The associated fee financial savings of sustainability are nicely appreciated within the hospitality trade, and oftentimes these may be achieved by inner applications that drive workers practices, procurement methods, and constructing renovations that enhance power and water effectivity and cut back waste. Acquiring a certification that validates the property’s sustainability is an added problem, for the reason that standards of an exterior group will now must be happy. However many hoteliers discover that stringent course of fairly worthwhile.

“Licensed sustainability gives a sturdy framework that not solely yields operational value financial savings but in addition enhances marketability, reduces threat, and probably opens up new income streams,” noticed Stefan Mühle, vp, regional managing director, Noble Home Lodges & Resorts. “Inner sustainability applications can obtain some related targets however might lack exterior validation, which impacts model notion, consistency in operational enhancements, and entry to sure markets or incentives.” Marianne Balfe, vp, sustainability, Highgate, confirmed the enterprise benefits of certification: “Licensed properties see constructive impacts on status and model desire, translating to elevated visitor loyalty and sometimes greater reserving charges.”

Bruce Becker, proprietor, architect + developer, Lodge Marcel in New Haven, Connecticut—a LEED Platinum-certified, one hundred pc electrical lodge—added that certification has a “sturdy advertising profit … significantly in reserving further group enterprise with the growing variety of organizations which are measuring and reporting their progress in assembly sustainability targets.” Balfe additionally noticed that “company RFPs more and more ask whether or not every respective lodge has achieved a globally acknowledged third-party inexperienced certification.”

Selecting a Certification

With these business-driving benefits in thoughts, it’s vital to pick out a sustainability certification that’s well-known and revered within the journey trade—by each eco-conscious company and lodge manufacturers. Crescent Lodges & Resorts had this criterion in thoughts when it chosen Inexperienced Key International, which is collectively operated by the AHLA and the Lodge Affiliation of Canada. “This certification is acknowledged internationally and focuses on varied elements of sustainability, making it a complete alternative for our properties. As Crescent Lodges & Resorts manages properties of many alternative manufacturers, it was essential to find out which certification applications had been accepted by these manufacturers,” defined Abdi Mohamed, regional director, gross sales and advertising, Crescent Lodges & Resorts. Noble Home Lodges & Resorts additionally chosen Inexperienced Key International “after doing in depth analysis into the certification course of, necessities, and status inside the hospitality trade. Inexperienced Key International was chosen as it’s the lodge and lodging trade’s sustainability certification program of alternative,” stated Mühle.

Amongst certifications for inexperienced buildings, LEED has essentially the most cachet, which was an element within the Lodge Marcel workforce’s resolution to pursue it. “As essentially the most extensively revered inexperienced constructing commonplace, LEED conveys the best profit by way of advertising and substance—there are numerous meaningless certifications and requirements, a few of which may be earned with none verification in as little as 48 hours,” Becker famous. “Most people is more and more conscious of and skeptical about ‘green-washing,’ and fewer rigorous inexperienced constructing certifications can do extra hurt than good, in the identical means that offsets are actually been considered as undermining substantive sustainability progress.”

Along with the certification’s pedigree, alignment with the imaginative and prescient and targets of the certifying group is a key consideration for hoteliers. For instance, Noble Home has “dedicated to being one hundred pc enrolled in Inexperienced Key International’s Eco-Ranking Program” partially as a result of this system “helps training and consciousness of sustainable practices for lodge workers and company, making a tradition of accountability and respect for the planet,” stated Mühle. The corporate has additionally chosen to embark on Inexperienced Seal, certifying a number of of its resorts and resorts with Inexperienced Seal’s Commonplace for Lodge and Lodging Properties (GS-33). “Inexperienced Seal is a nonprofit group whose mission is to make use of science-based applications to empower shoppers, purchasers, and firms to create a extra sustainable world. Inexperienced Seal units management requirements that goal to cut back, to the extent technologically and economically possible, the environmental, well being, and social impacts all through the lifecycle of merchandise, companies, and firms. This was of explicit curiosity to Noble Home,” he defined.

Highgate, whose North American properties are primarily licensed by way of Inexperienced Key International, has discovered that the requirements align with Highgate’s sustainability priorities, whereas offering thorough assist and instruments whereas nonetheless being budget-conscious, stated Balfe. “We worth GKG’s alignment to the 17 UN Sustainable Growth Targets and sourced enter from WSHA, Travalyst, and ISO, offering a complete framework that covers crucial areas corresponding to decarbonization, power and water conservation, waste discount, and group engagement.”

Operational Advantages

As Mühle identified, assembly exterior sustainability requirements can result in extra “consistency in operational enhancements” than an inner program, and that rigorous steering can translate to raised outcomes. The operational impression on Crescent’s resorts is an instance. “The certification course of primarily helped us with persevering with our groups’ deal with their sustainability efforts. Inexperienced Key International gives a present score and a transparent plan for enchancment,” Mohamed associated. “This plan helps our resorts prioritize actions for each short- and long-term success. Because of this, lots of our resorts have improved their rankings from 3 Keys to 4 Keys, and some have even achieved the best score of 5 Keys.”

Mühle detailed a number of enhancements to the sustainability of Noble Home’s properties that resulted from complying with Inexperienced Key International and Inexperienced Seal in areas corresponding to power effectivity, water conservation, waste discount, moral sourcing, and indoor environmental high quality. Examples embrace:

• Vital reductions in power consumption, resulting in decrease operational prices and lowered carbon footprint;
• Lowered water utilization, particularly in landscaping and guestroom operations, which is essential for areas dealing with water shortage or excessive utility prices;
• Decrease waste disposal prices, improved recycling charges, and a lowered environmental footprint by way of round financial system initiatives;
• Higher alignment with the expectations of eco-conscious company; and
• Enhanced visitor satisfaction resulting from higher air high quality and luxury, in addition to improved worker well being and productiveness.

A primary instance of the power value financial savings that may outcome from implementing a certification program comes from Lodge Marcel, the nation’s first Passive Home-certified lodge and the biggest Passive Home-certified lodge on the earth. “We dedicated to assembly Passive Home requirements primarily based on the underlying constructing science of the Passive Home system, which permits one to construct a constructing that makes use of lower than half the power as a standard code compliant constructing,” Becker defined. “We did this out of self-interest because it reduce our power invoice by 75 p.c. A typical lodge within the Northeast spends over $15 per occupied room per evening on power. Lodge Marcel spends lower than $3, saving us over $300,000 every year.”

Assist Alongside the Manner

Ideally, a certifying group doesn’t depart its enrollees in a vacuum through the means of making ready the property for evaluation. Nevertheless it ought to be famous that “processes range,” stated Mühle. “Whereas certifications with some organizations are primarily based on preliminary self-audits that shall be verified at a later level, organizations corresponding to Inexperienced Seal comply with a really outlined path to eventual certification, which has been tremendous useful for our properties. Whereas a really detailed step-by-step method can take months to finish, it serves as an unimaginable coaching instrument alongside the way in which.” Inexperienced Key International supplied strong assist alongside the trail to certification. “We wished a companion that will help our groups all through the evaluation course of. Inexperienced Key International stood out as a result of they provide extra than simply certification; they act as a sustainability companion,” stated Mohamed. “They perceive our sustainability and certification targets and have assigned an account supervisor to assist us obtain them. Moreover, we’re organizing a name sequence to maintain certification efforts prime of thoughts for our resorts in 2025, guaranteeing steady progress and engagement.”

Becker famous that the U.S. Inexperienced Constructing Council (the certifying group for LEED) gives “wonderful assist and training, corresponding to on the annual GreenBuild convention,” whereas the Passive Home Institute, Passive Home Community, and Passive Home Accelerator “present wonderful on-line sources and coaching.” By profiting from these sources, hoteliers can set themselves up for achievement in assembly in depth certification standards.

Nevertheless, Becker nonetheless recommends hoteliers companion with a third-party advisor to “coordinate the design necessities with the mission workforce on the outset and all through the design and development course of. It’s the advisor employed to supervise the certification course of that an proprietor would work with most intently, and for Lodge Marcel we engaged Steven Winter Associates for each certifications and had an important working relationship with each certification groups.” Balfe confirmed that “for inexperienced constructing certifications like LEED and BREEAM, third-party consultants are sometimes important for assembly certification requirements. The complicated scoring methodologies for score dedication should be thought-about all through the design-build course of for each side of the mission.” Moreover, a third-party advisor can conduct a mock audit, which “permits groups to establish any gaps or weak areas earlier than the formal audit,” she added (see the sidebar on web page 19 for extra recommendations on the certification course of).

A Calculated Resolution

Whereas there are a number of nice certification applications which are extensively revered and supply well-supported pathways to a brand new stage of sustainability, whether or not to embark on such a course of ought to nonetheless be rigorously weighed in gentle of a number of elements. “The selection between certification and inner sustainability ought to be primarily based on long-term targets, the will for exterior validation, and the way a lot your market values licensed inexperienced practices,” Mühle suggested. “Certification typically delivers greater ROI by way of status and enterprise growth, whereas an inner program may focus extra on value effectivity with out exterior benchmarking.”