Further to the State Government launching the very comprehensive EV Policy, with a commitment to convert 15% of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation fleet into EVs by 2025, along-with making the state the top producer of battery-driven vehicles; efforts to make it a reality are gaining steam, as Corporates come on board as partners to the Policy.
At a press conference hosted in Mumbai, Aaditya Uddhav Thackeray, Cabinet Minister for Tourism and Environment for the Government of Maharashtra appreciated the commitment and initiatives undertaken by Chalet Hotels, with Electric Vehicles, encouraging other hospitality companies to follow suit. He urged the hospitality sector to augment their destination charging activities by synergizing with vehicle technology sectors to construct charging stations at their facilities, to improve guest experience.
Chalet Hotels’ sustainability commitments include but are not restricted to converting 100% of the vehicular fleet to EVs by 2025, along with setting up of EV charging stations, across its portfolio hotels and commercial office spaces. With this, it creates an opportunity to influence and encourage a larger populace to experience EVs and possibly transition to using them. Earlier this year, Chalet Hotels became the first Hospitality Company globally to commit to Climate Group’s RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives linked to renewable electricity, energy efficiency and electric vehicles respectively.
Commenting at the event, Thackeraysaid, “The State’s comprehensive EV Policy has been developed to fortify Maharashtra’s position as the leading destination for EV manufacturing and utilization. With SOPs, infrastructure mandates, and incentivization, we look forward to the widespread acceptance of EV’s in the State. The aggressive implementation of the Policy is critical and cannot be fully successful without support from the private sector. Chalet Hotels has done some good work, and I encourage more corporates from Hospitality as well as other industries to come forward with necessary interventions.”
While speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Sethi, MD and CEO, Chalet Hotels, said that “We commend the Honorable Minister for the very timely and necessitated EV Policy, which is poised to play an instrumental role in achieving larger climate change goals. At Chalet, we have been extremely mindful of the impact our projects have on the environment and meticulously crafted our sustainability programs accordingly. The Hospitality sector has a history of building environmental awareness amongst guests, whether through encouraging linen reuse, water recycling or saving, amongst others. Hoteliers are today, in a unique position to stand out in an untapped market of EV’s by allowing guests to experience and potentially convert to them. We look forward to ably supporting with the Maharashtra Govt. on further initiatives in the larger sustainability framework.”
Hoteliers have invested in environmentally friendly business practices that benefit the environment, resonate with customers, and impact the bottom line. Electric car charging stations, like solar technology, help all three of these goals while responding to evolving consumer demands.
Amongst its other sustainability initiatives, Chalet Hotels is in the process of putting into place measurable benchmarks to monitor its carbon footprint, and electricity and water consumption through the deployment of solutions based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation. Hotels of the Chalet portfolio ensure 0% waste-water discharge and have been committed to reducing use of single use plastic and paper. The Company has reduced overall energy consumption, by investing in energy efficient devices, automation, and latest technology, across its portfolio.
