Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces began its sustainability journey in 1997 with hotel-based programmes. This system was replaced in 2008 with a coordinated group-wide effort overseen by Vasant Ayyappan, in the new role of director for corporate sustainability. The group owns and manages 107 properties and 12,795 rooms in 12 countries across five brands, all of which are part of the EarthCheck certification programme.

Significantly, in the last three years 47 hotels have received silver certification and 29 have zero water discharge. All new builds will go for certification from day one. “To maintain profitability, large organisations have tended to go after reduction in energy consumption and tend to lose focus on water, which has a sizeable impact on the environment,” says Ayyappan. “We decided to also focus on water management, so this year we will have a water footprint for each of our hotels by August 2012.”

There are several ways water is received in India. Firstly through the municipal system, secondly from groundwater and, where water is scarce, by tanker. “As a responsible organisation, we cannot only draw water from the ground without replacing it, so we have been investing in rainwater harvesting systems to recharge ground water,” says Ayyappan. “Ceilings discharge collection is a useful tool where groundwater is too salinated to be used.” Another five hotels are targeted to achieve zero water discharge next year. Our other focuses for 2012 will be increasing our use of renewable energy, which currently stands at three per cent.

“Internally we have made it mandatory for all our hotels to have some form of renewable energy source. Further identifying sources of energy wastage and a big push on training are the other main goals,” he says. “A lot of sustainability is behaviour based and as we go along this path we have to continue to change peoples’ mindsets. When we decided in 2008 to do away with incandescent bulbs in the operational areas of the hotel and install compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), we first brought in a CFL supplier and offered staff 40 per cent discount on purchases. So when staff installed them at home, they would explain the benefits to their families and be more responsible at work. It is good to see that people now make it a point to switch off the lights when they leave their office.”

Langham Hospitality Group
The group has made sustainability a long-term commitment that is incorporated in its daily business operations. All of the properties owned by the group – which includes Eaton Smart, the Langham and Langham Place in Hong Kong – attained silver certification from EarthCheck while the Langham in Auckland recently achieved gold certification. Says Ainslie Cheung, director of public relations (International): “We recognise that EarthCheck allows for a continuous journey of improvement and it’s important not just to our guests, but to our communities and our colleagues.”

All hotels have a full-time staff on board to manage their sustainability initiatives, which work to engage staff as well as raise awareness among the public. Eaton Smart has a ‘Green Wall’ (pictured right) in its lobby that measures 6 by 8m and is filled with a plant called sansavieria trifasciata that is particularly effective in absorbing carbon dioxide. The hotel’s top priorities in 2012 include making sure that its banquet menus offer sustainable options for items such as seafood at every price point, and that it is in a prominent position next to the more traditional choices. The hotel also aims to further reduce the amount of waste that it is sending to landfills by 40 per cent. Once all the recyclable waste is separated, the majority of it comes from food and Eaton Smart is looking at innovative ways to treat it, such as turning it into food pellets for fish.

Meanwhile, Langham Place has set a goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 10 per cent by 2013, from a figure taken in 2008. The hotel has been implementing the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System since 2008. Most recently, it has set up an organic vegetable garden on its rooftop as an internal project for its staff and an organic herb and vegetable at its outdoor deck, The Backyard, the produce to be used by its F&B outlets. In addition, the property now offers free charging service for guests driving electric cars. This year the property will kick-off the first phase of its plan to replace all of its fluorescent tubes with LED ones, and will strengthen its commitment to serving its the local community of Mong Kok, by working more with NGOs and charities based in the area.

Sustainability initiatives from other properties around the world include an innovative water recycling system for laundry at the Langham in Melbourne, and a generator installed at the Langham in Boston to produce 100 per cent renewable energy.

The Darling
What was the former Star City Casino is now the Star, a refurbished entertainment complex that includes high-end retail shops, fine dining restaurants and a 2,200 sqm events centre that is due to be completed by early 2013. The complex also has the Darling, the newest hotel in Sydney and one that is on track to be the first in the city to gain a level 4 rating in the National Australian Building Environmental Rating System. The property utilised thousands of LED lights throughout the property and has a glass façade to make full use of natural light. The windows in the room can open as well as the glass panels in the atrium in the lobby, to reduce the use of air-conditioning whenever possible.

To cut down on the use fresh water, the Star has an integrated seawater cooling system to provide cooling water for the chilling system, and there is a rainwater harvesting plant on the premises that can store up to 475,000 litres of rainwater.