A new initiative led by the International Tourism Partnership and the World Travel & Tourism Council aims to create a standardized methodology and metrics for the hotel industry to calculate and communicate carbon impact. Currently, carbon measurement metrics used in the industry vary widely, which can lead to confusion.
The Carbon Measurement Working Group includes hotel companies such as Accor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International Inc, MGM Resorts International, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Red Carnation Hotel Collection, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Premier Inn – Whitbread Group and Wyndham Worldwide.
“Many hotel chains globally have set carbon reduction targets,” said David Scowsill, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council. “Through this initiative the industry is furthering its commitments to corporate and individual consumers by helping them to understand their environmental footprint. A harmonized approach to quantifying and communicating the sustainability of the industry’s products is a firm step towards accomplishing this.”
The goal of the first phase of the multi-phase project is to have standards available for the 2012 RFP season.