Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) has released the latest benchmarks from an ongoing
international project to create default sustainability data for the global hotel industry. The report, "Hotel
Sustainability Benchmarking Index 2016: Energy, Water, and Carbon," led by Eric Ricaurte in collaboration
with eleven global hotel firms, analyzes data provided for 8,880 properties. The report, which details the
Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmark Index (CHSB), is available at no charge from the CHR at the
CornellSchool of Hotel Administration."By adding new segmentation by climate and hotel type, we have
strengthened our industry-centric approach to this effort, given the realization that a practical benchmark
must start within specific locations and segments, rather than trying to compare all properties," said
Ricaurte. He pointed out that the hotel sustainability study's goal is to build a representative database that
provides raw benchmarks as a base for industry comparisons and data integration.The results are presented
in the CHSB2016 Index report, where users can obtain the range of benchmarks for energy consumption,
water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions for hotels within specific segments and geographic
locations.Data for this benchmarking report were provided by Diamond Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Host
Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group,
Marriott International, Park Hotel Group, Saunders Hotel Group, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, and
Wyndham Worldwide."Hilton is committed to sustainable business," said Maxime Verstraete, vice president of
corporate responsibility, Hilton Worldwide. "By participating in the CHSB index we are able to analyze and
benchmark our environmental data, which we track through LightStay, our corporate responsibility
performance measurement platform, against the broader hotel industry to drive improvements and reduce
our footprint. We are proud to be a part of this global initiative which positively impacts our industry and the
environment."Ricaurte invites hotel companies to participate in the 2017 edition of the Cornell Hotel
Sustainability Benchmarking Index, which has now begun collecting 2015 data sets for carbon emissions,
energy use, and water use."The travel and tourism sector has an incredible opportunity to drive sustainability
around the world," said Denise Naguib, vice president, sustainability and supplier diversity, global operations,
Marriott International. "The CHSB benchmark provides hotels the information that they need to know where
they stand among their peers, and to apply that information to drive improvements and promote their own
efforts to customers."Natalie Chan, of Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, added: "We appreciate this study's
effort to enable hotel companies to benchmark their environmental performance and build awareness across
key markets." Chan is director, corporate responsibility and sustainability of the Hongkong and Shanghai
Hotels, Ltd., which operates The Peninsula Hotels.Ricaurte concluded: "We're also excited to share this year's
CHSB Index in partnership with a number of additional initiatives that support the common goal of
sustainability benchmarking. I want to thank the participants in this year's study, and we encourage other
organizations to become involved. We see great customer support for this effort, since many guests want
information about the carbon footprint of their hotel stay."