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Environmental Management: New Dimension to Tourism Training

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Environmental Management
Introducing Environmental Management to the Sri Lankan Hotel Sector
4/10/2012 S.R.C.Kumari

Environmental Management: New Dimension to Tourism Training

Abstract The Sri Lankan hotel industry is poised to reinvent itself in a way that improves profitability, enhances guest relations, builds bridges into the local communities and preserves the Sri Lankans natural beauty. We therefore need to ask ourselves how capable are we to pilot this new revolution and are our training institutions ready and aware of the requirements necessary for this new change? This chapter presents the case of the U.S. Agency for International Development/ Jamaica hotel and tourist Association Jamaica EAST project, which demonstrated the power of an environmentally friendly hotel through the adoption of an environmental management system (EMS). It also looks at new opportunities for hospitality education and training by incorporating environmental best practices in the curricula in our training institutions. Introducing Environmental Management to the Sri Lankan Hotel Sector Unlike tourism, it is difficult to measure the earnings from education, although that amount would, in real terms, be classified as priceless as a common factor for both social and economic development. Education is the most important area of focus in Sri Lankan regional development. When coupled with tourism, education plays even more important role, as the dependence on the economic benefits of that sector can only realized if workers in the sector are properly trained and educated to maintain the total tourism product, and to deliver the quality of service that is demanded worldwide. Today both in the Sri Lankan and throughout most tourist destinations worldwide, the word environment is becoming synonymous with tourism. This is quite understandable, as tourism, in essence, involves promoting and experiencing a destinations natural environment. Unfortunately in the Sri Lankan, little attention was paid over the past few decades to the effects tourism has had on the environment. Nevertheless, over the past ten years, and increasingly in the past five or so years, tourism planning and development has not been considered without some thought being given to its environmental and social impact. However, in some instances, developers have proceeded with various tourism projects within the Sri Lankan while conveniently ignoring the resulting negative environmental and social impacts. One can only assume that these decisions were based only on the monetary considerations without due thought to the environmental and social consequences. Today this is changing somewhat as we are beginning to realize that our markets are becoming more sophisticated, more educated and environmentally aware, with tourist demanding that the destinations they visit, products they consume and the services they enjoy demonstrate sound environmental practices in their operations. This become clear to the Jamaican hotel sector when tour operators (specifically those
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originating in Europe) began sending questionnaires to find out if the hotels they were promoting had environmental programmers incorporated in their daily operations. They also indicated that by the year 2001 a majority of the operators would not be sending future business to hotels that did not have such environmental programmes in place. As a result, in July 1997 the environmental Audits for Sustainable Tourism (EAST) Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) were launched in Negril, Jamaica. This project, which was implemented by Hagler Bailly,Inc., a US- based environmental consulting firm, was established to demonstrate the benefits of becoming an environmentally conscious hotel by adopting an environmental management system (EMS). This is a comprehensive organizational approach that is structured to ensure sound environment. The audits, which were designed by Hagler Bailly, Inc., focused on: The use of energy The use of water Generation of wastewater Generation of solid waste The use of chemicals Management and staff practices

On completion of the audits, fourteen hotels were provided with energy saving equipment as identified and recommended in the audit report. An integrated EMS was then designed and implemented within their operations. At the end of the data recorded. During the first year of the project it was felt that the hotels which had implemented an EMS should seek some international recognition for their efforts. As a result, the consultants, in conjunction with the JHTA and the office of the prime MinisterTourism began investigating both the ISO 14000 and Green Global certification programmes. It was after various options were investigated that the JHTA and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) agreed to adopt the Green Globe certification. The decision was based on the fact that the programme was designed specifically for the travel and tourism sectors. It adopt the Agenda 21 principles for sustainable tourism development as part of the criteria and, similar to 1001, required the implementation of an EMS.

30%

24%

Lower cost Marketing Reputation Compliance

8% 19%

19%

Environmental impact

Figure: 1.1 Top reasons given by hoteliers for making hotels environmentally friendly.

14%

17% lack of knowledge cost cost of Audit financing 29% technical difficulties Uncertainty of savings

14%

26%

Figure: 2.2 Top perceived barriers to becoming environmentally friendly Friendly, indicated a genuine concern for the impact their operations would on the physical environment, as shown in figure 2.1. When asked what they perceived as barriers to this process, they stated that learning how to make the transition and identifying sources of funding to finance implementation were the main factors, as shown in figure 2.2. They all felt, however, that becoming environmentally friendly could be translated into operating profits. What was interesting was that governments enforcement of environmental laws and standards ranked the lowest as a reason for becoming environmental friendly.

3%

19% cost >us$50/room cost >us$10 to50/room cost >us$10 /room 78%

Figure: 2.3. Summary of EAST project audit result for average Jamaican hotelbreakdown recommendations by implementation cost.

2%

36%

payback> 1 year payback> 2 months payback=2 to 12 months 62%

Figure: 2.4 Summary of EAST project audit result for an average Jamaican hotelbreakdown of recommendations by payback. The project was also able to demystify the illusion that the process of becoming environmentally friendly was an expensive one. The audit repots indicated that, of the recommendations made to the hotels to improve performance, over 70% had a cost factor of less than US$10 per room, as indicated in figure 2.3 and a payback period of less than tow months, as shown in figure 2.4. The audits future identified the following factors common to the majority of hotels: Inefficient use of water. Leaking toilets accounted for 40% of the daily water use in a thirty-five-room hotel. Excessive and unnecessary use of chemicals. One hotel spent over J$240,000 a year on a chemical degreaser to clean the kitchen grease trap instead of doing it manually.
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Excessive solid waste generation. Fifty percent of hotel solid waste can be composted and used on the property, reducing the consumption of plastic garbage bags. Staff operating procedures are not followed or enforced. In 90% of cases, housekeepers automatically replaced all used guest towels on properties that had linen reuse programmes. Poor (or no) monitoring. Approximately 70% of audited properties had no effective utilities monitoring programmes and management was not aware of department shortfalls.

These six areas indicated the areas in which, and personal among whom, training should be focused, namely, management and staff, across all the departments of the hotel operations, with some special attention being placed on maintenance. To future emphasize the economic benefits of going green and the importance of sound environmental training, in a report prepared by bill Meade and Antonio Del Monaco (19991) of Hagler Bailly, Inc., the following was observed: They noted that a green hotel sector would use 77% less water than the average, and 86% less than the inefficient hotel sector. The same simulation was done for energy. The difference between the consumption of electricity for a green hotel sector and that of an average hotel sector was over 47 million kilowatt-hours per year. The green hotel sector using one- third less electricity than the average, and two- thirds less than the inefficient hotel sectors. The EAST project clearly demonstrated the environmental management within any operation led to a win-win situation. EMS contributes to improving the market share and, at the same time, reducing operating costs. It also demonstrated that adopting environmental best practices was not necessarily an expensive venture, as it had been tried and tested with resounding results it also made it clear that the tourism and hospitality industry had no choice but tourism become green to ensure sustainability of the businesses. The major challenge now is to find ways and means to change the mindset of managers and workers in the hospitality sector and prepare them to meet these new challenges. All of these factors arising from the audit reports indicated that the problems in hotels were operational than they were structural and therefore for any improvements to be made, the focus would have to be primarily on the changing of old working habits and operational practices. The EAST auditors therefore concluded that great environmental and financial benefits could be achieved by more frequent monitoring of utility bills, closer management supervision, improved staff practices, preventative and routine maintenance of water and energy using equipment, and providing incentives for staff to implement programmes. All this clearly indicated the urgent need to place a new focus on education and training.

Environmental Responsibility
We encourage conservation of the wider landscape through the educational content of our guided walks, ecology training and awareness raising activities local ecosystems such as rivers, woodlands, wetlands, meadows, bogs all being integral parts of our rich natural heritage. Management of these eco-systems should allow for conservation of the whole landscape. Human development should have minimum impact on the surrounding landscape, thereby ensuring healthy eco-systems with clean air, water, soil. Energy conservation is promoted we use human-powered tools wherever possible. Also we bring water to the workshop site using a ram-pump which uses only the pressure of the water itself created by gravity. Participants are told to use the water sparingly so that the tank does not empty. Waste is collected at specific places where it is sorted into different bins for recycling. All organic waste is composted. We give priority to local accommodation providers who adopt ecofriendly practices by giving priority of bookings to those giving the best eco-friendly practices including use of energy-efficient appliances, eco-friendly cleaning products, and recycling, composting, fair-trade products).

A New Focus A quiet revolution is taking place in the Caribbean-one less visible than the construction of new hotel rooms or the construction of new cruise ship piers. Nevertheless, its advent is profoundly changing the nature and shape of the tourism and hospitality sector in every hotel room, housekeeping, laundry, food and beverage, and maintenance facility and in every tourism destination that elects voluntarily to join the environmental movement. This revolution is environmentally sustainable tourism. The Caribbean hotel industry, particularly, is positioned to reinvent itself in a way that improves profitability, enhances guest relations, builds bridges into local communities and preserves the natural beauty of the Caribbean. The question is, where should the tourism and hospitality industry go from here? The time has come for all subsectors of tourism to be more responsible and accountable for the manner in which they develop, manage and operate. The success or failure of tourism in the region lies, not in the hands of governments or international agencies, but in the hands of governments or international agencies, but in the tourism product or, in broader terms, the environmental. There needs to be a focus on the importance of the environment to tourism. Environmental issues should not be viewed as something other than, some unrelated and alien. Each sector of the society and each individual has a responsibility to the education only. When this is understood will the true benefits of sustainable development be seen by all.