Copied from Mohammed El Dief

Helwan University

Xavier Font

Leeds Metropolitan University

Environmental Management Practices

Environmental management is a broad term, covering a wide range of practices

aimed at reducing the negative environmental impacts generated by a firm’s

products and services. These practices can be generally classified into two categories:

“organizational or software” and “operational or hardware” (Alvarez Gil,

Burgos Jimenez, & Céspedes Lorente, 2001; González-Benito & González-Benito,

2006; Saha & Darnton, 2005).

Organizational practices are relevant to the development and implementation

of an environmental management system (EMS); a system that helps companies

identify and manage environmental issues and consequences related to their operations

in a holistic and consistent way (International Hotel & Restaurant Association

[IH&RA], United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP], & EUHOFA,

2001). The enforcement of environmental regulations is a highly complex issue

for the hotel sector and particularly in developing countries, which is highly

fragmented and mainly made up of small- to medium-sized independent operators

(Kasim & Scarlat, 2007; Rivera, 2002). For this reason, EMSs have been

recognized as viable voluntary mechanisms of managing the various environmental

issues associated with hotel operations that do not typically fall under

the control of any one monitoring agency (World Travel and Tourism Council,

International Hotel and Restaurant Association, International Federation of Tour

Operators, International Council of Cruise Lines, & UNEP, 2002).

EMSs originate in manufacturing with international and European environmental

standards arising as extensions of quality management procedures (Font

& Buckley, 2001) from which tourism specific adaptations have taken place

(Green Globe 21 during the 1990s being the most obvious). They reflect the extent

to which a company has modified its systems and structures to accommodate an

environmental program, which defines an environmental policy, establishes

environmental objectives and targets, evaluates the firm’s environmental performance

in a regular basis, delegates environmental responsibilities and provides

environmental training for employees. Such practices themselves do not directly

lessen the company’s environmental impact, but they set the mechanism to

improve environmental performance in a systematized and structured manner

(González-Benito & González-Benito, 2006).

Unlike organizational practices, operational practices can directly improve the

environmental performance of the company since they involve modifications in

both the production and operations systems. Whereas organizational practices

are similar across industries, operational practices are industry specific (Alvarez

Gil et al., 2001; Carmona-Moreno, Céspedes-Lorente, & De Burgos-Jimenez,

2004). Academics suggest that cutting operating costs and minimizing resource

consumption is the most convincing strategy to engage hotel management (see

Ayuso, 2006; Bohdanowicz, 2006; Kasim, 2007; Kirk, 1995; Tzschentke, Kirk,

& Lynch, 2004). Opportunities for cutting operational costs revolve around four

areas: water and wastewater management, energy management, solid waste reduction

and management, and green purchasing (IH&RA, UNEP, and EUHOFA,

2001). Water accounts for a substantial share of total utility bills in most hotels,

and nearly all of it is released as sewage, often without proper treatment (UNEP

DTIE, IH&RA, & EUHOFA, 2005). Therefore, water management is becoming

increasingly important for hoteliers as it can reduce not only the total cost of

actual water consumption but also the cost of wastewater treatment. For example,

Sandals Negril Beach Resort & Spa in Jamaica uses low-flush toilets and

urinals that use only 5.7 liters (1.5 gallons) of water per flush, aerators and lowflow

devices on taps, water-saving showerheads with a maximum flow of 9.5

liters (2.5 gallons) per minute, and ground care water-saving techniques to

reduce water loss from evaporation. In the 3 years from 1998 to 2000, the hotel

was able to reduce total water consumption per night by 28.6% (Sweeting &

Sweeting, 2003).

Energy savings equate to cost savings. Energy efficient equipment and practices

reduce hotel energy consumption by 20% or more (Ontario Restaurant,

Hotel and Motel Association, 2008). Many hotel corporations recognize these

opportunities and implement energy-efficient projects in lighting, space heating,

and cooling systems. For example, the 2001 Energy Star Award winner Hilton

Hotels Corporation was able to save nearly US$2.5 million in energy costs. This

was achieved by saving of nearly 43 million kWh of electricity and the prevention

of 65 million pounds of CO2 emissions in 2000 alone, the equivalent of

removing 6,450 cars from the road (http://www.energystar.gov).

Waste disposal costs money. Most hotels pay twice for the waste they generate—

first for product packaging (up to 35% of total waste by volume and 15%

by weight can be packaging) and then for waste disposal. Costs are rising rapidly

for waste collection, hauling and tipping fees (Cummings, 1997). Hotels

are well-placed to establish recycling facilities that can be used by others in the

local community. The Park Inn Hotel Berlin (formerly the Forum Hotel), for

example, not only handles its own waste but also that of eight other tenants in

the building, including cafes and fast food outlets, for a charge based on the

quantity. The hotel cut its own waste from a total of 840 tones in 1992 to 85 in

1998.

Product procurement policies can also affect the levels of waste a hotel generates,

and hence the costs associated through waste disposal. As major consumers

of goods and services, hotels have strong influence on the supply chain and can,

therefore, encourage suppliers to follow environmentally friendly standards. Thus,

establishing a supply environmental management process is a necessity for those

hotels opting to improve their environmental performance (Da Cunha Lemos &

Giacomucci, 2002). Scandic hotels provide a unique example. The company

decided to involve their supplier in its environmental program, driving them to

source products with low environmental impact. New suppliers were asked to

document their environmental policies and to sign the Scandic Supplier Declaration.

In many cases, Scandic was able to influence suppliers’ environmental behavior.

To reduce their environmental impacts, all hotels are encouraged to offer KRAVcertified

breakfasts (Bohdanowicz, Simanic, & Martinac, 2004).

Despite the growing popularity of EMPs in the hotel industry, the nature and

extent of such practices is, however, unknown in the Red Sea hotel sector.

 There is a need for background information on EMPs, and more important, on the factors

influencing their adoption. Such background will help practitioners and policy

makers design and develop appropriate programs aimed at maintaining and/or

improving the environmental quality of the region and thereby making the industry

more internationally competitive.