Critical Questions in Sustainability and Hospitality

Cover
Half Title
Endorsements
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Figures
Tables
Contributors
Preface
References
Organisation of the Book
PART I Global Sustainability Challenges Facing the Hospitality Industry
1 Climate Change
2 Biodiversity Loss
3 Water Scarcity
4 Human Rights Risks along the Supply Chain
5 Risk Management
PART II Operational Sustainability in Hospitality
6 Food Waste and Net Zero Ambitions
7 Food and Beverage Sustainability Criteria
8 Future of Food and Menu Design
9 From Wellness to Wellbeing
10 Balancing Health and Safety and Sustainability
11 Incentivising Guests to Save Resources
12 Charging Guests for Carbon Emissions
13 Sustainable Procurement and Product Certification
14 Zero Plastic in Hotels
15 Rewarding Employees for Sustainability Commitment
16 Attracting Talent through Sustainability
PART III Hospitality Strategies, Metrics and Stakeholder Participation
17 Green Teams and Unlocking Collective Intelligence
18 Supplier Relationship and Sustainability Standards
19 Return on Sustainability Investments
20 Key Metrics and Reporting Sustainability
21 Marketing Sustainability
22 Communicating Sustainability to Guests
23 Engaging Guests in the Sustainability Experience
24 Stakeholder Engagement and Regenerative Hospitality
25 Hotels and E-mobility
26 Incorporating Nature in Sustainable Hotel Design
27 The Greater Purpose of Hospitality
Acknowledgements
Introduction
How to Use this Book
Additional Note for Educators
Editors' Take
PART I Global Sustainability Challenges Facing the Hospitality Industry
PART II Hospitality Operational Sustainability
PART III Hospitality Strategies, Metrics and Stakeholder Participation
Part I: Global Sustainability Challenges Facing the Hospitality Industry
1. Climate Change: Leading question: A vicious circle? How does the hospitality industry impact the climate and how is it impacted by climate change?
Introduction: The great acceleration
How does the hospitality industry impact the climate?
How does climate change impact the hospitality industry?
Conclusion
References
2. Biodiversity Loss: Leading question: How does the hospitality industry impact and benefit from biodiversity?
Setting the scene: What are we talking about?
Threats to scale: Biodiversity erosion and others
How does the hospitality industry benefit from biodiversity?
What are the impacts, and which should be mitigated?
Planning phase
Building phase
Operational phase
References
3. Water Scarcity: Leading question: How does water scarcity affect hospitality operations and what can be done?
Introduction
Water scarcity
The problem with tourism
How does water scarcity impact tourism and hospitality?
What can be done?
Drinking water solutions
Wastewater and grey water treatment
Measuring to manage
Laundry
Smaller-scale actions
Bathrooms
Laundries
Kitchens/restaurants
Swimming pools
Landscaping and gardens
Behaviour of staff and tourists
Conclusion
References
4. Human Rights Risks along the Supply Chain: Leading question: How can hospitality address, prevent and mitigate human rights risks directly and along its supply chain?
Addressing human rights risks
Why is the hospitality industry vulnerable to human rights risks?
Labour-intensive industry
Complex hotel ownership structure
Complex procurement practices
Complex recruitment processes
Countries of operation
Hotel-guest relationship privacy
Why migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation
Principles on Forced Labour
Five essential elements of ethical recruitment
1. Respect the rights of workers throughout the labour recruitment process
2. Adopt the Employer Pays Principle ()
3. Carry out human rights due diligence on business operations and supply chains
4. Respect workers' right to freedom of movement
5. Provide access to remedy
Mitigating human rights risks: How to get started
Developing policies
Carrying out due diligence
Measuring and reporting
Setting up grievance mechanisms and correcting unavoidable adverse human rights impacts
Joining forces
Case studies: Examples of multi-stakeholder cooperation between government, civil society and the hospitality sector
Case study 1: Promoting ethical recruitment in the hotel and tourism industry
Case study 2: Aligning Lenses Towards Ethical Recruitment: The recruitment and migration journey between the Philippines and the GCC countries
Useful resources
References
5. Risk Management: Leading question: How can the hospitality industry manage risks and build resilience towards pandemics, climate change and other threats?
Introduction
What is disaster risk and how can it be managed?
What is resilience?
Resilience in the hospitality sector
What unique challenges does the hotel industry face?
Pandemics and the hospitality industry
Climate change and the hospitality industry
Natural disasters and the hospitality sector
Terrorism and the hospitality sector
A Framework for Resilience and Sustainability in the hotel industry
Good (resilience) practices for hotels
Hotel industry response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Beyond COVID
Tackling climate change
Standards on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation
Software-supported resilience assessments
Conclusion - Hotels as key agents in disaster resilience
References
Part II: Operational Sustainability in Hospitality
6. Food Waste and Net Zero Ambitions: Leading question: What is the importance of food waste prevention for net zero ambitions?
Introduction
Key concepts in the climate, food and waste narrative
Climate change and greenhouse gas emission reporting
Defining food and food waste
Food, food waste and the concept of value
Barriers to preventing food waste
Structural barriers
Infrastructural barriers
Organisational barriers
Cost barriers
Behavioural barriers
The art of changing human behaviours
In conclusion
References
7. Food and Beverage Sustainability Criteria: Leading question: What are the food and beverage criteria necessary to operate sustainably?
Introduction
Sustainability approaches within the hospitality industry (and the criteria derived from them)
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Environmental/social/governance programmes (ESG)
Criteria to assess sustainability efforts in F&B
Sustainable and healthy food (procurement, production, consumption, etc.)
How to benchmark sustainability efforts in F&B?
References
8. Future of Food and Menu Design: Leading question: What does the menu of the future look like?
Introduction
Personalised gastronomy
Sustainable developments in the menu of the future
Moving away from traditional animal protein
Sustainable agriculture alternatives
Emerging consumer technologies that shape the menu of the future
Personalised Gastronomy Framework for the menu of the future
Concluding remarks
References
9. From Wellness to Wellbeing: Leading question: What is the path to stakeholder wellbeing?
Introduction: What is the path to wellbeing?
Aligning people and planet's health as a core principle
The role of the hospitality industry to foster wellbeing
Towards developing comprehensive hospitality wellbeing touchpoints
Hospitality wellbeing for individuals and the environment
Hospitality wellbeing for the community
Sustainable wellbeing wheel
Conclusion
References
10. Balancing Health and Safety with Sustainability: Leading question: How can health, safety and sustainability be balanced?
Introduction
The importance of tourism to the world economy
The role of health and safety in hospitality and tourism
The importance of health and safety
General cleaning processes and chemical consumption
Pool and Jacuzzi safety
Food safety
Water safety
Green certification programmes in hospitality, catering and tourism
Conclusion
References
11. Incentivising Guests to Save Resources: Leading question: Should guests be incentivised to save resources at the hotel?
Introduction
Tactical incentives for room occupants
Guests are 'happy' to apply responsible behaviours ... that is their reward
Research on incentives to encourage guests' pro-environmental behaviour
How incentivisation can go further
Gamification - what is it?
Using technology to gamify and self-motivate guests' responsible behaviours
How My Green Butler applies gamification
Conclusion
References
12. Charging Guests for Carbon Emissions: Leading question: Should hotels levy a carbon emission fee?
Climate change is a global risk
Environment fund
Positive impact
The Myanmar Stoves Campaign
The Darfur Stoves Project
Soneva Forest Restoration Project, Thailand
The Soneva Wind Turbine
Guest feedback
Energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon offsets
Conclusion and recommendations
About Soneva
References
13. Sustainable Procurement and Product Certification: Leading question: Should certified products be made mandatory?
Introduction
Purchasing in the hospitality industry
Benefits of voluntary and mandatory certification in procurement
Limitations of mandatory certification
Searching for a solution
Industry examples
Examples beyond hospitality
Proposed framework for decision making
Conclusion
Note
References
14. Zero Plastic in Hotels: Leading question: Is plastic-free the new norm in hotels?
Introduction and context
Plastic and tourism
Changing attitudes to plastic pollution
Plastic use in hotels
The challenge for hotels
What can hotels do?
Follow the waste reduction hierarchy
Hotels leading by example
Other tools and resources
The role of certification
Plastic neutrality
The likelihood of plastic-free becoming the new norm for hotels
References
15. Rewarding Employees for Sustainability Commitment: Leading question: Should staff be rewarded for committing to sustainability endeavours?
Introduction
The role of the HR function
Employee perceptions
Rewards
Rewards and sustainability
Conclusion
References
16. Attracting Talent through Sustainability: Leading question: Does sustainability help attract and retain talent?
Introduction
The meaning of talent and talent management
Sustainability in the context of talent management
The building blocks of sustainable talent management
Diverse and creative talent
Employer branding and value proposition
Coopetition
Conclusion
References
Part III: Hospitality Strategies, Metrics and Stakeholder Participation
17. Green Teams and Unlocking Collective Intelligence: Leading question: How can green teams be made to flourish?
The promise of green teams
Current state of green teams
Success factors for green teams
Building collective intelligence
Facilitating green teams
Unlocking the potential of green teams
References
18. Supplier Relationship and Sustainability Standards: Leading question: Should hotels require suppliers to comply with specific sustainability standards?
Sustainable procurement
Driving scalable impact by engaging suppliers
How to best engage suppliers
The role of standards and certification
How to navigate the landscape of sustainability standards by material
Plastic alternatives
Language - best practices to ask your suppliers for
Standards and certifications - what to look for
Paper products
Language - best practices to ask your suppliers for
Standards and certifications - what to look for
Appliances and fixtures
Language - best practices to ask your suppliers for
Standards and certifications - what to look for
Food procurement
Language - best practices to ask your suppliers for
Standards and certifications - what to look for
Cleaning and personal care products
Language - best practices to ask your suppliers for
Standards and certifications - what to look for
Fair labour
Language - best practices to ask your suppliers for
Standards and certifications - what to look for
Creating a sustainable procurement policy
Training
Conclusion
References
19. Return on Sustainability Investments: Leading question: Is sustainability paying off?
Introduction
The triple bottom line approach in hospitality businesses
TBL across the hospitality asset life cycle
Aligning timeline and strategic vision of stakeholders
Towards establishing returns on sustainability
Conclusion
References
20. Key Metrics and Reporting Sustainability: Leading question: How and what key sustainability metrics should hotels report?
Introduction
What is sustainable tourism?
Why does sustainable tourism matter?
What is sustainability reporting?
Why report?
1. Ensuring legislative compliance
2. Meeting key global climate goals
3. Meeting investor requirements
4. Improving performance
5. Meeting changing consumer demand
6. Attracting and retaining the best staff - the linchpin of all hotels
7. Improving supplier relationships
8. Strengthening public relations
What key sustainability metrics should a hotel report?
How should hotels report key sustainability metrics?
Environmental metrics
Social metrics
Governance metrics
Case Study Con-Serve™ - data-monitoring and reporting platform
References
21. Marketing Sustainability: Leading question: How should a hotel market its sustainability initiatives?
Marketing sustainability
Marketing sustainability to suppliers
Who
Why
What
Where
Best-practice example
Marketing sustainability to staff
Why
What
Where
Best-practice example
Marketing sustainability to local community
Who
Why
What
Where
Best-practice example
Marketing sustainability to authorities
Who
Why
What
Where
Best-practice example
Marketing sustainability to partners
Who
Why
What
Where
Best-practice example
Marketing sustainability to potential customers
Who
Why
What
Where
Stage 1: Appeal and engage
Stage 2: Trust and convert
Best-practice example
Stage 1: Appeal and engage
Stage 2: Trust and convert
Marketing sustainability to in-house customers
Who
Why
What
Where
Stage 3: Exceed and wow
Stage 4: Loyal and repeat
Best-practice example
Stage 3: Exceed and wow
Stage 4: Loyal and repeat
Conclusion
References
22. Communicating Sustainability to Guests: Leading question: How should sustainability be communicated to guests?
Why are you communicating about sustainability?
Hilton International
Accor Group
IHG Hotels & Resorts
Marriott International
Wyndham Hotel Group
Choice Hotels
Communicating to customers
1. To convey the commitment to 'responsible business' practices
2. To create a sense of purpose for customers during their hotel stay
3. To measure both the savings of water and energy use and reduction of waste from customer efforts
Who are you communicating to about sustainability?
How are you communicating about sustainability?
Communication method suggestions
Technology delivery for customer communication
Personal communication by hotel staff with customers
Interactive sustainability-themed activities for customers
Collaborative programmes for customer education and participation
Concluding remarks
References
23. Engaging Guests in the Sustainability Experience: Leading question: How can hotels engage guests in sustainability endeavours and experiences?
Introduction
Hotel trends: From technology to the search for meaning and authenticity
Guest and sustainability endeavours
Case Study: Golden Bay Galapagos and MUYU
1. Sustainability
1.1 How is sustainability developed in the hotel?
1.2 Which areas of management are involved?
1.3 Bearing in mind that the hotel is integrated in a natural area, how do you interact with the nature and fauna of the area?
1.4 Are luxury and sustainability incompatible, or perhaps doomed to understand each other, or a necessity?
1.5 The Galapagos Foundation, how is the hotel part of it, what role does it play and what will be the next projects?
2. Circular economy: What is being done in different areas affected by the circular economy in the business (recycling, local produce, environmental care, suppliers, gastronomic offer and zero waste)?
2.1 Recycling
2.2 Local produce
2.3 Environmental care
2.4 Suppliers
2.5 Gastronomic offer
2.6 Zero waste
3. People management
3.1 How do you link the local people to the hotel?
3.2 What do you bring to the area?
3.3 Are there any intergenerational interventions?
3.4 How do you 'empower' women and young people through your project?
4. Customer profile
4.1 What are customers looking for in this space?
4.2 How do you think they have been adapting to what you are offering?
4.3 How do guests interact with the environment?
4.4 How do they live the sustainable experience that the hotel offers to visitors?
5. The future
5.1 How do you see the future of sustainability linked to hotels?
Conclusion
References
24. Stakeholder Engagement and Regenerative Hospitality: Leading question: What is the role of stakeholders in advancing sustainability and regeneration in tourism and hospitality?
Introduction
Regenerative business practice
Rethinking tourism: From sustainability to regeneration
Embracing the regenerative development approach in tourism contexts
Moving forward: Concrete actions for regenerative tourism
References
25. Hotels and E-mobility: Leading question: Should hotels adopt charging stations?
Introduction
Demand drivers for e-mobility and electric charging stations
Consumer demand for electric vehicles
Policy support for e-mobility
EV charging and the lodging industry
Innovation and the lodging industry
Benefits and perils of early adoption
Drivers of hotel adoption of EV chargers
Reasons for caution
Embracing the transition to e-mobility
References
26. Incorporating Nature in Sustainable Hotel Design: Leading question: How can sustainable hotel design incorporating nature effectively contribute to social and environmental regeneration?
Introduction
Setting the stage
A jungle of concrete and the search for the unspoiled
Restoration as a response to damaged habitats
Leading the way
The goals of sustainable hotel design
Nature-based solutions and hotels
Biophilia and hotels
Biophilic design and hotel applications
Conclusion
Notes
References
27. The Greater Purpose of Hospitality: Leading question: How can purposeful hospitality be developed?
Introduction
The emergence of purpose in hospitality
Historical background to hospitality and purpose
Traditional CSR vs. purpose from a consumer perspective
A framework for evaluating purposeful outcomes
Does the initiative trigger emotions and lead to positive customer outcomes?
Is the initiative instrumentally good for the business that provides it?
Does the EMCE create trade-offs?
Does the EMCE imply larger societal implications?
Significance to hospitality, conclusions and next steps
Significance to hospitality
Conclusions
Next steps
References
Conclusion
A note on additional reading and resources
Index