Hotel companies standardise carbon measurement

The International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in collaboration with 23 leading global hospitality companies, have launched a methodology to calculate and communicate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings in a consistent and transparent way.

The group saw an opportunity to improve the way the hotel industry communicates its impacts. Currently, approaches to measuring and reporting on carbon emissions vary widely. This can lead to confusion among consumers, particularly corporate clients, looking to understand their own potential carbon footprint and meet their own goals or targets in this area. In addition, the number of methodologies and tools in use make transparency of reporting within the hotel industry difficult to achieve.

The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) Working Group comprises hotel members within ITP and WTTC. The methodology, informed by the GHG Protocol Standards, was first developed in 2011 and has since been tested in hotels of different style and size in different geographical locations and refined through a stakeholder engagement process, with input from consultants, KPMG. It has also been reviewed by the World Resources Institute.

David Scowsill, president and ceo of WTTC says: “WTTC has long been advocating that industry speaks with one voice. Through this initiative, we have seen major hotel companies come together to agree to a means of communicating carbon impacts, which ultimately will result in more transparency and clarity for the consumer. HCMI has broken new ground in its industry-driven approach, and I congratulate the companies involved on their leadership in ensuring this important initiative comes to fruition. We expect this industry-common language to be widely used within the next two years.”

The priority for the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative will be to maximise the take-up and recognition of the methodology by a broader range of hotels and their customers. A review process has been put in place to ensure the methodology may be further refined as user feedback and new research come to light.