As the world’s leaders in climate change are set to descend upon Glasgow for the UN’s 2021 Climate Change Conference, from the 31st October to the 12th November 2021, Scotland is upping its efforts to ensure all official accommodation for guests, delegates and support staff at COP26 is as green as possible. MCI Global, the official hotel partner for COP26 and the Greater Glasgow Hotel Association have selected Fifty Shades Greener, the UK and Ireland’s leading green hospitality educator, as the official green training provider to all COP26 accommodation in Glasgow, Edinburgh and further across Scotland.
Fifty Shades Greener offers online training programmes that help hotels develop an effective green strategy with the goal of going carbon neutral, a key aim of the UN Climate Council. They teach businesses how to measure, manage and reduce their energy, water and waste consumption. They have supported several Irish hotels to become carbon neutral and are confident Scottish hotels can achieve net zero too.
Hamish Sherlock, head of Fifty Shades Greener in the UK says: “With over 166 accommodation providers registered with MCI Global, there is a lot of potential to make an impact on the nation’s carbon emissions. The UN Climate Summit aims to achieve global net zero by mid-century and thankfully many of Scotland’s hotels are already working to achieve this. Whether they are taking their first steps towards becoming greener or are already green leaders, we look forward to working with them; providing realistic and cost effective techniques to enable their business to reach that carbon neutrality milestone.
Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken added: “Welcoming delegates and visitors for COP26 has the potential to provide a wonderful, well-timed boost for our hospitality sector after an exceptionally difficult period. Although we hope participants will be able to enjoy all that Glasgow and Scotland have to offer, our hotels will be key to providing the warm welcome for which both are known the world over. Hotels are working hard to ensure their facilities also reflect our values on sustainability – which is a great demonstration of the pride we take as hosts of COP26 and the green legacy it can deliver for the whole country.”
Hamish Sherlock says: “Many people falsely believe it costs a lot to go carbon neutral, but in reality a large focus is on behavioural changes which doesn’t cost a penny but can save a lot of pounds. By optimising the performance of equipment and training employees around energy use and energy-saving behaviours we help develop systems and strategies that can be implemented by employees at all levels of the business. We focus on practical behavioural changes to help save energy and often even the seemingly simplest changes, like closing doors, can save potentially thousands of pounds every year and have a dramatic impact on carbon emissions.”
Janice Fisher, General Manager at Novotel Glasgow and Co-Chair at the Greater Glasgow Hotel Association, says: “We urge all hotels across Glasgow and Scotland to avail of this vital training. We are currently enrolled on the programme and our team finds the training platform easy to use. We’re looking forward to seeing some significant savings too, and after the year the hospitality industry has had, it is certainly needed.”
Richard Torriani, Chief Operating Officer Americas & Global Vice President Strategic Events at MCI Global says: “As a company with a global and local reach, we have the means to accelerate change and promote a more sustainable and inclusive society. Together with Fifty Shades Greener and Hamish Sherlock we see a world in transition, where people need to meet online and face-to-face to develop solutions to the world’s most significant challenges. We look forward to working to build a powerful legacy facilitating the transformation towards a more sustainable planet, a just society and a growing economy.”
Fifty Shades Greener is offering its green hospitality training programme to all businesses in the Scottish hospitality sector at a 30 percent reduced rate ahead of the official launch of COP26. More information can be found at www.fsgsouth.co.uk/cop26.