FAQs - Hotel and entertainment sectors
Q. The Hotel and entertainment sectors seem to be neglected in terms of pushing home the climate change/energy saving message, possibly because there is no obvious sponsor department. There would appear to be a massive waste of energy and resources in this sector – overheated hotel rooms and public areas, countered by excessive air conditioning; mini-bar fridges in many bedrooms; TVs left continually on, either on standby or to communicate pointless “welcome to your room” messages. Outside there is energy wasted with patio heaters, floodlighting, etc. Is anyone in Government tackling these problems?
A. There are a number of policies aimed at helping businesses to reduce their energy use.
One such policy is the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC). The CRC is a new mandatory emissions trading scheme, announced in the Energy White Paper 2007, designed to deliver carbon emissions savings of 1.1 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) per year by 2020.
The scheme will cover large business and public sector organisations (including hotel chains, large pub and restaurant chains and government departments), a sector which accounts for roughly 14 MtC per year, 10% of total UK emissions. The CRC is designed to drive energy efficiency and carbon saving by giving organisations a financial incentive to do so through emissions trading, and combining this with Corporate Social Responsibility incentives through publishing organisations’ performance in a league table.
The CRC will come into force from January 2010. Additional information is available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/business/crc.
The Government funds the Carbon Trust to take the lead in improving business and public sector energy efficiency and to support the development of a low carbon economy in the UK.The Trust provides energy saving advice specifically aimed at the hospitality sector (including hotels) and supports the Hospitable Climates advisory scheme – a free energy saving advisory programme dedicated to the hospitality sector and managed on behalf of the Carbon Trust by the Hotel and Catering International Management Association (HCIMA). For Small and Medium-sized Enterprises such as small hotels, the Trust offers interest-free loans to install energy efficient equipment. For further information, visit www.carbontrust.co.uk.
In addition, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is supporting work in the domestic tourism sector through its sponsorship of Visit Britain. Below are links to a number of publications produced by DCMS, including a strategy on sustainable tourism:
- Making Tourism in England Sustainable
- Tomorrow’s Tourism – Government strategy for the development of tourism in England
- Measuring Sustainable Tourism at local level – an introduction and background
Page last modified:
22 February 2008
Page published: 22 February 2008