The Pros and Cons of Certifications

-- Hotels, 1/1/2008

Third-party green certifications are proliferating. Are they worth the investment and the intensity of the process?

“There isn’t any one certification program for all hotels worldwide, and most available programs are commercial entities that charge fees for their services. We are reluctant to support these programs. They tend to be exclusionary and can be financially prohibitive for small, independent hotels. Instead, we support Going Green, industry standards developed by the International Tourism Partnership. All hotels, regardless of size or geography, can strive to meet these standards.” – Gary Hurst Sr., Marriott International’s senior vice president, international engineering

“Certification has a good effect, but it is a quick fix. How can you certify an industry if no global standards have been set for energy, water or waste? Yes, you can certify a building. But, that certification has to be customized to hotels (LEED has no specific guidelines for hotels at this point). Hotels are very complex. Then, you have to think about why you are investing in certification—just to show customers you’re green?” – International Tourism Parntership’s Lyndall DeMarco

“Hotels should look to some form of third-party certification as a defense against all of the green-washing. Self-assessed green programs can be first step towards a socially responsible, sustainable hospitality industry. But they are a quick fix with minimal responsibility on the hotel’s end. They allow properties to claim they are green on the honor system without anyone monitoring them to ensure they are actually practicing their environmental commitments. Consumers want more than claims; they want a guarantee that the hotel that says it is green actually is green. There are many deceptive marketing campaigns out there aimed at eco-conscious consumers. Unless a hotel’s commitment is viable, and it can prove it is green, the property is wasting its money. There are a number of programs in addition to ours—from LEED to Green Leaf, Green Key, Green Globes.” – Andrea Spiess, CEO, Eco Crown Hospitality

“Certification is an important aspect from the point of the consumer. It substantiates the efforts shared by an organization. Another option, which is cheaper but more difficult to secure, is to seek awards and other accolades for green initiatives. They measure the level of innovation, and we use them as both a gauge and an incentive. Awards also can generate international recognition and additional coverage. The accompanying publicity for being named ‘Best Eco-friendly Resort’ (a Luxury Traveler reader award) or for receiving a Grand Award—Corporate Environmental Programme (Pacific Asia Travel Association) is very beneficial.” – Banyan Tree’s Claire Chiang

“Construction and refurbishment are areas where the effects last a long time. It is very important to have clear standards. We introduced our own standards in 2001 as a tool for construction companies, architects, developers and our own team. For new builds, we also use the Tourism Parternship’s hotel siting and construction guildelines.” – Peter Bergkvist, Scandic Hotels’ vice president for sustainable business

The Basics On Some Certifications

• LEED Certification, U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, D.C., has a schedule of fees for applications, depending upon the level of certification being sought. 

• International Tourism Partnership, London, launched its “Going Green” initiative to provide a simple, user-friendly tool that outlines minimum standards that cover six key areas of policy and framework integral to a sustainable hotel. An initiative of the International Business Leaders Forum, it also provides support materials including an “Environmental Management” handbook; its quarterly Greenhotelier magazine; its “Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design and Construction” reference and an Environmental Action Pack.

• Green Globe, Brisbane, Australia (as well as regional offices), delivers travel and tourism benchmarking and certification. Bronze “benchmarked” status typically takes four to six months; silver “certified” status generally requires 10 to 24 months. Hotels with five years of continuous certification are eligible for gold status. “It’s virtually a turnkey approach that allows small- and medium-sized properties to engage with the process,” says Jonathon Day, president, Placemark Solutions (North American representative of Green Globe), who opened the Westlake, California office last summer. Costs range from roughly US$655 for “a micro organization” with less than 10 full-time equivalents to US$1,900 for large, single site organizations with 50 or more full-time equivalents.
  

  
  

  New programs involve more focus on educating and involving the hotel staff. “Organizations are recognizing that they can engage their whole staff in this process and that they need a plan to help the organization motivate and challenge the whole team to assist the programs successful implementation,” Day says. Another initiative is designed to help companies new to the green process by providing them with a “roadmap.” Green Globe, whose parent company is EC3 Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Center, has seven years’ worth of data to help companies with existing programs benchmark.

• Green Seal, Washington, D.C., has an evaluation that takes three to four months and costs U$1,950 to US$3,000 annually based on the size of the hotel.

• Green Hotels Association, Houston, has annual membership fees of US$100 to US$750.