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According to a 2010 audit, each guestroom in a hotel produces between one kg and 57 kg of waste per day. It consists of biodegradable, non-biodegradable — including plastic — waste. If this waste is not reduced or recycled, it contributes in considerable measure to environmental degradation.
In a bid to reduce plastic waste, Taj Hotels, Palaces, Resorts, Safaris, Vivanta, Gateway and Ginger Hotels are participating in a plastic elimination challenge over a period of two weeks in support of Earth Hour, which was observed on March 24. The hotels, which are part of Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) will compete with each other in giving up plastic usage through innovative solutions.
“In line with IHCL’s commitment to safeguard the environment, the initiative of phasing out plastic is a vital step towards developing sustainable practices,” says Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to introducing more such measures with every passing year.” During the competition, the initiatives will be judged for being the most impactful and replicable, with potential for scaling across the company. As one of the steps, 30 of the group’s luxury hotels have replaced plastic-wrapped dry amenities in their rooms, such as toothbrushes, shaving kits among others with eco-friendly substitutes.
IHCL says it has been participating in Earth Hour Global for many years. This year as well, all its hotels observed a one-hour switch-off of electricity on March 24, with a host of interesting guest and employee engagement activities. In New Delhi, one of the hotel teams placed letters in rooms encouraging guests to switch off their television sets and extra lights. They also created a candle cluster at the lobby depicting “60+ Earth Hour”.
The hotels also employ energy efficient practices in several areas of operation including the use of LED lights and light dimmers in guest floor corridors and the lobby. Water level sensors are used to avoid wastage of water due to overflowing, along with rain-water harvesting measures and solar panels for pre-heating of water.
To measure its performance on various environmental parameters, the group holds regular energy audits.
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