• Issue Contents
• Neuron Gallery
• Contributors
• About / Contact

• The Green Wild West
• Airlines and the Environment
• g-Think Survey Results: Accountability
• A Coup d’Etat for the Environment…
• Certification Soup
• The Great Toilet Tissue Scam Down…
• The 2008 World’s Fair

Some folks consider “greening” as maturing global capitalism. Traditionally, capitalism was measured with economic returns based on land, labor, and capital, but today, we are seeing a shift to what is considered “new” or “green” capitalism. Besides economic value, how can we gain non-economic values?

The hotel industry is embarking on this massive thought this very minute, and feeling a bit lost. Unlike other parts of the hospitality sector, the hotel industry is one of the last parts to shift. The food and agriculture sector created the farm-to-table natural food movement and the organic standard. Meanwhile, tour agencies have always led the way with eco-tourism, cultural and sustainable tourism development that often crosses into public-private collaboration with governmental groups that is seen as a model of partnership today. The hotel lag is not surprising given its nature—a high-touch (more people than machines), high-risk, and traditionally fragmented business with properties filled with a wide range of facilities and matériel (spas, gyms, beds, nightstands, clocks…).

Much of the consumer sustainability chatter perceives “hotel” to be associated with the word “tourism.” While there is a relationship, since tourism can be seen as the all-encompassing umbrella of all hospitality services, for many within the industry, hotels are a real estate investment exchanged like any other asset. Therefore, it may not be a surprise that the current hotel green-building activities focus mostly on the building itself.

So, the debate is this: is a hotel green if it pursues just greening the building? Or is a hotel green if it includes a 360° stakeholder (not shareholder) strategy which includes the building, as well as the local community and employee care programs which incorporate socio-environmental objectives as part of the culture. Some hotel owners and operators believe in the former and some believe in the latter. Is it more than waste, water, and energy? How does one compare?

The current benchmarks are provided by NGOs, states and federal governments—scattered across the world with no economies of scale except LEED. No certifying agency can claim complete certification of one chain worldwide, nor has any agency claimed geographic focus for an individual state. In addition, benchmarking requirements and standards vary. Often it’s a case of simply paying a fee with little or no conditions attached or benchmarking standards implied. This can lead to a classic case of greenwashing. On the other side, benchmarks mean earning points, potentially squashing much-needed innovation.

The bigger question is, does the consumer make a purchasing decision based on a certification? Doubtful. What has changed is that hotels are creating new products and options that fulfill changing consumer needs. For instance, group travel has shifted because corporate and government employer mandates require green meeting or environmentally friendly group travel programs. The consumer may have pushed such needs, but the industry is shifting too. It is embarking on the nascent, ever-elusive question of “what defines green,” but more importantly, the best way of building “green” into an organization’s values. Perhaps being hung up on benchmarks is the wrong focus, but instead providing opportuities for new product innovation and how to best train staff are where the spotlight should be.