Planning For People, Planet And Profit In The Hospitality Industry (Hans Van Wees 04 07 2010)

Planning for
People, Planet
and Profit
Hans van Wees
VWC Hospitality

Confessions of a
Green Skeptic:
Making the business case for
sustainability in the hospitality
industry

The Green Skeptic
Hotelier
Green skeptic at first
Believer in wanting to do what is
the right thing, not just what feels
right
(c) Hans van Wees - hans@van-wees.com

Green Skeptic Converted?
Learned that we were doing
things that were right
What can we do with this?

And if not converted?
This is going to be the way we
will do business, like it or not
Our customers will select
products and services based on
sustainability practices, not just
price and product qualities

Product Price
Company Social
and
Environmental
practices
Availability
Purchase

CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY:
EXPENSE? $$
OR:
OPPORTUNITY?
$$$$

How can the Vermont hospitality
industry translate sustainable
business principles into
opportunities for cost savings,
increased efficiencies and
additional revenue streams?

Sustainable:
buzzword or substance?

A definition of sustainable business
Sustainable business (green business):
 has no negative impact on the global or
local environment, community, society, or
economy;
 strives to meet the Triple Bottom Line;
 have progressive environmental and
human rights policies.

Triple Bottom Line
Profit
Planet: Environment
People: Social Responsibility

TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
“Your company’s sweet
spot is where its
financial interests
coincide with social
and environmental
interests”
Andrew W. Savitz – The Triple Bottom Line

Business
Interests
Stake holders
Interests
Sustainability
Sweet
Spot

Goal
1. Develop a business plan that plans
for profit, social responsibility and
environmental impact in easy,
measurable terms so they can be
easily understood by all stakeholders
(owners, employees, clients,
community)
2. Create a competitive advantage as a
business by having such a plan and
meeting or exceeding our goals

Measure
Some clear set of metrics we can
use for our business plan
Some comparative metrics, or a
ranking, that shows how much
better we do than our competition

Triple Bottom Line tools
Many industries apply TBL
principles and many
measurement tools have been
developed.

Green Business Certified Program
Walmart Sustainability Index
Green-e Certification
SEC Interpretive Release 33-9106
ISO 14001 (Environmental
Leadership in Energy and
Management)
Environmental Design (LEED)
Expedia Green Hotel List
ISO 14020 and ISO 14024
Carbon Disclosure Project
Energy Star Certification
MBDC Cradle to Cradle Certification
CDP Water Disclosure
MSPA Green IT Certification
The CEO Water Mandate
NAHB Green Building Certification

CoSN Green Computing Certification
NASDAQ Global Sustainability 50 Index
Vermont Green Hotels Certification
NYS Green Hotel Certification Program
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes
TBR Corporate Sustainability Index
FTSE Global Sustainability Index
United Nations Global Compact
Green Advantage Certification
World Business Council for Sustainable
Global e-Sustainability Initiative
Development
Global Reporting Initiative
Yale Environmental Sustainability Index

What can we
learn from
Vermont
businesses?

Local businesses with clear and measurable
sustainability plans
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Seventh Generation

What can we
learn from
leading hotel
companies?

Hotel Companies
Fairmont Hotels
 Early adapter of Social and
Environmental principles: for two
decades leader in environmental
stewardship
 Green Partnership Program
 Being “at the heart” of your
community
 Fairmont Foundation
 Hospitality Training and Education
 Local: Volunteerism and
fundraising
Kimpton Hotels
 50 hotels, 48 of which are green
seal certified
 Kimpton EarthCare® program
 Run by employees
 “Commitment to sparing the
environment, and our guests”
 Recycling Historic Buildings
 Environmentally and Socially
Sensitive Purchasing Policy
© Hans van Wees - hans@van-wees.com

What can we
learn from the
nation’s largest
retailer?

Walmart
Nation’s largest retailer develops a
Sustainability Index
New Retail Standard
“When given the choice, consumer will buy
product with higher sustainability index”

Walmart Sustainability Index
GOAL:
Produce zero waste
Supply: 100% renewable
energy
Products that sustain resources
and environment

Walmart approach
Phase 1: supplier sustainability
assessment
Phase 2: lifecycle analysis database
Phase 3: simple tools for customers to
help with decision making

SUSTAINABILITY CATEGORIES
Energy and Climate
Material Efficiency
Natural Resources
People and Community

ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Green House
Gasses
Reporting
Emissions to CDP
(Carbon Disclosure
Project)
What are total
GHG reported
most recently
Do you have
publically available
GHG reduction
targets?

MATERIAL EFFICIENCY
Report
amount of
solid waste
Solid waste
targets
Report total
water use
Water usage
reduction
targets

NATURAL RESOURCES
Do you have
sustainability
purchasing
guidelines?
Third party
certifications

PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY
Social Sustainability
Do you know the
locations of 100% of
the facilities that
produce your
products?
Do you evaluate
quality and capacity
of your suppliers?
Do you have a
process for
measuring social
compliance at the
manufacturing level?
Social compliance
team?
Do you invest in
community
development
activities?

Walmart – Energy and Climate
Sample question: Green House
Gasses (GHG)
Reality: whether you believe the
absolute impact that GHG’s
have on the environment or not,
you are going to have to deal
with it. The rules are changing,
so are the laws.

Calculate your GHG
Easier than you think:
Emissions you control
Source of electricity
Portion you don’t control, but
benefits you

Total Electricity
+ Natural Gas
+ Gallons of Fuel
+ Air-conditioning records
+ Unusual Sources
X
Conversion Factor
=
Total GHG impact
Calculating GHG impact

Putting it to
work

Three Beards
Lodge
Case Study

Case: The “Three Beards Lodge” (TBL)
40 room country inn in Vermont
in 4-season resort town
Restaurant with 50 seats
Bar
Owners active in community
Inn has gone through difficult
time in recession but is starting to
climb out

Three Beards Lodge: meet the owners

Owners believe that:
The CSR movement is
inevitable
The benefits are enormous:
financial, changing guests
expectations, new creative
ideas, attracting talent, feeling
good about what you do

The TBL Mission Statement
Providing our guests with an
authentic, warm and welcoming
Vermont experience

Three Beards Lodge Brand Pillars

Three Beards Lodge Business Plan
Guest needs
Owner
needs
Staff Needs
Community
and
Environment
Needs

Three Beards Lodge – PPP Plan
PPP (people, planet, profit)
accepted as pillar of brand rather
than part of doing business
5-step PPP plan using
greenREACH method

 Green consulting company.
 Matches green expertise to organizational needs:
 Consulting
 Custom training
 125+ green experts in 25 fields of sustainability
www.greenreachable.com

greenREACH 5-step plan
© greenREACH
Assess &
Identity
Strategize
and Set Goals
Implement
and Measure
Report and
Communicate
Engage and
Instill

Assess and Identify

greenREACH - Assess and Identify
 Don’t try to do all but start first year with
three to four areas that can easily be
identified, sample:
 Measure Green House Gasses (since this
will become law anyway)
 Calculate solid waste and current
recycling (get details from your waste
management company)
 Determine total water use
 What community (local or at large) needs
are closest to your heart

Strategize and Set
Goals

greenREACH - Strategize and Set Goals
What is most relevant to you and the
stakeholders involved? Where can you
make the biggest impact? Example:
 Develop initiatives that will reduce Green House
Gasses by 20% next year to “x” tons
 Develop a solid waste reduction program that will
reduce quantities by 20% next year and 15% year
after
 Develop program that will cut water use by 10% in
first year
 What role are we best suited to support local
community. Develop one initiative in first year and
set goals together with stakeholders

Implement and
Measure

greenREACH - Implement and Measure
Activities that will support the
strategy and will help us achieve
the goals set. Choose simple,
easy wins to begin with and get
used to measuring. Examples:

Develop initiatives that will reduce Green
House Gasses by 20% next year to “x”
tons
 Eliminate vehicles from idling. Measure:
fuel use (given relatively consistent use of
vehicles year to year). Multiply reduced
fuel use by factor to determine reduction
in GHG. And $$ savings!
 Turn off appliances in restaurant, kitchen.
Measure: electric bill, convert to GHG and
$$ savings
 Perform lighting audit and install CFL
everywhere possible. Measure: electric bill
and $$ savings

Develop a solid waste reduction program
that will reduce quantities by 20% next
year and 15% year after
 Kitchen waste composting. Measure: weight
of waste reflected in reduced waste disposal
cost (invoiced from waste mgt company)
 Recycling bins in all guest rooms and in
kitchen. Measure: reduction in solid waste
cost

Develop program that will cut water use
by 10% in first year
 Replace showerheads with low-flow type.
Measure: water consumption, invoice, $
savings
 Linen re-use policy. Change linen every 3
days in stead of daily. Measure: pounds of
laundry per occupied room. Laundry invoice
or water company invoice.
 Side effect: reduction in waste water.
Measure: waste water treatment invoice

Role that is best suited to support local
community. Develop one initiative in first
year and set goals together with
stakeholders
 Audience exercise. Discuss and develop
metrics for one initiative in your community
 Measure: employee job satisfaction,
employee turnover, investments in local
community and social media: what are
people saying – taking part in the
conversation

Report and
Communicate

greenREACH - Report and Communicate
This Year Plan Diff Last Year Diff
FINANCIAL
Revenues $ 945,000 $ 930,000 $ 15,000 $ 900,000 $ 45,000
Costs $ 771,950 $ 780,000 $ (8,050) $ 790,000 $ (18,050)
Profit $ 173,050 $ 150,000 $ 23,050 $ 110,000 $ 63,050

greenREACH - Report and Communicate
ENVIRONMENT
THIS YEAR PLAN DIFFERENCE LAST YEAR DIFFERENCE
GHG (tons) 12,500 12,000 4% 15,000 -17%
Solid Waste (tons) 19,500 20,000 -3% 25,000 -22%
Water Use (gallons) 885,000 900,000 -2% 1,000,000 -12%
COMMUNITY
Volunteer program
(hrs) 320 300 7% 240 33%
Charitable Donations 10,000 10000 0% 5,000 100%

-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Three Beards Lodge Year End Results

greenREACH - Communicate!
Internal:
Create reports and graphs that
demonstrate your initiatives in
action
Factor in $$ savings
Spread the word!

greenREACH - Communicate
External:
 Add page or section to website that clearly
states your TBL initiatives and methods of
measurement you use
 Report on quarterly basis, just as you
would financial information
 Be transparent as to where you are in
the process and you won’t be accused of
green washing

Engage and Instill

greenREACH - Engage and Instill
Employees and contractors:
 Workforce is single most powerful PR
point
 Input and feedback
 Employees must:
 Understand and relate to the problem
 Understand and relate to your proposed
solution

greenREACH - Engage and Instill
Greater community:
 Sponsor events with non-profits to
help community causes
 Enroll guests for input on how you can
improve
 Pursue environmental/socially
responsible groups to host meetings
at hotel
 Again: be transparent in marketing
where you are in the process

Parting
thoughts

Will sustainability stick?:
 Clean technology fastest growing
sector, the new internet boom?
 CSR investments outperform all other
sectors
 60% of customers say CSR policies
crucial part of their decision making
 92% of new hires want their
companies to be green
Source: greenREACH

It’s in your hands

Resources
www.greenwashingindex.com
www.greenreachable.com
www.gmcr.com/csr
www.seventhgeneration.com
www.greenseal.org
www.fairmont.com/EN_FA/Abo
utFairmont/CorporateResponsi
bility/
www.kimptonhotels.com/progra
ms/earthcare

Thank you!
Hans van Wees
VWC Hospitality
Burlington, Vermont
802-793-2289
hans@van-wees.com

Planning For People, Planet And Profit In The Hospitality Industry (Hans Van Wees 04 07 2010)

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