Niko Karstikko, co-founder and CEO of Bob W, stresses the importance of transparent data sharing to support the industry’s journey to net zero.
The hospitality industry is far too complacent when it comes to sustainability. It doesn’t move as fast as it could, few agree on what standards should be applied, and everyone’s playing their cards very close to their chest.
That’s not good enough any more. Now is the time for a more meaningful approach to sustainability in the industry – not just a reliance on vague reports and environmental certificates. If you want rapid change, you’ve got to be prepared to open up and be transparent about where you think you can do better.
Savvy serviced apartment providers are already working more sustainably, with 57 per cent introducing a sustainability or environmental policy, and 60 per cent taking part in practices to monitor their impact, according to a joint report by ISSAP and The Apartment Network.
However, only 16 per cent of providers currently measure their carbon footprint – a massive obstacle when tackling high emissions in the industry. The reason most companies resist is because it can feel like you’re exposing vulnerabilities unnecessarily. After all, who wants to admit they’re failing.
Yet that’s exactly the mindset we need to change. The truth is, no one is entirely succeeding in the battle for net zero, but the sector will get there a lot quicker if it works together and defeats tokenism by confronting the bare facts. It’s counterintuitive but serviced apartment providers are more likely to engage with the issue if they realise they’re not as far behind other operators as they think. In some cases, a serviced apartment operator may find they’re even ahead of other sectors such as hotels, which on average account for 40kg CO2 equivalent per guest night.
The industry can achieve more by being open about its carbon footprint, something every operator should start to do – not because it flatters them but because it doesn’t. They can go even further too by publishing the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions of every night spent in each individual room.
Reporting numbers openly and honestly, using a simple ‘per guest night’ calculation, also enables the industry to monitor how it is shaping up in line with the Paris Agreement international treaty, which requires a reduction in carbon emissions by 66 per cent per room by 2030 (Sustainable Hospitality Alliance). This transparent approach to reporting emissions in the industry will encourage collaboration, share best practice and collectively improve the hospitality sector’s carbon footprint.
Remember that monitoring and offsetting your own carbon footprint isn’t enough though. The entire supply chain must be included, so that means working with partners who feel the same way as you do.
If you don’t, net zero is an even bigger mountain to climb. But here, operators can create an even bigger role for themselves. As the ultimate customer, whose choices reward and punish developers and constructors in equal measure, operators can influence how fast the real estate development and construction sectors improve.
By insisting on higher environmental standards, real estate partners who are more forward thinking and better able to lower the original carbon cost of construction are rewarded, and will thrive. Those who don’t will disappear. Don’t underestimate the role operators can play across the entire life cycle of a building — and it all starts with the simple act of publishing the key numbers.
