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Challenge
As travel and tourism grows, so does the demand for new hotels and resorts, many in ecologically sensitive areas. Today, the hotel industry faces the challenge of finding new, enticing locations while protecting sensitive ecosystems and local communities. The extent to which any hotel can minimize its environmental impact and contribute to long-term conservation efforts is largely dictated by where the property is sited, the physical design of the building, the nature of the major operating plant installed within, and the location and orientation of facilities.
Solution
We have partnered with the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) to create globally applicable sustainability guidelines that will minimize the environmental and social impacts caused by the siting, design, and construction of hotel properties. Together, we will develop the guidelines, build relationships in selected destinations to secure and support the implementation of guidelines, and raise the hotel development community's awareness of the guidelines and the business case for applying them.
Progress
Published Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction Guidelines (CI and IBLF, 2005) Recently in London, many of the world’s largest hotel chains met to accept and adopted the first international guiding principles for sustainable hotel design and development. CI and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) in a new book, “Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction,” published the guidelines. The publication will be used at all levels of hotel development from inception through to commissioning. It has been produced as a practical resource for planners, investors, hotel owners and developers that are involved in the process of planning or developing hotels.
In a related effort, we worked with the Tour Operators' Initiative (TOI) to create a user-friendly handbook that provides an overview of ten key environmental and social issues that are critical to the long-term success of the accommodations sector. The TOI partners have distributed more than 30,000 copies to hotels, primarily within the Caribbean and Mediterranean.