The age of lip service to sustainability is over. Today the hospitality industry is increasingly realising its share of contribution to global warming and is actively trying to reduce its carbon footprint. The approach to a sustainable, business-friendly future is by reducing the consumption of electric power and going off the hydro/coal-powered grid, and logging into the renewable energy network.
With the increase in the number of hotels, to cater to the ever-increasing influx of tourists, the only path to a continuous power supply, keeping costs low and profit margins stable, is to opt for a renewable source of electricity. Tourists, too, prefer to book into eco-friendly and socially conscious hotels. Since a hotel needs to keep all its power-consuming units switched on all the time, the hotels would prefer not to lose clientele on the back of a quickly resolved matter. From boutique to large hotel companies, most are already halfway to a sustainable/renewable energy future, and some have achieved their goals of lowering their power bill.
Here are six hotels that have opted for either solar-or wind-powered energy.
The Taj Mahal Palace, Taj Lands End, and Taj Wellington Mews, Mumbai
Sixty per cent of energy for The Taj Mahal Palace, Taj Lands End, and Taj Wellington Mews will come from solar power. This will reduce nearly 22.9 million kg of CO2 annually, equivalent to the carbon reduction from 7,200 cars going off the road. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and TP Kirnali Solar Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power Company (TPC), have signed an agreement valid for 25 years. In the past four years, IHCL has increased the renewable energy mix from seven per cent to 25 per cent, per the company&rsquos focus on adopting sustainable and cost-efficient business practices. TPC plans to cover all IHCL properties across India. Read more here.
The Oberoi, and Trident, Gurugram
A captive solar power plant in Balasar, Haryana, generates 7.5 MW of electricity to meet the energy demands of the two hotels, The Oberoi, and Trident, Gurugram. They are now on 100 per cent solar power. Equipped with polycrystalline technology, the solar power plant is spread over 25 acres, and with 27,000 solar panels installed, the plant&rsquos performance ratio is determined to be 76.50 per cent. The two hotels aim at reducing CO2 emissions by 12,344 tons per year. Read more here, and here.
The Smart Inn, Visakhapatnam
Located at the Gurudwara Junction in Visakhapatnam, Namo Inspire The Smart Inn is a prime example of the utilization of renewable energy. Around 250 solar panels, at Rs 15 Lakh have been installed in the guest house cum hotel. On average, 100 kW of electricity is generated by the panels, whereas the building consumes 40 kW to 50 kW per day. The surplus electricity is sold to the state power grid.
ITC Grand Chola, Chennai
The ITC Grand Chola is the largest hotel in the world and a commercial building to achieve the LEED Zero Carbon Certification. The ITC Windsor, Bengaluru had become the first hotel in the world to achieve the LEED Zero Carbon Certification. To create its renewable energy footprint, ITC Grand Chola has invested in a self-owned wind- and solar-energy farm. It demonstrates their commitment to implementing building and design strategies to create an environment where artificial carbon dioxide is removed from the air. The ITC was one of the first hotel chains to eliminate single-use plastic products, add radiation harmonisers, and include farm-to-fork cuisine to lower carbon footprint. Read more here.
The Leela Palace, Bengaluru
The Leela group has set aside Rs 40 crore to reduce its carbon footprint. Its five owned hotels (seven others are managed by it) are run on 36 per cent renewable energy, and it is aimed that they will be at 100 per cent by 2030. The Leela group has two LEED Platinum-certified hotels in its pocket, and it plans to have all its hotels certified by mid-next year. Read more here.
Six Senses Fort Barware, Rajasthan
The responsibly restored 700-year-old palace had been retrofitted with solar panels and rainwater collection tanks without detracting from the beauty of the fort. The hotel has discontinued commercial cleaning agents and now uses only in-house bio enzymes to take care of its waste. In fact, the hotel chain stopped using a particular sunscreen, as it was found to cause harm to ocean coral and the biome of the sewage treatment plants. Read more here.
