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Hotel industry, because it sees itself as environmentally "clean", has been relatively slow to acknowledge the fact that it is the most resource consuming industry.

One of the most critical elements of becoming an environment-friendly hotel is the adoption of a new culture that extends throughout the hotel organisation, and between the hotel and its guest, local community, and even its vendors.

Today, hotels have implemented environmental programs such as water conservation, composting and maintaining gardens in the city, but it is typically not done as part of a larger management system, nor is it integrated with other environmental programs. The EMS can be viewed as the integration of multiple environmental programs. In fact, environmental programs are typically designed to address a specific environmental problem or issue such as recycling or composting solid waste; or are focussed on a specific department such as a linen reuse program in housekeeping and laundry. In some instances, particularly for smaller hotels, environmental programs may involve multiple properties, such as sharing the cost of a bottle for glass recycling, selling the food waste to the piggery.

An EMS takes the following approach to address its environmental issues (or aspects as they are referred to in the standards).

l	The core team is formed with one member from each department of the hotel. The team is co-ordinated by the Management Representative (MR).
l	First step is to identify the inflow and out flow of each activity of each department and then identify the related Environmental aspect and impact. (under consumption of energy, water, paper, generation of solid waste, waste water etc.)
l	Then, an assessment is done to determine what improvements can be made, how much does it cost, and what type of changes in consumption or waste generation are expected. The assessment also allows you to establish a baseline against which changes should be measured.
l	A hotel sets objectives like reducing water consumption, or reducing solid waste for the entire property. Each objective is supported by a set of specific targets, such as introducing towel and linen reuse program by specific time period say, Dec 31st, or install low-flow taps in guest rooms and staff locker rooms by Nov 1st.
l	The individuals, or departments, responsible for achieving the targets are identified in the action plan. Greatest improvements are made through changes in staff procedures which are termed as operational control procedures.
l	Finally, the impact or results, in terms of changes from the baseline, must be measured and documented. This provides the necessary feedback to determine whether the EMS is working.

Input	Departments	Output
Energy( Electricity, steam etc) Water Running of DG set, boiler Maintenance of equipment’s	Engineering	Air emissions Noise generation Solid waste( Tins,cans,cardboards)
Water Chemicals Energy (Electricity,Steam) Packaging Material(Plastic, Paper, cardboard)	Laundry	Waste water Solid waste(plastic, paper, cardboard)
Water Raw food material (vegetables, meat) Ingredients Chemicals ( for washing) Energy ( electricity, LPG, steam)	FNB	Waste water Vegetable scrap Packaging waste( bottles, sachets ) Left out food waste
Water(cleaning bathrooms, mopping) Chemicals ( cleaning & polishing) Changing of linen Keeping guest amenities	Housekeeping	Waste water Soiled linen Packaging waste Used cosmetic bottles, soap etc
Purchasing Un packaging of material Storing Transport	Purchase	Solid waste (packaging material) Air emissions

An effective EMS can help a hotel assure its guests of its commitment to environmental management as partners in programs such as recycling, linen and towel reuse, etc. It can set specific and realistic performance objectives and targets, and allows the hotel to monitor whether the objectives and targets are being met or not.

The Indian hotel industry is positioned to reinvent itself in a way that improves profitability, enhances guest relations, builds bridges into the local communities, and preserves the natural environment. Over the past two years, this trend has been translated into results in India in the form of implementing the Environmental Management System-ISO 14001 in hotel industry. This article presents a case study of three hotels, demonstrating the power of becoming an environment-friendly hotel by adoption of environ-mental management system (EMS), a comprehensive organisational approach designed to achieve environ-mental care in all aspects of operations. Partnering environmental protection with cost-saving environmental improvements and best practices, these units represent a model for the hotels in India and South Asia for environmental assessments and actions, as well as voluntary environmental audits that can lead to ISO 14001 certification.

Launched in 1997, The Orchid, Asia’s First Ecotel Hotel, a leading landmark in the city of Mumbai, has gained international importance due to its pioneering efforts in the eco-friendly sphere. The Mission Statement of The Orchid sums up its core values in accepting responsibility for living in close harmony with nature and community. In continuation to this Orchid has reinforced its commitment to eco-friendly practices by achieving the ISO-14001 Environment Management Systems certification in just twelve months of commencing the process. When the management decided to lead the way in reflecting the hotel’s intrinsic values, little did they realize then that the venture would place the hotel at the very top.

It started with the formation of the core team headed by the Management Representative (MR). The initiative was executed by involving the team – HODs, department representatives and internal auditors. The MR being a team player streamlined the entire initiative, and was able to not only foster team spirit and use the principles of the Orchid culture, but he was able to tactfully handle the Orchid team members and channelise their energies in the right direction to achieve the goal.

Inspite of being an ecotel where the Orchidians have been already practising environment-friendly systems and procedures, it was a challenge for the Orchid team to find ways and means to go further in this endeavour. Each Orchidian rose to the challenge to document and implement the ISO 14001 environment management systems. The system was audited by Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI) and was found to be in accordance with the requirements of the environment standard ISO 14001. During the process and inspite of a busy period in terms of occupancy, approximately 80% from May 2000 to May 2001, the Orchid team stuck to their guns and went through a structured program provided by consultants "Development Alternatives.

Orchid Hotel is located conveniently, midway between the Sahara International Airport, and the Santa Cruz Domestic Airport. Spread across a total area of 75,644 sq. ft. the six-storey building has 245 rooms.

It is not really an easy task for Orchid to strike a balance between environmental improvement and five star deluxe hotel service. But Orchid’s genuine desire to reduce adverse environmental impacts without sacrificing five star service can be seen by taking a glance at its everyday operation, even the slightest aspects.

The Orchid has been the proud recipient of several international and national awards, however this recent achievement has been quite special, because it involved constant interaction again and again and thorough training at all levels of the orchid to achieve the desired standards. The MR adds "that no one can ever take from the Orchidians those moments during the process of interaction – fun, teamwork and contemplation during the journey to achieve this goal".

The ISO 14001 initiative has been the result of "The Orchid team work, persistence and culture – we will exert vigorous effort such that others join in enthusiastically". Quality is never an accident, but the result of hard work and dedication, and this is what has paid rich dividends. Today, the Orchid looms high above the horizon, a leader in its own right, culminating with the hotel bagging the ISO 14001 Certificate.

B. Hyatt Regency, Delhi

Benefits of Cost Reduction

The Environmental Management Systems (EMS) of Hyatt Regency, Delhi covers all environmental aspects associated within the boundary wall of the hotel arising out of its activities, products and services. This standard (ISO 14001) enabled the hotel to establish an effective EMS, achieve continual improvement of environmental performance and ensure environment related regulatory legislative compliance. EMS allowed the hotel to address, control and improve the short-term and long-term impacts of its activities, products and services, thereby helping to operate in an environmentally responsible manner, anticipate and meet growing environmental performance expec-tations. The total timeframe of EMS implementation took fourteen months. Initial six months went in carrying out the detailed initial environmental review and prioritising the significant environmental aspects, so as to act immediately towards minimising the adverse environmental impacts. Hyatt Regency, Delhi is the first hotel in the world under Hyatt International chain to get the ISO 14001 certificate from Det Norske Veritas (DNV), September 2001.

The main challenge faced while implementing the EMS was that most of the core group members representing various departments took the initiative as an additional burden since they felt that a lot of time was spent in documenting and reviewing their day to day work under the initial environmental review. But later, the same group realised that it gave an opportunity to observe their own activities in an environmental perspective. The second major challenge was acquiring support from the management. In terms of the commitment on part of the management, the key was in identifying the environmental aspects, which affected the organisational activities, products and services.	Hyatt Regency Delhi, a ten storey five star hotel of 518 rooms is located in the heart of New Delhi.

	At Hyatt nobody-out of conviction- now asks whether the relatively high expenses for the introduction of the Environmental Management Systems have paid off financially for the company. Due to the transparency of the processes, it has been possible to detect optimisation and cost saving potential.

The detailed process flow analysis for each and every utility and function of engineering department was done as part of the initial environmental review. This helped in understanding the operational efficiency (performance) of utility and the related environmental impact caused by the operation. Among all the identified environmental impacts, the significant ones (resource conservation possibilities) were identified to take appropriate action, such that adverse environmental impacts could be reduced. The actions are designed as detailed environmental management programmes and related operational control procedures. Some of the initiatives taken in conservation of resources are mentioned in Table-1. The payback period for all the initiatives taken was less than eight months. The total energy saving (including electricity and all other fuels used) achieved in the year 2001-2002, as compared to that of last year was 11.83% — amounting to a saving of over one crore rupees.

Initiatives and Benefits	Cost saving
Installation of metal halide lamps and fittings in Tennis Court. - Reduction in electrical load from 32 kWh to 8 kWh. - Reduction in lamp replacement cost. - Reduction in manpower cost for handling fused bulbs - Improvement in distribution of light.	Rs. 115 per hour
Installation of compact fluorescent lamp - Replacement of 3000 candle lamps of 25 w in guest floor corridors, lobby porch & in banquet area with CFL of 5W.	Rs. 2,00,000 per month
- Installation of a condensing coil in hot water tank to recover heat from the condensate mainly from Laundry and installation of plate type heat exchanger to recover additional heat from the condensate	Rs.20,000 per month
- Reduction in contract demand from 4118 KVA to 3000 KVA.	Rs. 1,67,700 per month
- Up gradation of capacitor panel to improve power factor from 0.96 to 0.99	Rs.1, 50,000 per month
- Usage of treated water from effluent treatment plant for gardening and water cascades.	Rs.17, 000 per month
- Removal of gas-pilot-burners from Kitchen.	Rs.8500 per month
- Renovation of chilled pool plant with installation of a plate type heat exchanger to use the chilling effect from central air conditioning plant to avoid running of compressor from April to October.	Rs. 13,000 per month
- Installation of a heat exchanger in steam boilers-exhaust for heat recovery.	Rs. 90,000 per month

The process of EMS –ISO 14001at Best Western Radha Ashok, Mathura, a three star hotel of 25 rooms was initiated in June 2000. To gain the public image of being Asia’s first three star hotel to be certified as ISO 14001 became a driving force for the hotel’s pursuit of the environmental management standards. Before implementing its EMS, Best Western did not formally know how its actions and processes impacted the environment. It was through the rigorous exercise along with the employees that Environmental Aspect and Impacts of each department of the hotel was identified. For the significant environmental aspect, the objectives and targets were set. The focus was on energy conservation (electricity and LPG). In addition to implementing the environmental policy, Best Western has to comply with the statutory requirements on environmental protection for hotel industry set by the government .There are several areas that different ordinances cover, such as water pollution control, air pollution. One of the major achievements under EMS was that emergency preparedness plan was designed for the hotel which is usually overlooked in smaller properties.

Best Western believes that EMS can only be successful if it is "experienced" by the employees. Humans are the critical factor in the system. Accordingly, in the implementation phase, the first step of Best Western was to convince and motivate the employees. The major barrier to implementation of EMS was the lack of human resource rather then financial ones. It was also true that the environment was not a core business issue in the hotel and the lack of allocation of resources conspired to keep the status of environmental issues low on the business. Inspite of these barriers, the continuous commitment of the top management resulted into the successful implementation of EMS.

As a result of the increased transparency of the processes, it has been possible to detect optimisation and cost saving potential of the hotel. Further benefits are a general enhancement of the company’s image and a positive effect on the relationship with the competent authorities.

It is not excessively complicated to implement an Environmental Management System, but it does require a methodology and strict adherence to a series of steps, in order to build it on a solid foundation and ensure that it is suitably adapted to the real situation of the hotel concerned.

Somehow, a way have to be found to give environmental management the same sort of attention as financial management, marketing management, and human resources management. Like these, it has to be an integral part of every decision the hotel makes. It cannot be a specialist area for engineers or legal advisors or even the public relations department. It cannot be driven by a need to meet the minimum standards or just to comply with the regulations. Environmental Management must become ingrained into the hotel’s very being. q