Singapore’s hotel industry on track to hit sustainability goals

Singapore’s hospitality industry is on track to meet its sustainability targets which were set when the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap was launched in March 2022. This was revealed at the second Hotel Sustainability Conference and Marketplace 2023, along with initiatives and updates on how the industry is responding to the industry roadmap.

The event was organised by the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).

A key highlight of the roadmap was the establishment of two industry targets:

· 60% of hotel room stock in Singapore to attain internationally-recognised hotel sustainability certification by 2025.

· For hotels in Singapore to commence tracking of emissions by 2023 and reduce emissions by 2030, with a view to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

On track to achieve goals

As of August 2023, about a quarter of the hotel room inventory in Singapore has either obtained or embarked on efforts to get internationally recognised sustainability certification. These include hotels such as Marina Bay Sands (MBS), The Fullerton Bay Hotel and The Fullerton Hotel which have obtained certification under the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Industry Criteria for Hotels.

Innovation

The industry has continued to test-bed and adopt innovative sustainable solutions. As part of a cross-sector pilot under the Future Economy Council Lifestyle Cluster, Andaz Singapore, Grand Hyatt Singapore and MBS have joined retailers such as Causeway Point to pilot the use of a food valoriser which uses patented technology to turn food waste into re-usable products.

PARKROYAL on Beach Road rewards guests with a GoGreen Award if they actively contribute to the hotel’s sustainability efforts. Guests who opt to have their rooms cleaned on alternate days get a S$10 (US$7.30) dining credit.

New pledge and playbook

The event unveiled the Hotel Industry Sustainability Pledge, “Minimise single-use packaging for drinking water and guest room amenities, while maximising use of recycled contents by 2025”, and the new online Sustainability Playbook which offers a wide spectrum of industry-specific content such as best practices, case studies and useful resources to facilitate informed decisions on sustainable initiatives.

“The commitment by 136 hotels to support the Hotel Industry Sustainability Pledge and the online Hotel Sustainability Playbook that went live at today’s Conference are significant initiatives in our concerted effort to further drive sustainable practices for the industry,” said Kenneth Li, president of the Singapore Hotel Association.

48 hotels get award

The Singapore Hotel Sustainability Award was conferred on 48 hotels to recognise their leadership in championing green practices.

Hotel Sustainability Marketplace

Held alongside the conference was the Hotel Sustainability Marketplace, where 17 exhibitors showcased their latest hospitality solutions.

Sustainability Impact Challenge Winner

Among them, four were shortlisted for the Sustainability Impact Challenge. They each gave a five-minute pitch, followed by a Q&A from a panel of judges. The winner, N & E Innovations, received S$30,000 worth of prize money from Enterprise Singapore.

Its product, C2+, is an all-surface, all-natural disinfectant composed of organic chemical compounds scientifically derived from food waste. Cashew and Chitosan are its main ingredients, besides water and active ingredients (iron and polyphenols) that make up 98 % of the product.

Its hand sanitiser can last 24 hours while its surface disinfectant lasts seven days, and its commercial grade product lasts 180 days. It can be used on all surfaces - fabrics, countertops, wooden surfaces and tiles, and can inactivate 99% of the SARS-CoV-2 and the human coronavirus family strains such as OC43 and 229E.

N&E Innovations CTO/co-founder, Jaslyn Lee, said: “Right now we are using biodegradable packaging but we are also coming up with our own biodegradable packaging from banana peels. What’s great about our technology is we extract what we want from food waste, and the remaining (mostly fibres) is made into packaging.”

The product has achieved its Singapore patent this year and is applying for international patents in five countries. Having achieved over S$1.5 million in sales, N&E will pilot its product with a hotel using the prize money. Among its clients are Singapore Airlines and Jewel Changi Airport.

Panel discussion

A panel discussion on circularity in hotels followed after a presentation on Sustainability Data Trends for Singapore, by Eric Ricaurte, founder & CEO of Greenview.

SHA’s tips

· The industry is encouraged to tap on the STB’s Business Improvement Fund which offers support for sustainability projects. Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Novotel & Mercure on Stevens, and Sofitel Singapore City Centre, have used this for their new in-room water filtration solutions, eliminating 4.6 million single-use plastic bottles annually, which is about 600,000 kg of emissions savings.

· SHA’s workshop helps re-skill hotel staff – its Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) trains staff on using a standardised approach to track and report emissions. This workshop is a partnership between SHA, Horwath HTL Pacific Asia and Greenview to collect, track, and synthesise data across the industry.