resort & hotel sustainability consultant

sustainability plans for hotels, resorts and hospitality businesses

In an ideal scenario, hotel sustainability plans commence during the site selection and preliminary design stage, enabling the seamless integration of renewable energy solutions, water efficiency, and carbon reduction strategies from the very beginning, such as through energy, thermal envelope, and daylight modeling.

Throughout the architectural and interior design phase, a plethora of opportunities arise for incorporating a sustainable plan into the facilities, interior design, and outfitting procedures.

For a fully operational hotel, the emphasis lies on optimizing carbon emissions, energy, waste, and water usage, while also improving the biodiversity policy, community engagement, sustainable supply chain (products and services), guest wellness initiatives, eco-friendly cleaning methods, social equity policies, and more.

The hotel sustainability process:

SUSTAINABLE SITE SELECTION & PRE-DESIGN

• Energy model

• Thermal model

• Environmental impact assessment

• Site assessment

• Habitat protection plan

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

• Carbon emissions reduction plan (reduced carbon footprint)

• Energy efficiency measures (reduced energy consumption, heat island reduction)

• Water efficiency policy (reduced water consumption, rainwater management)

• Waste management plan (recycling strategy, circular economy)

• Health and wellness facilities (gyms, yoga, nature walks, retreats)

SUSTAINABLE INTERIORS & FIT-OUT

• Sustainable interior design (brand style guidelines, FF&E, OS&E)

• Biophilia to bring the outside world into the hotel interiors

• Healthy fit-out materials (locally sourced, non-toxic)

• Sustainable supply chain policy (local, renewable sources, supporting local businesses)

• Circular Economy principles

SUSTAINABLE PRE-LAUNCH OPERATIONS

• Eco washing & cleaning plan (non-toxic liquids)

• Nature & biodiversity plan (biophilia, landscaping, guest connection to local culture, habitat preservation)

• Food & Beverage planning (guest wellness, waste reduction, supporting local businesses)

SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS

• Ongoing data collection and measurement (energy, water and waste)

• Community outreach

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan

• Employee engagement program

• Staff wellbeing policy

• Internal & external communications

• Guest wellness programs

CORPORATE hotel brands

• The hotel business or real estate developer may themselves decide to sign-up for an ESG certification such as B-Corp.

What is a hospitality industry sustainability consultant?

Hospitality businesses now need to consider its environmental and social impact as well as its economic performance to be considered truly ‘sustainable’.

A sustainability consultant or ‘Green Champion’ is there to guide, advise, engage, encourage, monitor, review, report and ultimately take responsibility for making it all happen, although it is the collective action of a hotel ‘Green Team’ that really makes the difference. If all else fails or budget dries up, the hospitality industry as a whole should focus primarily on reducing its carbon footprint!

sustainability strategy in hospitality industry

A sustainability plan should start as early as possible in the development process to ensure that the basic principles of healthy people and healthy planet are incorporated into decision-making, especially around the ‘Big 4’ of carbon footprint, energy, water and waste.

Also consider that the full picture for hospitality businesses includes embodied carbon from construction / fit-out materials, and the same applies to refurbishments further down the line. Baking these concepts into the pre-design, design phase and interior fit-out is where the bulk of the heavy lifting is done.

social impact for a sustainable resort or hotel

The health, wellbeing and happiness of hotel guests, staff and indeed the local community is considered in the Social section of a sustainability plan in which we consider Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI); human rights; corruption; health and safety; physical and mental wellness; community outreach initiatives and support for fair trade business all along the hotel supply chain.

pre-opening hotel sustainability plan

As sustainability consultants specialising in boutique and family-owned hotels, we are adept at implementing sustainability best practices whilst integrating the unique qualities of the hotel brand in question, aligning with its values, personality, mission and vision.

Ultimately we are aiming to get to Net Zero Carbon emissions but that is but one slice of a far larger pie. consider also creating an ethical supply chain for operational equipment and supplies.

sustainable operations in resorts and hotels

Once operational, the focus shifts onto collecting and monitoring data for energy, water and waste. If we don’t measure it, we won’t know if we’re making progress or not each year.

How can the F&B department minimize its food miles and keep as much waste in the loop as possible (on-site composting, etc). What can be done to promote biodiversity both on-site at the hotel and nearby in the local community? Where can employee engagement improve day to day policies around recycling for example?

green hotel certification standards

A hotel or hospitality industry business may chose to pursue corporate level certification via an entity such as BCorp or Living Future’s JUST, this would cover its Environmental, Social and Governance policies, not just the sustainability credentials of its hotel properties.

At the hotel level, there are then a whole suite of green hotel certification standards on offer, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, some truly global, others country-specific. We recommend looking at Green Globe, Green Key and Earth Check in particular. Click the button below for a full review of options.