The question of how to reduce your hotel’s carbon footprint is a hot button issue today. With so many options on the table, it can seem overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be though. Going green can be one of the easiest things you can do to benefit your business and the environment. You won’t just be saving the planet; you’ll be saving yourself money.
1. Compost Food Waste
If your hotel still dumps its food waste, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. More and more, many hotels are starting to compost their food waste, hugely reducing their carbon footprint.
Globally, food waste makes up just over a third of all waste that’s thrown into landfills. It’s a savvy way to reduce your carbon footprint, and a good way of saving money – composting is very cost effective.
The compost you create can then be used as an organic fertiliser for landscaping – also helping the environment, as well as giving your guests beautiful lawns to look at. Many artificial fertilisers are incredibly harmful to wildlife when they enter local waterways. By composting your food waste, you can reduce your hotel’s carbon footprint and help your local ecosystem all at once!
2. Adopt More Efficient Technologies
Many of the everyday technologies that hotels currently rely on produce an extremely high amount of waste. This, of course, means that these hotels have a large carbon footprint. An easy way to fix this is to use more energy efficient technology.
Alternative solutions are everywhere – including our incredibly popular chafing dishes. The innovative Ecoburner chafing dish alternative is a cleaner and greener way to keep food warm at buffets. Our safe and refillable burners heat up in just ten minutes. With traditional products using materials that can be harmful to guests and staff, a risk to health and safety when spilled and only good for one use, the EcoBurner alternative is a safer, cost-effective choice.
With the products provided by Ecoburner, your staff and guests will have a safer buffet experience and you’ll be significantly reducing your hotel’s carbon footprint. The proof is in the pudding (if you’ll forgive the pun).
Ecoburner’s products have already saved over six thousand tonnes of carbon, and they’re already being used in 56 countries all around the world.
3. Reduce Water Waste
There are so many ways for your hotel to save water. Using water saving technologies like water efficient washing machines can save as much as 80% of your hotel’s water usage. This reduces your carbon footprint, by reducing the energy needed to transport the water and the electricity needed to heat it. In hotter climates, where droughts are more common, this change is also good for the local environment.
Another way of saving water is to install water fountains for your guests. This eliminates the need for plastic water bottles. It goes without saying that this is also a fantastic way to go green. It lowers the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills or ends up in the ocean. Through seemingly small changes like these, you can reduce your hotel’s carbon footprint substantially.
4. Recycle and Reuse As Much As Possible
Recycling and reusing supplies reduces the amount of waste that your hotel generates, while also reducing your expenditure. It’s not just about using cloth napkins instead of paper ones, products that are made from recycled plastics or recycled wood – like containers or furniture – are a great way to introduce recycling into your hotel.
By choosing recycled materials, you’re more environmentally friendly, cost effective and guests will be impressed by your efforts. It’s possible to reuse materials from your hotel too. The Green Hotels Association published a list of ways several hotels have begun to make changes, including laundry bags out of retired sheets and napkins and chef’s aprons out of old tablecloths.
5. Buy From Local, Sustainable Businesses
Food miles are one of the hidden things that can hugely increase a hotel’s carbon footprint. Imagine how much fuel it takes to transport food thousands of miles and how many thousands of gallons of fuel are burnt through! Buying locally can drastically reduce your hotel’s carbon footprint, by reducing your food miles. It’s also good for the local economy because you’re supporting local jobs that employ local people. Buying locally and sustainably reduces the amount of waste you generate and boosts the local area.
We live in a world that’s growing more and more environmentally conscious. There are so many ways to bring that into your business and reducing your hotel’s carbon footprint is a great place to begin. It’s easy being green, so why not start today? Register your interest and get a free demo of EcoBurner’s innovative chafing dish solutions.
