Introduction

2009 Macao Green Hotel Award is organized by Environmental Protection Bureau with the collaboration of Macao Government Tourist Office, supported by Macao Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, Macao Hotel Association, Macao Productivity and Technology Transfer Center, Macao Hotel Employees Association, and benefited from consultancy services from Hong Kong Productivity Council. The award aims to demonstrate the importance of environmental management, and honour the hotels that have committed to environmental management.

Macao tourism industry is expanding rapidly. According to the "Reform and Development Plan for the Pearl River Delta Region (2008-2020)" promulgated by the State Council in 2008, Macao will position herself as "World tourism and leisure center". It is expected that the demand for hotel services will follow this trend coherently. This industry is gradually becoming an epicentre of attention as to environmental expectations; in particular by customers and Macao community, whom have been awakening to the topic, therefore it makes business sense for the lodging industry to adopt the Green Hotel model in its daily operation as it does not only save operational cost through resource conservation, but also further improves customer and Macao community's satisfaction, which translates into a win-win situation for the industry and environment of Macao Special Administrative Region.

Macao Green Hotel Award was launched in 2007. Until 2009, 19 hotels were awarded, which counts for 40% of all the 3-star hotels or above in Macao.

As the number of entrants for Macao Green Hotel Award is increasing, Environmental Protection Bureau, together with other collaborator and supporting organizations, will continuously optimize and improve its assessment criteria from now on. Moreover, it encourages and gives an impetus to Macao hotel industry to adopt green measures more proactively. As a result, it is expected to push forward the development of relevant environmental industry and green purchasing. Meanwhile, the organizer intends to extend the promotional channels to upgrade the awarded hotels' environmental image.

According to the data provided by the awarded hotels, during 2007 and 2008, around 80% of them have recorded a decrease of water consumption from 2% to 23%; around 70% of them have recorded a fall of electricity consumption from 1% to 27%. This shows that for those who run the hotels with "Green Hotel" environmental management model can achieve environmental and economic efficiency to some extent. In May 2010, the site visit of the Guangdong Tourism Office delegates to several awarded green hotels has launched a new platform to regional communication and cooperation.

Enrollment for the Macao Green Hotel Award 2010 is about to begin, all hotels in Macao are welcomed. Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Environmental Protection Bureau.

Assessment Criteria

All entrants to the Macao Green Hotel Award Scheme 2009 were evaluated according to the 3 assessment criteria: "Green Leadership and Innovation", "Green Programme Performance" and "Partner Synergy" and had gone through 3 phases, namely Desktop Assessment, Field Assessment and Award Confirmation.

Green Leadership and Innovation refers to the level of commitment made by the hotel's upper management towards the pursuit of environmental objectives within the hotel, the commitment of managers and staff to the implementation of environmental initiatives, and how the hotel creates an enables environment to encourage the generation of green ideas.

Green Programme Performance assesses the accomplishments made by the hotel when carrying out their environmental programmes.

Partner Synergy looks at how a hotel explores opportunities to inform suppliers and contractors about the importance of environmental management and encourage them to adopt their own environmental strategies in their individual operations.

Validity of the Award

The certificate of Macao Green Hotel Award 2009 is valid until 31 December 2012. All awarded hotels shall provide information on sustainable improvement of environment measures throughout the period of the award. Meanwhile, the certificate of 2007 will be expired soon. Therefore, the 2007 rewarded hotels have to participate at Macao Green Hotel Award 2010 if they want to keep this award continuously.

Enquiries

To find out more about the assessment criterion of Macao Green Hotel Award, please visit Macao Green Hotel Award website http://www.dspa.gov.mo/greenhotel/, which is set up by Environmental Protection Bureau. Alternatively, you can contact us through:

Tel: 2872 5134
Fax: 2872 5129
E-mail: greenhotel@dspa.gov.mo
Address: Alameda Dr. Carlos D'Assumpção, N.^os 393 a 437, Edifício "Dynasty Plaza", 10.° andar, Macau