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Green Hotels and Sustainable Hotel Operations in India

Article · February 2017

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International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 13
Volume 6, No. 2, February 2017

Green Hotels and Sustainable Hotel Operations in India

Amandeep, Asst. Professor, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Central University of
Haryana, Jant-Pali, Mahendergarh, Haryana

ABSTRACT Going green has been a growing trend within the hotel
industry, the number of green hotels in India has amplified
‘Tradition is the democracy of dead!’ in last 10 years, ITC Windsor, Alila Diwa Goa, The
Orchid, Mumbai are the few to mention yet more in
It has been rightly said by Hitler and highly appropriate pipeline. The Green Hotels have adopted policies like use
for the present day scenario of the hotel industry. The shift of low-flow showers and toilets, occupancy sensors to
of focus of the global traveller from high rise hotel control lighting and air conditioner requirements and the
buildings in cities to places that are close to nature and commonplace practices like linen and towel reuse policies.
have a peaceful natural environment which does not In addition, most major hotel companies have green
damage the natural ecology around is highly evident. In mission statements and strive for getting better green
the light of the above fact hoteliers strongly need to update certifications, by getting certified the green hotels use
our commercial hospitality trends and practices with energy efficient practices and also attract a widely
reference to the environment. With the awareness of the growing number of Eco conscious guests.
preservation of ecological balance a new concept known
as Eco Hotels or Green hotels has emerged. Green hotel Given the fragile condition the natural ecological balance
is a hotel or accommodation that has made important and the limited nature of most energy sources of the
environmental improvements to its structure in order to earth - Each individual, has a responsibility to take care of
minimize impact on the environment. This paper is an the environment – the large producers and consumers of
attempt to understand eco-friendly hotels – That is, the natural resources even more so. The hospitality sector
Latest Trends and best practices. It will also attempt to presents a variety of environmental aspects that,
give an overview of the Government Policies and depending on the activity, may have a significant impact
legislation with a reference to hotels in India further on the environment (3). Its users are consuming resources
mention will be made of easy strategies and methods such as energy and water on a daily basis and generating a
which can be adopted by hotels for Eco-Friendly Hotel great deal of solid waste and effluents.
Operations.
Hotels in India have number of motivations for going
Keywords green including a feeling of social responsibility and a
consciousness towards the environment, government
Conservation of the environment, Green hotels, Ecotels, legislations, and economic benefits in long run
Tourism, Certification, sustainable development improvement by enhancing a hotel's bottom line and most
smart operators pass on the savings to guests by way of
INTRODUCTION lower room rates which in turn further increases the
occupancy.
Sustainable development includes almost all areas of
economic activity, it is easily applied in the hotel and REVIEW OF LITERATURE
tourism industry. It is well known that the environment is
an important resource for the tourism industry, and so the Given the fragile condition the natural ecological balance
acquisition and application of new technologies that and the limited nature of most energy sources of the
contribute to environmental protection in some sectors earth - Each individual no matter how small a user has a
such as hotel industry has been a priority for tour operators responsibility to take care of the environment – the large
and for owners of accommodation structures (1). producers and consumers of natural resources even more
so. The hospitality sector presents a variety of
The phrase 'green hotel' is searched 2,900 times on Google environmental aspects that, depending on the activity, may
in India the 12-month average of user queries and 60,500 have a significant impact on the environment. Its users are
times across the globe. We could be optimistic and say consuming resources such as energy and water on a daily
that it reflects the rise in the number of environmentalists basis and generating a great deal of solid waste and
Tourist and travellers (2). effluents.

Impact Factor: 4.954 www.irjcjournals.org

International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 14
Volume 6, No. 2, February 2017

The term "green hotels" describes hotels that strive to be dovetail well with the newfound popularity of ecotourism.
more environmentally friendly through the efficient use of They harmonize tourism and environmental sustainability.
energy, water, and materials while providing quality Properties have been responding to consumer demand as
services. Green hotels conserve and preserve by saving they adapt to becoming the venues in which
water, reducing energy use, and reducing solid waste (4). environmentally aware, health conscious people want to
They have seen benefits such as reduced costs and stay, eat, play, exercise and relax. Large and small
liabilities, high return and low-risk investments, increased measures are taken to save water, lower electricity usage,
profits, and positive cash flows. Identifying these benefits and recycle. Most of the ways in which the hotel goes
and incentives has allowed the popularity of green hotels green are behind the scene. Going green not only has less
to grow. Hotels are consistently becoming greener. The of an impact on the environment, but cost savings go right
most costly and wasteful use of resources in hotels are back to the hotel. After recovering the costs of the initial
usually in the consumption of non-renewable energy, investments, a green hotel often finds that lowering the
excessive water use, and the generation of waste. water and electricity usage lowers expenses as well. With
Individually, hotels do not have a significant negative the help of guests, these hotels can also lower the amount
impact on the environment. Collectively however, they of garbage put in landfills and turn much of the trash over
can be very wasteful and consume huge amount of to recycling centres.
resources. It has been estimated that seventy-five percent
of hotels environmental impacts can be directly related to The concept of a green hotel starts from the construction
excessive consumption. This is wasteful in terms of stage (7), the hotel which has the features and equipment’s
resources and it creates unnecessary operational costs (5). incorporated which helps in saving energy, water and
reduces waste, this can be done only in the project stage.
A hotel stay have been generally assumed as an occasion The second point, the hotel policies and procedures have
to pander on food, swimming pools, bar or other luxuries, to be fine-tuned keeping environmental factors in mind.
but the modern business explorer more likely to demand Third, the management has to take this message forward to
in-room yoga mats and a green-energy policy. According its internal and external customers. An already running
to a 2008 poll of 1,000 business travellers in the U.S. by hotel may also turn the hotel into an environmentally
Deloitte, 95 percent of respondents believe the hotel friendly hotel, what is required isObtaining management
industry should be taking green initiatives and 38 percent commitment towards environmental, Sustainability,
had taken steps to determine whether a hotel was green Recording current and chronological usage, Establishing
(6)
.A delicate balance has to be struck between the services baselines, benchmarks and targets, Prioritise action plan,
being offered and the impact that providing those services Monitor and measure, Proper education and motivation of
has. The answer to this quandary maybe found in green the staff members.(8).
hotels. Environmentally responsible business practices

MAJOR CERTIFICATION FOR HOTELS IN INDIA

S.No. Certification Organisation Description Source
Name
1. Leadership in U.S. Green LEED certification confirms that the www.usgbc.org
Energy and Building Council building has been made keeping green
Environmental principles in mind, for example, energy
Design (LEED) conservation and everything of that nature.
Developed by the United States Green
Building Council in 2000, the LEED
certification process gives commercial
buildings a scorecard for meeting
standards relating to such areas as location
and transportation, materials and
resources, and water efficiency, among
others.
2. Green Key Hotel Association Environmental certification program for www.greenglobe.com
Global of Canada, hotels. Provides technical guidance.
LRAWorldwide,Inc Participating facilities are awarded

Impact Factor: 4.954 www.irjcjournals.org

International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 15
Volume 6, No. 2, February 2017

between 1 and 5 Green Keys depending on

adherence to criteria.
3. ECOTEL HVS The ECOTEL certification remains among www.ecotelhotels.co
certification the pioneering programs that incorporated m
the pillars of sustainability with a focus on
environment protection. The Employee
Education and Community Involvement
globe foresaw an environment
management system through the creation
of a green team and training for staff to
empower them to enable the agenda for
sustainability. The ECOTEL program,
over time, shifted its base to India.
4. ISO 14000 International The International Standards Organization www.iso.org
certification Standards in 1996 and is essentially a road map for
Organization organizations seeking to implement a
standardized program for environmental
operations. Once the plan is implemented
within an organization, ISO sends auditors
to review the entire program and measure
energy consumption, recycling efforts, etc.
for certification.
5. The Indian The Confederation IGBC is continuously striving towards the www.igbc.in
Green Building of Indian Industry wide adoption of green building concepts
Council (IGBC) and the Godrej in the Indian industry. In the last 10 years,
Green Business more than 687 projects have been
Centre registered or certified under IGBC’s green
building guidelines developed in India.
They also motivate and certify hotels
which use and full fill the minimum
environmentally friendly practices in their
hotels.
6. Sustainable Sustainable Travel Environmental certification program for www.sustainabletrave
Tourism Eco- International tour operators, hotels, attractions, l.org
Certification transportation, and the cruise industry.
Program (STEP) Provides guidance, self-assessment tool,
and 2 to 5 star eco-logo rating system.
Separate certification offered for luxury
accommodations.
Source: Respective websites and HVS(10)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY managed and adopted. The objective of this paper is to

highlight and analyse various trends and methods for
With the increase in sustainable practices implemented by achieving sustainable goals and certification. The present
various hotel and hospitality organisations around the study is explorative and conceptual in nature, data have
globe the Indian hospitality industry also need to upgrade been collected from secondary sources such as research
their positive social impact with adopting eco-friendly journals, websites and newspaper articles and conclusion
sustainable practices, and that can only be done when the of the research have been supported by observational facts.
industry have the insight of how these practices can be

Impact Factor: 4.954 www.irjcjournals.org

 International Journal of Management and Social Sciences Research (IJMSSR) ISSN: 2319-4421 16
Volume 6, No. 2, February 2017

FINDING AND ANALYSIS

Present day Scenario in India

The ITC Gardenia, a luxury hotel ITC now has a platinum rating The Pune Marriott Hotel and Many hotels are
in Bangalore, was awarded the for all its luxury hotels—the Convention Centre has been registered for LEED
US Green Building Council ITC Windsor in Bangalore, the awarded gold certification. certification such as
LEED (Leadership in Energy and ITC Mughal in Agra, the ITC The Leela Palace Hotel in Piccadilly Hotels for its
Environmental Design) platinum Sonar in Kolkata, the ITC New Delhi has also been forthcoming Hyatt
rating, making it the first hotel in Kakatiya in Hyderabad, the certified platinum. Regency properties at
India to achieve the highest ITC Grand Central and the Gurgaon and Ludhiana
rating for green buildings. ITC Maratha in Mumbai, and for a gold rating.
the ITC Maurya in New Delhi.

Source: Ashok K. Verma (May 2012), Hotels in India going green

A few of the salient green features incorporated in these and long term. Under these conditions, green hotels are
buildings are zero water discharge, 25-40% energy savings one of the most sustainable measures, with visible results
over conventional buildings, 40% reduction in potable in a short time.
water use, use of treated grey water for flushing, air
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Impact Factor: 4.954 www.irjcjournals.org

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