As a global lodging owner and operator, Ascott believes it has a corporate responsibility to do its part to help the planet. In 2012, it launched the ‘Go Green with Ascott’ initiative where it identified several areas to impellent management-endorsed sustainability strategies in its operations.
This included sustainable procurement and working with vendors who adhere to green specifications. Additionally, the organisation has a centralised list of certified global vendors who themselves follow green policies internally. They are empanelled on this list only after Ascott’s corporate team in Singapore verifies their credentials, after extensive research.
Closer home, in India, Supriya Malhotra, Area General Manager – Chennai, The Ascott Limited explained that the company insists that all its properties to use recycled paper for all its printed material. They are also encouraged to collaborate with the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies that the paper used comes from sustainably harvested forests.
She added that Ascott continually tries to come up with more sustainable alternatives to improve its existing practices. A good example of this is the recent remodeling of bath amenities across all its properties in India.
Till recently, Ascott as using individual 30 ml bottles for bath amenities like shower gel, shampoo, body lotion, etc. These were not eco-friendly, since the single use plastic bottles were thrown away after every guest checkout. Moreover, it resulted in a large amount of wastage as several barely or half-used bottles had to be discarded.
Malhotra stated that the company decided to shift to an eco-friendly option of placing elegant fixed dispensers for these amenities in guest bathrooms. The Indian team worked with an Ascott approved global vendor to create a design that suited the brand standards and was highly utilitarian.
“We jotted down all our concerns as well as the guest usage patterns to better this design. To ensure hygiene, the dispensers were designed in a way so that it could not be refilled. Instead, the entire liquid cartridge had to be changed once it was used completely,” Malhotra added.
The units also had a transparent indicator panel on the side to enable the housekeeping staff to know when the amenities were running low and needed to be replaced. The supplier who created these products made it a standard, which he currently offers to his other clients – which underlines how thoughtful the design is and how relevant its utility is for guests.
These measures indicate that it is better to take smaller steps when it comes to sustainability than setting ambitious goals, which are tougher to achieve. Moreover, proper collaboration between hotel departments with vendors can result in a successful and mutually beneficial supplier programme, where they can find better ways to reduce environmental impacts and improve operational efficiency.
