Adobe Stock/Olivier Le Moal
The hotel industry remains above the “average” line of CO2 emissions,
highlighting an “urgent” need for hospitality and leisure
establishments to taper down carbon emissions, according to a recent
report by CBRE Hotels Research.
CBRE’s study revealed the hotel industry sits at 96 on the CO2 scale
as of March 2023 in its April report. According to CBRE’s research,
industries such as hotels, retail establishments, healthcare and leisure
lodging all exceed the average line of approximately 80, spotlighting a
global need to rein in carbon production.
According to CBRE, hotel companies generally include energy
efficiency, carbon emission, water conservation and waste reduction
among their key areas of focus for climate-related initiatives. And
while the hospitality industry as a whole has shifted operations to
become more sustainable in these four areas, CBRE’s report noted a
greater need for consistent reporting within a standard framework for
hotel industry stakeholders to “to understand and benchmark performance
in relation to [environmental, social, and governance] targets.”
Some of these reporting solutions mentioned within CBRE’s research
include international consultancy Greenview’s Net Zero Methodology guide
and the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Index—developed by Greenview, The
Cornell Hotel School and others.
Utilising Greenview’s methodology and the Cornell Hotel
Sustainability Index, CBRE’s report showed the US, UK, Germany and Spain
are among the lowest users of energy per occupied room in the hotel
industry among Greenview’s top 25 countries. The highest energy users
per occupied room on the list are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi
Arabia, Japan and Vietnam.
The highest energy users per occupied room on the list are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Vietnam.
CBRE report
Using the same top 25 countries and reporting scale, CBRE’s research
showed France, Colombia and the UK among the lowest producers of carbon
per occupied room, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia are among
the highest carbon producers per occupied room.
As for water usage, Germany, the UK, France and the US are among the
lowest on the water-usage scale per occupied room, while Vietnam, Egypt
and Malaysia are among the highest. The report did not supply a
waste-reduction breakdown.
The report went on to detail various countries and their diverse ESG
tactics, highlighting the UK and Europe as a “global leader in tackling
climate change” with “ambitious emissions-reduction targets". CBRE’s
reporting also highlighted Asia Pacific’s patchwork of ESG tactics among
its top hotel groups, with Singapore and Australia leading the charge
for carbon neutrality.
With the growing need and interest in more sustainable and
responsible ESG solutions in the hospitality industry, CBRE’s reporting
described an optimistic outlook for future performance within the
industry. The company also suggested hotel industry stakeholders should
“familiarise themselves with ESG legislation, initiatives and trends”,
to make a more meaningful effort and impact.
The report also shed light on near-term challenges to hotels’ ESG goals.
“While many hotel brands and operators have pledged to improve ESG
performance and reach net zero targets, slower economic growth in the
EU, UK and Asia Pacific, as well as an anticipated recession in the US
could slow near-term progress,” CBRE authors said in the report.
Source: Business Travel News