“ ALSO FROM A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE , OPERATING SUSTAINABLY CAN IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE , JUST BY MAKING SMALL INVESTMENTS ”
STRATEGIC SOURCING
“ ALSO FROM A MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE , OPERATING SUSTAINABLY CAN IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE , JUST BY MAKING SMALL INVESTMENTS ”
PHILIP HALAHAN HEAD OF SOURCING AND SUSTAINABILITY , WYNDHAM HOTELS
If you don ' t know what your impact is now , how on earth can you credibly set a target for carbon reduction ?
One thing we ensure is that our properties can baseline what their energy consumption is , and the simplest way to do this is at a property level on a month-by-month basis . How much fuel am I using to heat or cool the building ? How much electricity and gas am I using ? Those are the questions that need asking , and then you baseline that over six months and see what it ' s telling you .
Then , of course , in hospitality you have seasonality , and you can set yourself sustainability targets around this . Things such as ‘ I want to reduce hourly electricity consumption by X %’. Then you create a plan as to how this can be achieved . By turning lights off ? By sourcing energy-efficient bulbs ? Should you source and install motion sensors to automate light use ? Then when you ’ ve done one or all of these things , you measure the improvement on your consumption .
This is why we ' re encouraging our properties to start that process now , because the more data they have , the better able they are to baseline what they ’ re using and then set strategies in place to reduce consumption .
How can the hospitality industry be truly sustainable ? The travel industry generally needs to adapt and it needs to change . Tackling that change head-on will be key . It ' s very much a case of understanding what you ' re doing now , and then putting in place strategies that can help you become more sustainable in the future . procurementmag . com 73