.
But what can hotels do to be more eco-friendly?
- Reduce the impact on the environment of your hotel: comply with environmental principles when designing and building it, respecting the natural, social and environmental surroundings, integrating the hotel with the culture of the area and taking care of the harmony of the landscape, not exploiting the resources of the area and promote the development of the community through, for example, local commerce.
- Use organic or recycled materials: for example in sheets and towels, promote organic and seasonal food in the hotel or use biodegradable cleaning products.
- Save energy and reduce consumption: Study the energy efficiency of the building, low-consumption lighting systems, implement renewable energy with solar panels, control the air conditioning of the building areas, determine water consumption, reduce the use of single-use materials. use, reuse and recycle the waste generated.
- Promote commitment to sustainability among employees and customers: Implement a sustainability policy in the hotel, train employees on the subject, encourage employee participation in environmental management issues or promote public transport or cycling to go to work. Among clients, inform them about the actions carried out by the hotel, offer them the opportunity to get involved in this development, carry out publicity and communications on sustainable development or hold workshops to promote awareness.
Sustainable hotels try to ensure that their existence and development have the least environmental impact in the world. There is a diversity of initiatives that can be carried out and we highlight some of them: There are thousands of things that can be done to improve our ecological footprint in the world. The Hotel Sustainability Model carried out by the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda gives several examples to delve deeper into these practices.