Hospitality sector on track to meet sustainability targets under road map: Low Yen Ling
Renald Yeo
AT LEAST 35 hotels in Singapore have obtained or are in the process of acquiring internationally recognised hotel sustainability certifications. This figure collectively accounts for about a quarter of the Republic’s hotel room inventory.
They include Marina Bay Sands (MBS), The Fullerton Bay Hotel and The Fullerton Hotel, which have obtained certification under the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s industry criteria for hotels.
Singapore’s hospitality sector is therefore on track to meet sustainability targets set previously by the industry under the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said on Thursday (Oct 5).
Under the road map, which was launched in March last year, there are two important targets for the industry to work towards, she said.
The first is for at least 60 per cent of hotel rooms in Singapore to attain internationally recognised hotel sustainability certifications by 2025. The other is for hotels to start tracking emissions by this year and reduce emissions by 2030, with the view to achieve net zero by 2050.
Beyond the two targets, the hospitality industry has also made progress in other aspects of the road map, Low said.
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For instance, industry players are test-bedding new technologies and adopting innovation in going green. MBS, Andaz Singapore and Grand Hyatt Singapore have partnered retail players such as Causeway Point to pilot the use of a patented technology to convert food waste into reusable products, she said.
Hotels have also been incentivising guests to adopt more sustainable consumption habits. Low cited an initiative from Parkroyal on Beach Road, where hotel guests who opt for their rooms to be cleaned only on alternate days receive a S$10 dining credit.
She provided the updates at this year’s edition of the Hotel Sustainability Conference and Marketplace 2023, held at Shangri-La Singapore.
Organised by the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), Thursday’s event had about 200 attendees. It also featured an exhibition showcasing 17 booths, where vendors had the opportunity to pitch their solutions to event participants.
At Thursday’s event, SHA also launched a web-based hotel sustainability playbook, supported by EnterpriseSG, STB and the National Environment Agency.
The playbook will serve as a “comprehensive, one-stop resource” for hotels at different stages of their sustainability journey, Low said.
It includes local and international best practices and case studies, along with prevailing sustainability trends and solutions. A range of available government grants can also be found in the playbook, she added.
One such grant is STB’s Business Improvement Fund, which Grand Copthorne Waterfront tapped in May 2022 to install in-room water filters in all of its 574 rooms, replacing the need for single-use plastic bottles.
At an average cost of about S$0.16 per bottle, this has translated to annual cost savings of around S$110,000, said Andy Tan, senior vice-president of global operations and partnerships at Millennium Hotels and Resorts, which operates the property.
Beyond the cost of purchasing water bottles, there has also been improved productivity as the hotel’s housekeeping staff no longer need to stock the rooms during cleaning, he told The Business Times.
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