InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a leading hotel company, has recently announced that from January 1, 2015, its flagship IHG will follow Green Engage programme.The programme apparently is an online environmental sustainability tool, which gives hotels the ability to track how much energy, carbon and water they are using, as well as assessing how waste is managed. This allows them to see how much they are spending and saving and to feed data directly to IHG’s corporate clients as part of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
The programme comprises more than 200 specific actions called ‘green solutions’ , peculiarly designed to reduce hotels’ environmental impact, with IHG’s managed hotels avoiding $73 million in energy costs alone in 2013. This is another significant benefit given that utilities typically represent one of the highest expenses for hotels.
IHG will take an active role in supporting the roll-out, helping hotels not currently registered to sign up and reach IHG Green Engage Level 1 certification by the end of next year. This will include satisfying 10 Green Solutions such as the training of colleagues, tracking utility data, managing the use of non-essential lighting and implementing best practice in areas such as housekeeping and laundry.
Richard Solomons, chief executive officer, IHG, made an announcement , “It is an important milestone for IHG and is another powerful demonstration of our ongoing commitment to protecting the environment. It is a great step forward for our business and for the communities in which we operate.”
