Hotel in India Wins Environmental Award a Second Time

For the second time in three years, Welcomgroup Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi has won the Environmental Award 2000 in the corporate category of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association for outstanding achievement in environmental responsibility.

The award winners, which also include the independent Hotel Victoria in Freiburg, Germany, were announced at the gala evening of the IH&RA's 38th Congress in London. American Express has sponsored the award for the past 10 years.

The ITC Maurya Sheraton first won the award in 1997. The group's commitment to environmental management goes back to 1993 when it started its Welcomenviron ecological movement.

According to Karen Fletcher, director of the International Hotels Environment Initiative, who judged the corporate entries together with the United Nations Environment Program, this year's award winners have demonstrated how environmental stewardship by hotels can be a win-win strategy.

"Precious natural resources are preserved and protected while hotels, large and small, reap tangible business benefits from reputation assurance and cost savings," Fletcher said.

In granting the award, IHEI and UNEP lauded ITC Maurya Sheraton for:

• A comprehensive environmental policy spanning ecological issues and community-based activities including energy- and water-saving initiatives, waste management, recycling of paper, planting trees, composting, and converting used cooking oil into soap;
  
  
• Continuous environmental improvement with energy reductions of 15% to 18%, and a 30% cut in water consumption, leading to ISO 14001 certification in July 1999;
  
  
• The creation of a strong organizational structure; an environmental committee meets monthly to mandate new eco-friendly practices, and hotel management helps employees read, write, and champion the green cause in their communities and the hotel;
  
  
• Food donations to charities in the city and a "Students Against Pollution"
  project;
  
  
• Partnerships with schools and local NGOs with which it liaises to pioneer
  change in the community.

It was above all the demonstration of corporate social responsibility which clinched the nomination for the property, Fletcher said.

Management has pledged to use the prize money to start a pilot project for managing solid waste in the many satellite towns of New Delhi.

First prize was a check for $2,500 and a trophy.

Independent winner Hotel Victoria, owned by Bertram and Astrid Späth, has implemented a comprehensive environment management system that focuses on reducing water and energy use, diversifying the hotel's energy mix, lowering waste volumes and buying locally made environmentally-sensitive products and services.

----------------

RELATED LINKS:

Hotel Chain Eyes Savings in $50 Million Energy Plan

Green Hotels Association

Web Guide: ISO 14001 Guidance Manual