When it comes to sustainability in the hospitality sector there is arguably no organisation more knowledgeable than Fifty Shades Greener. They are the leading hospitality and tourism sustainability educators in the U.K. and Ireland and work with hotels and restaurants, teaching them how to make their businesses greener and helping them save money along the way.
Their work has even helped several hotels achieve a carbon net zero status and they have just been selected to become the official green trainer for all accommodation at COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow late this year.
Hamish Sherlock heads up the Fifty Shades Greener team for the U.K. and brings a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry through working in hotels, pubs, and catering companies from an early age. After many years of frustration at the lack of knowledge and available resources within the hospitality industry to inspire and guide businesses towards a more sustainable model, he decided to do something about it, using the Fifty Shades Greener Method he has been helping to change the industry one business at a time.
We spoke with Hamish to get some top strategies that all businesses in the hospitality industry can implement, for little to no overhead, that will save a lot in the coming years.
Hamish Sherlock says: Sustainability and green tourism is on an upwards trend and tourists are starting to look closer at the credentials of their chosen accommodation providers. They want to see that efforts are being made to be greener.
We can see this shift outside of the sector too, with local household brands moving away from single-use plastics; there are even package-free shops popping-up all over the country. We’re moving away from a throw-away culture and shifting towards a society that rejects single-use items and wants products that are built to last.
Slowly the country is starting to wake-up and take climate change seriously and with COP26 being held in Glasgow later this year, there is a real spotlight on the U.K.’s green efforts. Millennials and now Generation Z are starting to demand more from their hotels too and this is not just a fade, this will continue.
Over the past 12 months we have witnessed a massive increase in demand for green training. We have worked with more than 200 businesses in the sector over the past year and not only have they taken a step closer to carbon neutrality, they have been making big savings along the way.
Many people falsely believe it costs a lot of money to become green, but in reality, the very first steps cost absolutely nothing; it’s all about changing behaviour and getting into the right mindset.
Tip 1: Many hands make light work
The first step for a successful Green Journey is to appoint a Green Manager and a Green Team. Someone who is already working at the property and not necessarily a head of department and can dedicate between a half day to a full day a week on the Green Programme.
Tip 2: Measuring is the key to managing
If you want to lower your business’ carbon emissions you need to know how to measure your existing emissions and it’s easier than you think. All you need are your utility bills!. Measuring your Green Key Performance Indicators (energy, waste and water usage) will allow you to calculate your carbon emissions. Once you have set your baseline, you can start working towards reducing your footprint.
Tip 3: It’s all in the mindset
To reduce your impact on the environment you need to reduce your energy and water use and waste production. This can be done by simply changing your team’s behaviour around the use of those resources, to become more efficient in your daily operations.
Let’s take a 100 room hotel for example. If the team understands how to measure carbon emissions the hotel can save on average £25,000 per year. Awareness of food waste management can save another £5,000 on average. Even simple things like ensuring all staff turn off lights in unused rooms or close doors can save £2,500. If you fine tune the water and heating units you’re looking at a potential further saving of £4,000. It’s really significant savings for simple behavioural changes
Tip 4: Be transparent about your plans
Be clear and transparent about your Green Journey and never claim you do more than you actually do. Publish your green KPIs on your website and social channels, and let your customers, team and stakeholders know the plans you have to reduce your carbon emissions.
Tip 5: A policy without a plan is just words written on a piece of paper.
Be clear on your goals and targets and devise an environmental action plan to achieve them, without an action plan, your environmental policy is worthless.
Fifty Shades Greener is a leading environmental education company providing training programmes for the hospitality industry and secondary schools. Established in 2017 in Ireland, Fifty Shades Greener has teams in the U.K. and Ireland and provides sustainability and environmental training and consulting services all over the world.
Fifty Shades Greener has partnered with the official housing bureau for COP26, MCI Global, and The Greater Glasgow Hotel Association to help change the future of hotels in Glasgow and all over Scotland for COP26 and beyond.
More information can be found at https://www.fsgsouth.co.uk/cop26