ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS 3
Environmental management in
hotels
David Kirk
The hospitality industry exposes many of the conflicts which arise when implementing environmental
policies
Introduction
Initially, concern about the environment was related to
those industries which caused direct pollution of the
environment through their effluents and discharges.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, environmental
pressures have come to affect a wider range of industries
until now most industries are affected. At the same time,
the concern has now become much broader, relating not
only to outputs of the operation but to the whole system,
including inputs and processes[1, p. 14].
The hospitality industry is an interesting case in that it
exposes many of the conflicts which arise when
implementing environmental policies. First, many hotels
and restaurants are situated in areas of outstanding
natural beauty, in historic cities and in areas with a
delicate ecological balance. The addition of new
hospitality facilities may attract visitors to areas which
already suffer from too much tourism. For this reason
there are often serious planning constraints when
developing a new hospitality facility.
Second, many of the customers who seek hospitality
services do so expecting to be pampered, with lashings of
hot water, high-pressure showers, freshly laundered linen,
an ample supply of towels, copious supplies of food and
drink, the availability of swimming pools and saunas and
the limousine to take them to the airport. Clearly,
whatever is done to reduce waste can only be done either
with the consent of the customers or in such a way that
they do not notice any deterioration of service.
Third, the customer visits the location of the hospitality
operation, which is fixed by customers’ needs and
therefore cannot always be sited where there will be
minimized effect from traffic, cooking smells and the
noise of the disco. This local environmental pollution may
not be an issue on the scale of those considered by the Rio
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 7 No. 6,
1995, pp. 3-8 © MCB University Press Limited, 0959-6119
Conference, but it does affect people’s attitudes towards
the industry.
The hospitality industry is not one which causes gross
environmental pollution nor does it consume vast
amounts of non-renewable resources and therefore it may
not be in the front line for environmental concern. It is
made up of a large number of small operations, each of
which consumes relatively small amounts of energy,
water, food, paper and other resources, and each of which
adds only a small amount of pollution to the environment
in terms of smoke, smell, noise and chemical pollutants.
However, if the impact of all of these small individual
operations is added together the industry does have a
significant effect on global resources. This is the dilemma
– how can we persuade companies involved in the
hospitality industry (many of them small independent
operators) to take environmental management seriously?
Will the push of legislation, the pull of consumer pressure
groups, together with the financial savings which can
result from reducing waste, force all companies to take
environmental management seriously? This article
reviews some of the developments within the industry as
examples of responsible environmental management, and
investigates some of the attitudes of managers involved in
the hotel industry in the city of Edinburgh.
The main themes for discussion are:
● What is the balance between global policies and
local action?
● How are general concerns translated into
individual action?
● How much will companies contribute to the “cost”
of protecting the environment?
These last two points are particularly difficult to answer
in the case of small operations, such as are the majority of
hotels and restaurants. Many individual operations may
feel that they are too small to have any real effect, that
these services are very price sensitive, and that the
customer would soon go elsewhere if asked to pay any of
the cost of environmental management.
4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7,6
Environmental management is a broad term, covering
issues such as: environmental impact (aesthetic, cultural,
ecological and social); sustainability; resource
management; and pollution. This article concentrates on
the management of existing hospitality operations in a
manner which is sensitive to the principles of sound
environmental management, rather than on issues
concerned with the building of new hotels and
restaurants.
Global and national policies and actions
It is possible to consider environmental management as a
hierarchy of policies and actions:
● global environmental policies;
● national environmental policies;
● responsibility of business;
● local action.
Environmental problems must be tackled at all of these
levels. There is a need for global policy making and target
setting, such as the Montreal Protocol of 1987, which set
targets for CFC emissions. The European Union has
brought in a large number of Directives which relate to
the management of the environment. Many of these have
been, or are being, implemented as national policies.
Environmental management is also important to the
individual company, since many are now being measured
not only on their financial performance but also on their
responsibility towards the environment. This affects both
shareholders and consumers [1, p. 18].
Some of the milestone events in recent environmental
history include:
● 1956: Clean Air Act;
● 1970: Department of Environment established;
● 1972: publication of “Limits to Growth”;
● 1973: formation of Green Party;
● 1974: Control of Pollution Act;
● 1987: Montreal Protocol (CFC emissions);
● 1987: Treaty of Rome;
● 1987: Bruntland Report (sustainable development);
● 1987: HM Inspectorate of Pollution;
● 1990: European Environmental Agency;
● 1990: White Paper on Environmental Strategy;
● 1992: Rio Earth Summit Conference;
● 1993: UK National Sustainability Plan.
Environmental management can be traced back at least
40 years to the post-war years when the expansion of
industry was seen to be causing damage to the
environment and to the health of people. Initial concern
was with gross pollution caused by the discharge of toxic
materials. However, the interest of environmentalists
developed a concern not only with the outputs of industry
but also with the input side of the equation with the
realization that stocks of many raw materials were being
depleted at an unsustainable rate.
Sustainable development, which is one of the
cornerstones of environmental management, covering a
broad range of areas from the maintenance of physical
resources, the protection of biological systems, plant and
animal species and natural habitats and the preservation
of cultures, may be defined in a number of ways:
development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs[2].
we have a moral duty to look after our planet and to hand it
on in good order to future generations [3].
Global and national interest and the development of
policy will, by itself, not be effective in inducing change.
There are five main forces for change:
(1) legislation and codes;
(2) fiscal policies;
(3) public opinion;
(4) consumer pressure;
(5) financial advantages resulting from saving
resources.
Principles of environmental management
The principles of environmental management have been
established in the framework of British Standard
BS 7750: Environmental Management Systems[4]. This
standard, which has many parallels to ISO 9000 on
Quality Management Systems, outlines a number of
stages in establishing these procedures in any
organization. The suggested stages are:
● formulating environmental policy;
● ensuring total commitment of all in the
organization;
● carrying out an environmental review;
● determination of responsibilities within the
organization;
● preparing a register of environmental effects;
● establishing objectives and targets;
● implementing management systems;
● commissioning periodic environmental audits;
● performing regular systems reviews based on
performance.
The first step in this process is usually considered to be
the development of a written environmental policy, which
should cover general principles including a total
commitment at all levels of the organization, together

with: strategies for complying with laws, codes and
company standards; the identification of responsibility
within the organization; and the involvement of partners,
including suppliers, servicing companies, customers and
the local community.
To be totally effective, the adoption of environmental
policies must come from the top. Without a commitment
at the highest level of the company, it is unlikely that
ideas developed throughout the organization will
flourish. Some companies are starting to incorporate
environmental values in their mission statements. To be
effective, this vision must be converted into clear
objectives and targets together with effective monitoring,
control and communication[1. pp. 40-7].
The next step is to conduct an environmental audit of the
organization[5]. From this it is possible to identify a
number of areas for improvement which can be defined in
terms of precise targets against which achievement can
be monitored.
An environmental management system can be seen as
having a number of linked aspects:
(1) Purchasing policies:
● develop partnerships with suppliers;
● identify sustainable products;
● choose products with sensible packaging.
(2) Waste management:
● minimize waste in operations;
● reuse as much waste as possible;
● the segregate of waste which can be recycled.
(3) Waste disposal:
● establish partnerships with disposal companies;
● ensure disposal methods are sound;
● only use land-fill disposal as last resort.
Environmental management in the hospitality
industry
There was not all that much interest in environmental
management in the hospitality industry until the
development of the International Hotels Environment
Initiative, which was launched by the Prince of Wales. At
this time, 11 major international hotel chains agreed to
work together. The first practical outcome was the
development of a manual on environmental management
for hotels[6]. More recently, the Hotel Catering &
Institutional Management Association (HCIMA) and the
World Travel and Tourism Council have established an
initiative on environmental management awareness[7].
The programme, known as “Green Globe”, has as its
main objective the aim to provide practical and low-cost
means by which hospitality companies can:
● commit themselves to undertaking environmental
improvements, based on international guidelines;
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS 5
● receive expert help in environmental management
techniques, based on international best practice;
and
● demonstrate their commitment through a publicly
recognized green globe logo.
There are a number of specific issues which relate to
environmental management of the hospitality industry.
First, there are those that relate to the customer, who
visits the establishment as a part of the experience and
who may arrive with images of luxury, comfort and
indulgence. For example, the use of soap and shampoo
dispensers may reduce waste but may be contrary to
customer expectations[8]. Second, the business usually
has a local customer base, has a strong identity with the
local community and is often a part of the local tourism
product.
The hospitality industry is not a dirty industry in the
sense that it causes gross pollution or releases toxic
materials into the environment. It is typical of many small
companies, particularly those in the service sector. What
damage do hotels do to the environment? The industry
consumes valuable raw materials such as energy, water,
food, wood and plastics. There are a number of
undesirable emissions, including CO 2 , CFCs, noise,
smoke, smells. The industry wastes energy, water, food
and packaging and many of these waste materials require
disposal. There are also issues about the environmental
health of staff. Because of location, the industry may
encourage the use of the private car rather than public
transport. Some of these issues may seem to be relatively
unimportant and yet are significant when added together.
As an example, the overall consumption of gas by UK
hotels for heating and hot water results in 5 million tons
of CO2 emissions every year and costs £130 million each
year.
In addition to legislation and local codes, public opinion
and consumer pressures can have a significant effect.
Whilst this last point may not seem to be important, the
example of McDonald’s demonstrates the force of
environmental pressure. This company was confronted
with a whole range of issues related to animal rights,
tropical rain forest destruction and damage to the ozone
layer caused by CFCs in packaging materials. This forced
McDonald’s to develop green policies[1, pp. 16-17].
Do guests want green hotels?
There have been a number of surveys in the USA, in an
attempt to identify consumer attitudes to hospitality and
the environment. According to Feiertag[9], a number of
US hotel groups have generated consumer interest by
having environmental policies and operations. In a
survey of frequent travellers, 75 per cent of customers
said they were environmentally minded consumers and
6 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7,6
54 per cent of customers said they were environmentally
minded travellers and that they wanted to stay in hotels
that show concern for the environment. Research in the
US indicates that customers are not willing to pay extra
to fund green policies[10,11]. However there have been
some interesting pilot schemes whereby guests to a
locality are encouraged to contribute to local
environmental protection schemes[12]. The concept of
hotel classification based on environmental testing has
also been developed in some areas such as Thailand[13].
This raises the interesting question of whether
environmental management will increase the operating
costs, which must be passed on to the customer.
Environmental management does not have to involve
capital intensive projects and may not necessarily
introduce increased running costs. Indeed, where poor
management is linked to waste, sound environmental
management can reduce costs[14]. This means starting
with a programme of staff training together with the
initiation of low-cost, easy-to-achieve projects. Once
progress has been made and confidence established, it is
possible to move on to projects which require moderate
investment. It is advisable to leave high investment
projects until the principles have been accepted and
benefits established.
Taking food waste as an example, research in the late
1970s and early 1980s on food waste in UK hotel and
restaurants[15] indicated that 15.5 per cent of edible food
was wasted. A similar figure for hospital catering
departments was 30 per cent. These figures represent a
high monetary value because of high value-added
associated with the waste of prepared food[16]. It also
represents a waste of energy because the food has been
transported, stored and cooked. Much of this waste can
be controlled through sound management practices.
Most examples of successful environmental management
are in the area of energy management, where there are
clear motivations in terms of financial savings. A survey
in 1987 indicated that 33 per cent of hotel groups had
invested in computerized energy management and/or
property management systems, 30 per cent in heat
recovery and 23 per cent in combined heat and power[17].
In addition to energy consumption in heating, ventilation
and air-conditioning (HVAC) applications, catering areas
can also be prolific consumers of energy[18].
In the UK, the Energy Efficiency Office ( funded by the
Department of Environment), in conjunction with the
Building Research Establishment, has developed a
programme on energy efficiency in the hotel and catering
industry[19] . They have developed a number of case
studies on good practice in the industry. These case
studies show that in hotels there is a wide variation in
energy costs in the UK, from £300 to £1,000 per bedroom
per year. They project that is possible to make 5 per cent
savings through good housekeeping measures and 10 per
cent savings by using relatively low-cost measures.
Heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems are the
highest cost areas (29 per cent) followed by lighting (21
per cent) and catering (15 per cent).
As an example of the case studies, one describes the
InterContinental Hotel at Hyde Park Corner, which was
able to reduce energy consumption from 870 kWh/m2/
annum to 575 kWh/m2/annum between 1980 and 1992, a
saving of 34 per cent. This was done through a mixture of
methods including changing lighting, recovering heat
from refrigeration equipment, energy management
systems on boilers and staff awareness campaigns.
Another example is the Forte Crest Hotel in West
Yorkshire which converted to energy-efficient lighting to
reduce energy costs by 45 per cent and replacement costs
by 85 per cent.
Waste management and waste disposal has been another
area of concern[20]. The importance of differentiating
between waste minimization and waste disposal
management is critical in this area since it is much more
effective to prevent waste in the first place than it is to
manage the waste once it has been produced[21]. The list
below shows a hierarchy of waste minimization going
from the most desirable form of disposal at the bottom, to
the least desirable at the top:
● landfill – most damaging;
● incinerate – recover energy content;
● recycle – recover material for reuse;
● reuse – reuse the material with no processing;
● minimize – use minimum packaging, eliminate
waste.
Other areas of concern have included the change from the
use of CFCs in refrigeration equipment to new gasses
which will not damage the ozone layer[22].
Data from a survey of hotels in Edinburgh
A questionnaire was sent to the general managers of 145
hotels in the city of Edinburgh, of whom 53 replied, a
response rate of 37 per cent. The first issue raised was,
“Do the hotels have a policy statement?”. This was seen to
be important because of the central role of a written
policy[23], as described by the HCIMA in their Technical
Brief on Environmental Issues[24]. According to this
brief:
Every business should have a policy statement which
should as a minimum make a commitment to: the concept of
sustainable development; practical action to protect the
environment.
Of the hotels that replied to the survey, 19 per cent had a
formal written policy statement covering environmental
management. Most of these had started this policy
 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS 7

between one and three years ago. There was no Figure 1. Effects of environmental management on business
significant difference in the distribution of these replies
between large hotels and small hotels (less than 20 Score
rooms). Similarly there was no significant difference 5

between the response of independent hotels and those 4.5

which were part of a chain or consortium. 4

3.5
Of those hotels who had established a policy, the most 3
frequently stated improvements resulting from this
2.5
policy were:
2
● savings on heating;
1.5
● recycling bottles and cans; 1
Profitability Customer Employee Local Public Market
● purchasing of biodegradable detergents; satisfaction satisfaction community relations advantage

● changed policy on towel provision;

● installation of low-level lighting. Figure 2. Effects on business: size of hotel
In addition to the specific questions about policy, all
Score
hotels were asked about the perceived effects of
5
environmental management on the business.
Respondents were asked to rate a number of statements
related to the expected impacts of environmental 4

management on a 5-point scale, going from 1 = strongly

disagree to 5 = strongly agree, with 0 = do not know. The 3
statements were, a programme of environmental
management will: 2
● increase profitability;
● increase customer satisfaction; 1
Profitability Customer Employee Local Public Market
satisfaction satisfaction community relations advantage
● improve employee satisfaction;
Key:
● improve relationships with the local community; Small hotels
Other hotels
● help with our public relations;
● give a marketing advantage over our competitors.

Some of the result from the survey are described below.
Since the number of respondents involved is small, only
descriptive statistics are used and these result must be
seen as indicative only.
Mean scores indicate that overall most people saw
positive effects of environmental management, with the
greatest effect being on the local community and public
relations, as shown in Figure 1. Given the work of the
Energy Efficiency Office in establishing clear financial
benefits from energy management, it was interesting to
note that an increase in profitability was not seen as the
most important effect.
The influence of ownership is shown in Figure 3. In
general, independent hotels envisaged less significant
benefits when compared to those hotels which were part
of chains or consortia. As with the effect of size, the most
striking differences were in the areas of public relations
and marketing, with the independent hotels seeing less of
an advantage.
Figure 3. Effects on business: ownership
Score
5
4

The difference in responses from those in small hotels 3

(less than 20 rooms) and larger hotels is shown in Figure
2
2. In terms of profitability, customer satisfaction and
employee satisfaction there was little difference between 1
Profitability Customer Employee Local Public Market
the response of small and large hotels. There was a satisfaction satisfaction community relations advantage
greater difference in the areas of public relations and Key:
marketing, where the larger hotels perceived greater Independent
Other hotels
benefits.
 8 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT 7,6
Summary
This article has related the way in which the hospitality
industry particularly has responded to some of the local,
national and global issues concerning the environment.
The slogan “think globally, act locally” has been around
in green politics for a long time but it is still very relevant.
Problems are created at a local level through the business,
leisure and domestic activities of individuals. These
activities may result in effects on the environment at a
local level and collectively at a national and global level.
The issue is complicated by the fact that the
“environmental issue” may be a secondary or tertiary
effect with disputed links and mechanisms – skin cancer,
holes in the ozone layer, refrigerants and polystyrene food
containers? If the presence of a written policy on
environmental management is taken as an indicator of its
relative importance, then the fact that less than 20 per
cent of hotels surveyed in Edinburgh had such a policy is
disappointing, particularly as Edinburgh has a
reputation within the UK for progressive action on the
environment.
As might be expected, the hospitality industry has
responded mainly in those areas where there are direct
financial gains (energy management and waste
management) and where there is a fiscal/legislative
requirement. Since what research there is indicates that
customers do not want to pay for environmental
management this is probably very sensible. However, the
results from this survey do point to the fact that some
hotels in Edinburgh see significant benefits, in terms of
effects on their local community, to their public relations.
This may give them a marketing advantage so they are
perhaps less aware of the financial benefits.
References
1. Elkington, J. and Knight, P., The Green Business Guide,
Gollancz, London, 1992.
2. World Commission on Environment and Development,
Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
1987.
3. UK White Paper, This Common Inheritance, HMSO,
London, 1990.
4. BS 7750, Environmental Management Systems, British
Standards Institute, London, 1992.
5. Welford, R. and Gouldson, A., Environmental
Management and Business Strategy, Pitman, London,
1993, pp. 99-122.
David Kirk is Professor and Head of Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Queen Margaret College,
Edinburgh, UK.
6. International Hotels Environment Initiative,
Environmental Management for Hotels, Butterworth-
Heinemann, Oxford, 1993.
7. “HCIMA backs new environmental awareness initiative”,
Hospitality, August 1994, pp. 16-7.
8. Dagmar, W., “Greening housekeeping”, VOICE, July
1994, pp. 14-15.
9. Feiertag, H., “Boost sales with environment-driven
strategy” , Hotel & Motel Management, Vol. 209 No. 2,
1994, p. 8.
10. Watkins, E., “Do guests want green hotels?”, Lodging
Hospitality, Vol. 50 No. 4, 1994, pp. 70-2.
11. Jaffe, W. F., “Solid waste disposal: independent food
service practices”, FIU Hospitality Review, Vol. 11 No. 1,
1993, pp. 69-77.
12. Green, S., “Green partnerships”, Hospitality, February-
March 1995, pp. 20-1.
13. Goodno, J. B., “Leaves rate Thai hotels on ecology”, Hotel
& Motel Management, Vol. 208 No. 7, 1993, pp. 8, 52.
14. Iwanowski, K and Rushmore, C., “Introducing the eco-
friendly hotel”, Cornell Hotel & Restaurant
Administration Quarterly, Vol. 35 No. 1, 1994, pp. 34-8.
15. Kirk, D. and Osner, R. C., “Collection of data on food waste
from catering outlets in a university and a polytechnic”,
The Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK),
Vol. 14 No. 4, 1981, pp. 190-4.
16. Collison, R. and Colwill, J., “The analysis of food waste
results and related attributes of restaurants and public
houses”, Journal of Foodservice Systems,Vol. 4 No. 1,
1986, pp. 17-30.
17. Kirk, D., “Computer systems for energy management in
hotels”, International Journal of Hospital ity
Management, Vol. 6 No. 4, 1987, pp. 237-42.
18. Woodward, D., “Energy saving in the kitchen”, VOICE,
August 1994, pp. 12-13.
19. Department of Energy, Guide 35: Energy Efficiency in
Hotels – A Guide to Owners and Managers, Building
Research Establishment, HMSO, London, 1993.
20. Hasek, G., “Waste removal remedies”, Hotel & Motel
Management, Vol. 208 No. 19, 1993, pp. 89-90.
21. Cummings, L.E., “Hospitality solid waste minimisation: a
global frame”, International Journal of Hospital ity
Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, 1992, pp. 255-67.
22. Forte, J., “CFCs – where are we now” , Hospitality, August
1994, p. 15.
23. Hotel Catering and Institutional Management
Association (HCIMA), Managing Your Business in
Harmony with the Environment, HCIMA, pp. 4-10.
24. Hotel Catering and Institutional Management
Association (HCIMA), Technical Brief No. 13,
Environmental Issues, HCIMA.