Agnes Krocha
Many of us, residents of Nagaland, may never have the need to put up in any of the hotels in Nagaland as this is our land and we may have many relatives and friends who are willing and able to host us comfortably in their homes. But there are times when we have people coming from other places who need to be accommodated in hotels. That’s when we wonder how our hospitality industry is thriving. And I’m sure many of us would wish that the hospitality industry does better than it is doing right now and feel that there is much room for improvement for the existing hotels.
Well our wish for better hotels in Nagaland can be fulfilled and the hospitality industry can actually boost its bottom line by adopting environmental procedures and policies or in other words by simply going green. Environmentally friendly hotels not only save money for the owner/manager, but also save resources like water, energy, etc., for the world at large while at the same time providing the luxury and comfort their guests need.
A Green Hotel is generally defined as ‘a lodging property that incorporates various environmental actions into its operation and business philosophy’. This refers to hotels that not only reduces the use of non-renewable natural resources but also puts effort in the renewal of resources balancing the usage of them and having the mindset and business approach of supporting ones community.
Green Seal, an organization that certifies the environmental practices of a variety of businesses, conducted a survey a few years ago and found an average 150-room hotel consumes in one week as much as 100 4-person households do in one year. This means a lot of consumption and waste of precious non-renewable resources happens when no thought is given for “tomorrow” in the business philosophy. While guests are thoughtlessly pampered in the hotels, serious problems such as, consumption and wastes of natural resources at alarming rates, creation of pollution of all sorts – water and air, aggravating waste disposal problems and the worst thing – resources from the future, from our children, are taken away.
With the hospitality industry ranking high in the consumption figure it’s time for it to step out and lead the way in resolving the problem. The hospitality industry can make positive impacts on our environment by taking simple green actions. One of the best things about green actions is that they are inexpensive actions, which without taking any financial investment can save innkeepers water, energy and supplies right from the start of their green actions implementation. Some such actions could be sheet/towel reuse program, recycling and composting the waste stream (especially food that’s gone waste), not providing newspapers to each occupied guestroom (because many goes unread) and providing it to only those who requested them, using energy efficient lighting such as compact fluorescent lighting and other appliances that helps to save energy, by using non petrochemical cleaning supplies and natural building materials, etc. There are lots of ways to be generous and provide great services to guests without wasting natural resources. And that’s what good business plan is all about!
When hotels go green their guests can turn green! And every traveler will get an opportunity to do something for the planet’s environment. Then of course green hotels will make more money! Numerous studies show that now the traveling public wants to stay at lodging properties that have green programs and that environmentally and socially responsible travelers are fiercely loyal guests – meaning you will make more money with them than with other guests. What’s more you’ll save money by reducing utility costs on water, energy, etc., reduce labor costs, reduce re-purchase of supplies like sheets, towels, amenities and cleaning supplies.
The price will be high for all of us if our attitudes and actions don’t change soon. The cost of energy – from charcoal to electricity, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, LPG, etc., is ever going up. And whether we realize it or not, these affect every aspect of our lives. The hospitality industry can control some of that cost by conserving and changing habits to implement green actions at their inns.
(The writer has done M.Sc (Environmental Science and Technology) and B.Ed. She also writes and teaches science in a High School)
aggiekrocha@gmail.com
