What (or who) helps hospitality companies improve faster? Consumer-led campaigns on plastic straws have pushed many hospitality companies to consider alternatives or simply ban single-use plastics. So far, however, the vast majority of guests still choose their hotels mainly by location and price. Using levers such as taxation or legislation, governments are also increasing the pressure. Recent examples include the European Union's ban on a series of single-use plastics such as cutlery, straws, and stirrers by 2021. Many states across the US are implementing similar bans. Beyond plastics, carbon pricing initiatives are in place or planned in more than 45 countries. The EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires all new buildings to be nearly zero-energy (NZEB) by the end of 2020 and existing buildings to transition towards NZEB by 2050. Finally, the hospitality industry's self-regulation and voluntary codes of conduct are considered popular approaches in dealing with sustainability challenges, but at times with limited success. Facing mounting environmental issues, are all three parties (government, consumer, industry) playing an equally important role? Do consumers have the foresight to act as a useful lever of change? Taxes and legislation are in the pipeline across the globe, so what needs to be done today to minimize the risk of getting hit? And how about driving consumer behavior change through inspiring guest experiences?

Christopher Warren
Christopher Warren
Founder of My Green Butler

There are more than three groups involved in making sustainability happen. To progress we need a) governments to introduce legislation and enforce it (given the targets we need longitudinal audits that test genuine change); b) guests have priorities and expect hospitality to be run responsibly, this means they can be included in service innovation far more than they are, they will act on what is provided; c) hospitality needs to take a long term view, but often firms do not own their own building preventing investment and service innovation beyond small cosmetic adjustments. So we also need d) investors to build and retrofit buildings to be more efficient and councils to mandate them.

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