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4. ISO 14001 environmental  standard:-  This standard specifies the requirements for an environmental management system and is a management tool enabling organisations to
a. identify and control the environmental impact of its activities, products or services,
b. to improve its environmental performance continually,
c. to implement a systematic approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to achieving these and to demonstrating that they have been achieved.

Some ISO certified hotels in India include – the flagship property of the Leela Palace Kempinski at Bangalore which also won accolades from the Indian government recently. It has been named the “best eco-friendly, five star deluxe hotel” in the country, The Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram and Minister of Tourism, Ambika Soni, presented the National Tourism Award (2007-08) to Rajiv Kaul, Leela’s Senior Vice President, at a ceremony in New Delhi in late February 2009.

The Taj group of Hotels also boasts quite a few ISO 14001 certified eco friendly hotels including The Gateway hotel, Pasumalai at Madurai, which achieved this certification in a record of five months.

A systematic ISO approach ensures that all activities that have an impact on the environment are critically reviewed. It can potentially lead to benefits such as:
• Reduced costs of waste management
• Savings in consumption of energy, water and other resources
• An improved corporate image
• A framework for continued improvement of environmental performance

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5. Green Globe certification: - Green Globe is a global Benchmarking and Certification product for sustainable Travel and Tourism. It is based on the Agenda 21 principles for Sustainable Development endorsed by 182 Heads of State at the United Nations Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. Green Globe assists organisations to improve their economic, social and environmental sustainability while being rewarded and recognised for it.

The Green Globe Company Standard provides organisations with a framework to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their environmental sustainability performance, through which they can monitor improvements and achieve certification. In India, the Taj group launched EARTH (Environment Awareness & Renewal at Taj Hotels), a project which reiterates their conscious effort to commit to energy conservation and environmental management.

EARTH has received certification from Green Globe, the only worldwide environmental certification program for travel and tourism. Green Globe will provide the EARTH project with independent and comprehensive proof of their environmental commitment through the monitoring, and improvement reports produced for Taj Hotels each year as part of the certification procedure. The Taj group also offers EARTH friendly green rooms where a simple measure like setting the air conditioning at 24 degrees Celsius instead of 18 results in saving up to 30% of energy consumed at lower temperatures.

Novotel, by the Accor group is also joining the fight to save the environment with 30 Green Globe certified hotels worldwide. The Novotel, Hyderabad is the first hotel in Hyderabad to receive this certification, recognising its commitment to high environmental standards.  According to Pavithran Nambiar, general manager, Novotel Hyderabad,

“The successful completion of the Certification process demonstrates Novotel Hyderabad’s strong commitment to the principles of environmental sustainability.

Increasingly organisations are becoming more and more conscious of eco-friendly procedures and are seeking to be associated only with like-minded partners. I am confident that the sustainable development programme at Novotel Hyderabad will offer us an unprecedented edge.” This programme also joins together the group’s environmental responsibility initiatives which include: energy, water conservation, waste management and biodiversity.

The long term benefits of adopting an eco friendly policy and an environmental management system are tremendous. The InterContinental Hotels Group is testing out a new system called “Green Engage” to help hotels manage energy consumption more effectively, in response to growing levels of interest from guests who are looking for sustainable hotels that manage their environmental impact. Early trials have shown energy savings of up to 25%. This system can enable the Intercontinental Group to potentially save up to US $200 million dollars globally.

Not only does going green improve your brand image but it also results in more “green” growing in your bank account. 

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