Cover Pic: CGH Earth Experience Hotels
The Glasgow Declaration was officially launched at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference which happened last year. It proposed a coordinated plan for tourism to support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 and requested signatories to make tangible commitments around planning, measuring and reporting.
The tourism sector is highly vulnerable to climate change and at the same time contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), which cause global warming. Accelerating climate action in tourism is therefore of utmost importance for the resilience of the sector.
According to UNWTO/ITF research released in December 2019, transport-related emissions from international tourism are expected to grow 45% from 2016 to 2030 (from 458 Mt CO2 to 665 Mt CO2). Transport-related emissions from domestic tourism are expected to grow by 21% from 2016 to 2030 (from 913 Mt CO2 to 1103 Mt CO2).
Hospitality players in India are aware of the importance of sustainable and responsible tourism, taking measures to cut down on carbon emissions. From utilizing solar energy to efficiently manage waste being generated in their properties, hoteliers in the country are up to meeting their sustainable goals.
“Renewable energy sources like solar are of paramount importance for us. The resort uses solar energy for operational purposes like heating water. Moreover, using light fixtures that consume significantly less energy and ample use of natural light through places like the open-air restaurant has helped the property to ensure fewer carbon emissions. One can find Pathway Lamps in the hotel which are sensor-based and light up only on detecting motion,” said Asif Fazlani, Managing Director, Fazlani Natures Nest.
The Covid-19 pandemic has further highlighted the link between human health risk, biodiversity, and the economic system, underscoring the need to simultaneously boost the resilience and sustainability of the tourism sector, in response to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, to ensure prosperity for all. As per industry observers, prior to the pandemic, the tourism sector accounted for over 10% of the global GDP and 10% of jobs worldwide with international tourist arrivals predicted to rise from 1.1 billion in 2014 to 1.8 billion in 2030. Due to this, in a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, by 2050 tourism sector (globally) is set for an increase of 154% in energy consumption, 131% in greenhouse gas emissions, 152% in water consumption and 251% in solid waste disposal.
In a post-pandemic scenario, where the tourism sector is gradually recovering from the effects of the pandemic, there is an opportunity to accelerate the transition of the sector toward a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive industry. Its revival and sustainability will be critical to ensure its continued contribution to livelihoods and economies. In summary, sustainability needs to now define the development of the tourism sector in the 21st century.
“As a responsible hospitality entity, we make every effort to ensure that our resorts are sustainable and eco-friendly. From no single-use plastic to utilizing solar power for heating water, our sustainability efforts are reflected in various facets of our operations. We segregate waste generated in our hotels and use it to create fertilizer. Then we have a sewage treatment plant (STP) that helps us to meet our water requirement for horticulture. Being a property located on the hills, maintaining ground water level is of paramount importance for us. So, we depend on rainwater harvesting for the same,” said Akash Garg, Chairman & Managing Director, Moksha Himalaya Spa Resort & Timber Trail.
Earlier this year on June 4, the Ministry of Tourism, in partnership with the United Environment Program (UNEP) and the Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) organized the National Summit on Developing Sustainable & Responsible Tourist Destinations and launched the National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism and Responsible Traveller Campaign.
The National Strategy for sustainable tourism aims to mainstream sustainability in the Indian tourism sector and ensure a more resilient, inclusive, carbon-neutral and resource-efficient tourism while safeguarding natural and cultural resources.
The hospitality industry’s transition to sustainability pathways will require significant investment and innovation. Adopting low-emissions technologies, optimizing resource use, reduction in operation costs, and increase in efficiency would be essential for improving environmental performance and tackling climate change.
“Plastic consumption in our properties is reduced to the minimum by using reusable cloth bags used as bin liners in guest rooms. Plastic packaging by supply vendors is prohibited, instead, they are required to package material in reused and returned containers/jars. Shampoo and soap containers, provided as guest amenities, are made from china clay/terracotta. With our water bottling plants, we hygienically package rainwater that has been treated using micro filters and reverse Osmosis technology. The glass bottles are sterilized before every use. This initiative has helped replace plastic drinking water bottles in the rooms with reusable glass bottles,” said Michael Dominic, CEO, CGH Earth Experience Hotels.
“At our jungle lodges, we focus a lot on eco-friendly practices. Even though a ban came into effect on July 1, single-use plastic had been eradicated from every department at our lodges for over five years. Our energy consumption is minimal with LED lighting. Both our properties are close to reserves. We have reforested the land on which Reni Pani stands, the area has moved from degraded land to a thriving wildlife corridor. Similarly, we have revived the land around Bori Safari for smaller species of birds. We encourage non-motorized safaris on foot, canoes and cycling and other activities,” said Aly Rashid, Director & CEO, Jehan Numa Wilderness.
How ‘over’ and unsustainable tourism can be detrimental to the industry can be gauged by keeping in mind what happened in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt – the venue of this year’s COP27.
Sharm el-Sheikh, which just half a century ago was a remote Bedouin fishing village became one of Egypt’s premier tourist destinations for visitors from around the world. This transformation from a rural coastal area to a global tourist destination resulted in the rapid growth of nearly 200 hotels. The resort town is now facing issues like water shortages, poor waste management, damage to nearby coral reefs, and pollution caused by a heavy reliance on gas-powered boats, buses, and airplanes to bring tourists into the city and transport them around once they are there.
Just months before the city was scheduled to host the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), Egyptian officials signed the Sharm Green City Project Agreement in an effort to make Sharm el-Sheikh an “environmentally sustainable tourist destination.” Among other initiatives, the agreement aims to phase out single-use plastics, install solar-powered lighting systems, plant thousands of mangrove trees, and move smokestacks that currently lie within the city limits to the desert area instead.
Indian hotels considering domestic tourism growth and population explosion in the country face the extreme challenges of waste management, more serious than many of their counterparts in the rest of the world.
Waste Management & Water Conservation
Hotels produce tonnes of waste every day due to having a range of facilities, cleaning and replacing almost everything for new guests. A suitable and sufficient hotel waste management plan is key to saving resources and protecting the environment.
Fazlani Natures Nest converts all its organic waste into vermicompost which is then used as manure across the farm. Roughly around 150 to 200 kgs of waste is processed on a daily basis.
“Besides large-scale organic farming, all waste generated in the kitchen is recycled. Every care is taken to ensure that no pollutants enter the clear water of our lake or disturb the flora and fauna of the wilderness all around,” added Fazlani.
Waste management at CGH Earth properties is a combination of reduction and recycling. All food waste is processed through a biogas plant which serves as cooking fuel and the residual slurry is used as manure for organic cultivation. Coconut husks and other organic materials are composted on-site using effective micro-organisms. Dry leaves are composted in bamboo bins using slurry from the biogas plant as a bio-catalyst.
“Paper waste is recycled into envelopes for inter-departmental use and at other properties of the hotel chain. Spice Village has a paper-making centre, where the pulp used for paper-making is from all the paper waste collected from the resort. Stuff like notepads, menus and luggage tags are made at this centre,” said Dominic.
Vermicomposting is standard practice across all hotels of CGH Earth. Daily waste is recycled in the vermicompost plant and this organic manure is used to fertilize the vegetable and herbal gardens of the property. Waste is converted into manure over a 45-day process.
All bio-degradable waste is recycled, so the vegetable and meat remains from the kitchens and food cleared after the buffet are collected twice a day in the morning and late afternoon and dumped along with garden waste into the compost pit, which is layered with a coir base followed by organic grid soil. It is left here to the devices of two varieties of earthworms, obtained from a local non-government organization. The compost is harvested after about 40 days, taken out of the pit, and heaped up so that, over a couple of days, the worms settle at the bottom. They are then returned to the pit.
Water use in agriculture not only consumes resources quantitatively but also pollutes valuable resources with pesticides and fertilizers. Fazlani Natures Nest has created a rainwater harvesting pit with a capacity of more than 10 lakh liters as part of its efforts to conserve water. Not only this treated water from its sewage treatment plant is used for irrigation of its organic farm. The resort also follows a drip irrigation system to conserve water. Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface.
Go Local
Sustainability efforts can’t serve their purpose unless local communities are involved in the process. More and more hospitality players in the country are waking up to the importance of the ‘local’ approach when it comes to sustainability goals. The approach is not just confined to employing local people but also utilizing locally grown produce.
“About 80-90% of our staff come from local communities around. Both our lodges also support two local schools with infrastructure, furniture, libraries, solar lights, washrooms, and access to clean water. We also contribute towards conservation efforts at the National Parks every year,” said Rashid.
“Transportation as we know adds significantly to carbon emissions. So, our F&B mainly offers seasonal menus where we use the local harvest. We have our own 250-acre farm which helps us to cultivate sufficient vegetables. For us, sustainability is also about how we engage local communities in maintaining the ecosystem of a destination. The workforce in our hotels is 80% from Himachal Pradesh. We also promote local dances and cultural activities as part of the overall guest experience,” said Garg.
Fazlani Natures Nest utilizes vegetables and fruits in its restaurant which are grown organically on 35 acres of the resort’s farmland. This also results in significantly reducing transportation time to source raw materials to be used in its restaurant which ultimately means less energy consumption.
The resort also employs staff from the local village to safeguard the livelihood of the villagers. “They work in different sections like the farm, engineering, front office, food and beverage (F&B), etc. There is also a CBSE-affiliated school within the resort that offers free education and boarding and lodging to 150 homeless children,” added Fazlani.
“There is an ethical question that today’s traveller is asking: does my journey to any location create problems or solve problems? Are there any benefits to the local community or does it adversely impact them or their environment? Further, we’ve seen a clear shift in what the traveller wants, especially the younger generation. They are looking for unique experiences. When you derive your travel experiences from everything hyperlocal, then this automatically happens. Because every community, each village, every single tribe, is unique,” said Dominic.
CGH Earth’s property, Spice Village is modelled around the native Manan tribe village and embraces the Thekkady environment and the Periyar forest. The cottage roofs, just like the tribal homes, are made of dried elephant grass. All furniture is made out of old salvaged wood from packaging crates that came to the resort during its construction. The naturalists take the property’s guests for plantation visits and nature walks, birding, forest treks, and pepper trails.
“Creating a menu that is inspired by the destination is not just experiential but also cost-effective. Don’t go for the imported cheese and lamb shanks, but go for the local – fish from backwaters, vegetables from the village farmers, spices from plantations. At the 50 Mile restaurant in Spice village, 99% of items come from within 50 km radius of the property, barring some that are not available like salt. This leads to a low carbon footprint, low transportation cost, and benefits the local economy. We avoid factory products but instead go for locally produced ones. Our poultry doesn’t come from big but smaller farms in the villages- this is fresher, healthier besides being cost-effective,” concluded Dominic.