Chapter 9: Green Procurement

Amenities and services are an important part of marketing a hotel. The ones a hotel chooses convey a certain image to its guests and are one of the “extras” that make a guest feel pampered and special. Many hotels in the world now adopt green procurement principles in their purchasing of amenities and services. And while they boost sales and take care of their guests, they are also taking care of the environment beyond the hotel walls.

Green purchasing refers to the purchase of alternative products with improved recyclability, reduced packaging, greater durability, recycled content, higher energy efficiency, low pollution/toxicity or high degradability; and the minimisation of unnecessary purchases. The effect of the hotel industry’s purchasing with the environment in mind would have a significant impact on supply industries and encourage them to supply more green alternatives.

Figure 9.1 shows that, according to the Macao Hotel Environmental Survey 2003, some hotels in Macao have started to adopt practices to encourage green purchasing in some forms although these practices might not be well or consistently integrated into existing hotel operational systems. 43% mentioned that they did determine the availability of environmental friendly alternatives from suppliers/contractors. 59% said that they had incorporated green considerations in their procurement specifications. 38% claimed that they had a vendor selection mechanism that favoured green alternatives.

(Figure 9.1) Adoption of Practices to Encourage Green Purchasing. ( Source : Macao Hotel Environmental Survey 2003 )

Ways You Can Help

Decisions about environmentally preferable amenities and services require careful consideration of guest preferences, availability and costs. This section describes cost-effective ways for you to reduce the environmental impact of your hotel amenities and services. Most of the activities described in this section have been tried by others in the hotel industry and have been received favorably by employees and guests.

a. Administration

- Establish a green procurement policy to encourage purchasing of environmentally friendly products.

- Encourage the use of electronic procurement means to avoid excessive paper use in transactions.

- Encourage the hotel’s shops to carry products that are environmentally friendly.

- Encourage the hotel’s shops to ban products that are made from endangered species or coral.

- Use copy and fax machines with power stand-by features that consume 60% less energy when machines are idle.

- Use recycled paper for all of the hotel’s promotional materials.

- Use reusable packaging (i.e. packaging that the supplier will take back for reuse).

- Purchase products that are reusable, recycled, recyclable; contain reusable parts; use minimal resources; are designed to last for longer time periods and contain fewer toxic pollutants (e.g.water-based paints instead of solvent-based paints).

- Take into consideration the potential chemical emissions from products and any associated respiratory hazards in your purchasing decision.

- Support the purchase of products that bear recognised environmental logos or eco-labels.

- Beware of exaggerated claims by vendors. Get the documentary proof (such as certificates) of the environmentally friendly products that you are going to buy.

- Purchase goods with plastic parts that are coded according to the generally accepted plastic coding system. This will facilitate subsequent plastic recycling at the end of the product life.

- Screen suppliers to ensure that they also practise in an environmentally responsible manner.

- Inform suppliers about proper environmental measures.

- Incorporate green considerations in procurement specifications.

- Establish a formal vendor selection mechanism to favour green alternatives.

(Photo 9.1) Purchase goods with plastic parts that are coded according to the generally accepted plastic coding system.

b. Guest Rooms and Other Guest Facilities

- Ask for and purchase paper towels, toilet tissue, toilet seat covers, plastic bags made from recycled materials.

- Purchase guest bathroom soaps, shower caps and shoe cleaners with recycled paper packaging.

- Choose man-made or treated materials, such as plywood panels, particle boards, carpets, paints, varnishes and adhesives with very low emission of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

- Choose energy-efficient appliances, light bulbs, air-conditioners, etc.

- Use natural fabrics such as cotton, wool and linen for covering sofas and chairs, and for curtains.

- Use soaps and shampoos made with plant extracts and other natural products.

- Encourage the use of soap and shampoo in dispensers. If not, use toiletries made out of recycled packaging materials.

- Make natural air freshener by using dried flowers, citrus peel and essential oils.

(Photo 9.2) Purchase toilet tissue and toilet seat covers made from recycled materials.

(Photo 9.3) Choose energy-efficient appliances with green label e.g. Energy Star label.

(Photo 9.4) Encourage the use of soap and shampoo in dispenser.

c. Housekeeping and Laundry

- Use only biodegradable, phosphate-free products for cleaning purposes.

- Purchase cleaning and laundry products in bulk and distribute them through a dispenser system.

- Avoid purchasing items with excessive packaging.

- Buy multi-purpose cleaners that can be used on all types of surfaces.

- Encourage staff to examine the possibility of repairing items instead of purchasing new ones.

- Avoid purchasing disposable items. For example, disposable plastic laundry bags can be replaced by washable laundry bags.

- Use natural waxes and polishes (such as beeswax) rather than synthetic ones for furniture.

d. Restaurant and Kitchen

- Use biodegradable, phosphate-free detergents for washing of dishes / utensils.

- Buy washable cloth rags instead of paper towels.

- Buy chalkboard or a dry-erase board instead of sheets of paper for daily meal specials.

- Use reusable coffee filters or unbleached paper filters.

- Purchase menus, order pads, take-away bags, dish trays, rubber mats made from recycled materials.

- Use reusable coasters instead of disposable ones in the bar.

- Use reusable hats for kitchen employees instead of disposable paper ones.

- Buy and use dispenser beverages such as juices, iced tea, or hot chocolates in concentrated form or bulk form.

- Investigate the performance of “fat-digesting” enzymes in septic tanks, drains and pipes.

- Purchase organically farmed meat, vegetables and fruit if possible.

- Buy locally as far as possible. Locally purchased food items also tend to be less processed and use fewer preservatives.

e. Construction and Refurbishment

- Use locally-sourced, sustainable building materials wherever possible. Consider opportunities for using recycled or reclaimed materials.

- Consider using wallpapers made from recycled textiles, wood chips and newspapers.

- Use ecologically friendly paints made from natural pigments and free of VOCs ( volatile organic compounds).

- Ask the architect to minimise the number of different types of materials specified in rooms as each may require a different cleaning process. Natural materials are more likely to be cleaned and refinished with water rather than solvent based solutions.

(Photo 9.5) Use enzyme to remove unpleasant odour in the garbage room.	(Photo 9.6) Use environmental friendly paints with low volatile organic compounds emission.

Communicate for Green Procurement

(Photo 9.7) Inform suppliers of your environmental policy.

Good communication internally (e.g. hotel staff) and externally (e.g. suppliers) will be required to create a culture of environment-friendly procurement in your hotel. Below are hints that will help you establish a green procurement culture through better communication.

Identify what makes a guest feel special and then decide whether there is another, environmentally preferable way to give them the same feeling.

Ask your purchasing department to research and seek out suppliers of products that are less harmful to the environment than the products you currently use. It is important that your suppliers and other relevant partners are made aware of your environmental programme requirements and are capable of meeting your needs. There are a number of activities that you can undertake to clearly communicate your requirements to your suppliers:
• Inform suppliers of your environmental policy and provide them with your mission statement.
• If you have a long-standing established relationship with your suppliers, you can try to work with them to identify environmentally friendly products that can be substituted for those you currently use at a competitive price.
• Encourage suppliers to provide you with documentation that guarantees the “environmentally friendly” authenticity of the products that you are purchasing.

Ensure your proposed “green alternatives” are compatible with the requirements of the users. This may require some form of pre-use survey and performance tests to confirm the feasibility of those alternatives. In some cases, action will require long-term financial commitment and product analysis results, which need to be fed into long term budgeting. Analysis methods such as calculations of return on investment, capital recovery factor or internal rate of return can provide powerful arguments for green products by comparing their benefits and costs and estimating payback periods. Hotels should conduct a careful economic analysis that incorporates specific saving achievement.

Conduct a Supplier Audit

Conducting questionnaire-based supplier audits for prospective suppliers will help you to find out, which suppliers meet your hotel’s environmental standards. The criteria used in selecting vendors and suppliers usually include pricing, reliability, reputation and service. It is also important to include environmental consideration as well as environmentally responsible suppliers should be favoured.

Box 9.1 – Ecolabelling Schemes Help Buyers Choose Green Alternatives

Approximately, 50 different ecolabelling schemes have been developed worldwide since the late 1970s. In Asia, countries / economies such as China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, etc. have already established their own ecolabelling schemes. To qualify for the ecolabels, products have to be independently assessed and proved to fulfill a series of pre-set environmental requirements.

These schemes provide a clear and independent guide for buyers/consumers considering environmental factors when making purchasing decisions. Buyers/consumers can simply make their green purchases by recognizing the “ecolabels” without the need to do their own research.

(Photo 9.8) Different green labels in different countries.

Case studies

a. Case study 9.1 – A Hotel Group in U.S.A. and Canada

A hotel group territory wide in U.S.A. and Canada uses environmentally friendly guest amenities, e.g. soap and shampoo. Some hotels in the group are purchasing dolphin-friendly tuna, while others use organically grown vegetables and herbs in their kitchens. The hotel group no longer serves individual, pre-packed portions of butter, cream, jam and condiments, and use recycled toilet paper, tissues and printed materials.

Case study 9.2 – Macao Hotels, China

The green products procured by some Macao hotels include products with recycled content, environment friendly detergents, CFCs free refrigerants, biodegradable plastic bags, energy saving light bulbs, cleaning fluid dispenser systems, as well as purpose-specific machines (e.g. energy-efficient ice-cube maker machine). These green products are mostly price comparable to or even more expensive than their conventional counterparts reportedly.