The strategy behind hotels going green

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the current state of environmental management in the hotel industry. Further, this study also determined a relationship between top managers' personal environmental attitudes and organizational involvement in environmental management practices. To achieve the purpose of this study, this study examined currently adopted green practices, top managers' environmental attitudes, and their perception of advantages derived from environmental management.

Hotels that participated in this study showed greater involvement in energy management, water conservation, and waste management practices than hotels examined by previous research in different geographical areas. The results of this study showed a correlation between top managers' environmental attitudes and organizational involvement in environmental management. It was also found that top managers' environmental attitudes were positively related to their perceived advantages of environmental management. These findings present various managerial and theoretical implications for related organizations and hotel management companies.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION2

Hotels and Environment2

Environmental Performance Indicators, measurements and benchmarking3

Purpose and scope of work5

CHAPTER # 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Responsible resource management in hotels9

Environmental attitudes among European hoteliers13

The sustainable development and operation of the hospitality sector13

Environmental Policy Instruments Applicable To Hotels15

CHAPTER # 3: METHODOLOGY17

Literature survey17

CHAPTER # 4: FINDINGS25

Environmental Awareness Of European Hotel Managers25

The driving forces for change32

Energy and water consumption indicators and modeling37

Frequently used models of resource consumption41

Comparison of performance among different chains, and within chain in one42

CHAPTER # 5: DISCUSSION44

Existing tools for environmental benchmarking in the hospitality industry46

Conclusions47

REFERENCES50

Chapter # 1: Introduction

Hotels and Environment

Commercial units have existed since the dawn of human civilization. Today, hotels, totaling over 300 000 installations worldwide, are a major employer of the most important sectors (Olsen et al., 2000). Compared to most other categories of commercial buildings, lodging facilities are unique in terms of operating systems, the kind of amenities and services, and the resulting pattern of use of natural resources. to interact with the environment as a consequence of hotels in every phase of their life cycle, and this influence is often summarized as negative in Hunter & Green (1995) and Bohdanowicz (2003 and 2005).

Hotel facilities are among the top five in terms of energy consumption in the commercial / service sector (minor only to the catering and retail, healthcare, and certain types of offices) (U.S. EIA, 1998). At the same time, hotels and tourism in general, are a potential victim of climate change, with its changing weather and rainfall patterns and rising sea levels (as in the tourism and climate change conference in Djerba discussed in 2003: WTO Djerba, 2003; Viner & Beck, 2003; Gosline, 2005; Hall & Higham, ...