Is Sustainability Green Washing or Green Blushing in the Hospitality Industry?

As more travelers have become aware of sustainability and its benefits, many sectors within the hospitality industry such as travel, hotels, airlines, transportation, retail, etc tend to modify their products to be sustainable. However, not all companies truly focus on sustainability as a measure to improve the life of humanity or the environment, but rather as a marketing tool.

Annually, $218 billion of food is wasted in the United States. That represents roughly 1,250 calories per person, per day. Restaurants play a significant role here. In 2022, many entrepreneurs have become creative in ways to save the wastage of food by donating it to non-profit organizations, introducing modern technologies to control waste, etc. The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) is widely seen as the leading voice in restaurant sustainability practices. In America, for example, the hotel industry annually produces 13.6 million tons of waste per year that including soaps, detergents, plastic bottles, and cups, etc. Having this problem, many countries have come up with recycling measures in place where hotels such as Marriott International, Accor, Hilton, IHG, etc are aware and adhering to recycling procedures. Hence, marketing campaigns and programs such as zero waste, and net zero by 2050 concepts have been introduced by many hotels.

On the other hand, restaurants focus on various strategies to maximize sustainability in the food and beverage space. For instance, providing customers with abundant information about food production methods, sourcing strategies, calorie and nutrient values, labor practices, animal welfare, and environmental impacts is a necessity in our technology-driven and networked era. Chefs are designing menus, drawing ideas and inspiration from local farmers and their crops during your growing season, and maximizing personalization in their supply chain and with guests. As more red meats are considered unsustainable, restaurants in big cities are rapidly opening plant-based and vegan food products which look and taste similar to real meat. In addition, hotels such as Accor have introduced their Procurement Charter 21 with measures in place to procure the right product which are sustainable while focusing on the environment, people, and profit.

Whereas hotels focus on efficiency and cost reduction on large scale, for instance, many hotels have removed their keycard systems for check-in and check-out because it’s a plastic card and replaced it with contactless check-in using guests’ smartphone apps. Also, electric vehicle charging stations are added for guests with electric or hybrid cars which acts as a competitive advantage for many hotels globally. Furthermore, automation and AI are used significantly where hotels have become futuristic in big cities. For example, the hotel room automatically turns off all electricity if the guests leave the room, and smart showers limit the length of showers to a pre-set time, alerting users when their time is almost over. On the other hand, hotels have also introduced solar panels, energy Star-rated heating, and cooling systems, water recovery and recycling systems, etc.

Although many companies follow sustainability measures and promote them on digital platforms, an in-depth view of sustainability measures portrays that the measures are not enough for their green marketing. For instance, if a hotel has energy efficiency measures in place and promotes that they are 100% energy efficient, but in reality, they do not reveal where they get their energy from. If a hotel purchases non-renewable energy such as energies generated through oil, coal, etc, or has only 50% electricity generation from solar panels, they are not 100% sustainable. Another example is a hotel that accepts cryptocurrency transactions and promotes itself as sustainable, but an in-depth view portrays, that they are unsustainable. This is because generating cryptocurrencies takes an enormous amount of energy. For example, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, currently consumes an estimated 150 terawatt-hours of electricity annually which is more than the entire country of Argentina, with a population of 45 million. Hence, in reality, it is essential to determine if the company truly adds value to the 3ps (profit, planet, and people).