Ms. Bhattacharyya

Eco-Friendly Practices

Protecting the Health of Your Guests

By Rani Bhattacharyya, Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism Consultant, Bhattacharyya Consulting, Inc.

The market availability of “eco” and “nature” friendly products and services has multiplied exponentially in the last five years. Unfortunately however, the benefits that these products and services, provide for both humans and the environment has only become more confusing as a result. To remedy this consumer product manufacturers, environmental labeling organizations, and a variety of public sector agencies over the last two years have been working very hard to build consensus behind the methods, terms and definitions being used to express the benefits resulting from sustainably designed products and services. While this effort is still very general within the mainstream consumer market, it can also help define and standardize how many of terms are also being used in the hospitality market as well.

In this article I will briefly review the public sectors role in championing the adoption and use of environmentally responsible purchasing as tool to 1) facilitate this standardization process, 2) protect vulnerable populations, and 3) promote and catalyze the country’s transition to a green economy. I will also explain why these efforts can also help your property address the needs of health minded guests. In closing, I will also highlight a few product and service categories in which you and your purchasing agents will be able to find healthful and environmentally responsible products and services that can help your property protect the health of your guests.

Role of the Public Sector

We have been very successful in using scientific inquiry to learn more about the natural world and how human activity can influence and create hospitable conditions within it for our survival. This same curiosity however, over recent decades, has also lead us to question if these changes are in fact all positive over the long term survival of both humanity and the planet. In particular, extensive studies are now being conducted (par for course) to determine if the chemicals in the products we use on a daily basis are altering our basic biological functions. Since many of these studies are bringing to light evidence of toxic and harmful effects to our bodies, public agencies are now being tasked to limit how these chemicals are exposed to the population in general, and specifically to children and the elderly.

Since public agencies are also the largest institutional purchasers within any community, the most effective means by which they can proactively limit the use of harmful and hazardous chemical exposure ( outside of cumbersome regulatory processes) has been to develop and implement specific purchasing guidelines and specifications for use with their service and product vendors. Many city, state and federal agencies have developed or are in the process of developing purchasing decision making polices that include exact specifications regarding the environmental and sometimes social performance of the companies they are willing to do business with. Initially, many of these policies were very selective and presented a local bias, but as more and more agencies are adopting such polices, they are learning from each other and from experience, as to which specifications really make a difference and which do not. The first few agencies to develop and adopt environmentally preferable purchasing polices (EPP) in the public sector were school systems and universities with active input from the families of their students. As the awareness within the educational industry spread in into other agencies and also into the US market, the economic significance of this new institutional purchasing behavior caught the attention of business facing administrators and developers as well.

In many cases, the implementation of environmentally preferable purchasing polices has proven to also be a boon for economic development as well by providing a new demand surplus for goods and services, that are scarce within the local economy. The result of this analysis by development professionals over the last decade has been additional refinement of the EPP model as an incentivizing tool when attracting (and retaining) larger businesses (including hotels and restaurants) with the community. The newest version of these EPP partnerships are now city, state and federal level programs that recognize the EPP efforts being made by large private sector institutional purchasers. The results of these recognition opportunities again are primarily preferential selection within an agency’s own vendor selection process, but these benefits for program participants also now include reductions in development costs and taxation rates since “responsibility minded” business operators present a low risk investment opportunity for community’s overall long term health.

Direct Benefit to Hotels from Adopting EPP

Besides reaping the benefits of working in partnership with your local public agencies, incorporating EPP polices and decisions into your operations can also strengthen your brand position in the following ways:

By addressing the needs of health minded tourists, there are many opportunities for hospitality service providers to augment their basic services with spa or fitness oriented services and facilities. Such services can include exercise machines that direct human-generated energy into your property’s power-grid, the provision of organic personal care products within your rooms and spa, the provision of on-site specialized healthcare services, and facilities that are designed with low VOC, natural or organic construction materials and furnishings. Selecting environmentally responsible products and services in these categories over their conventional counterparts can also help you develop a premium suite of services to offer to your guests and add value to your brand.

In choosing to incorporate EPP principles into your property’s purchasing behavior, you can also reduce the potential risks at your facility concerning unintended harm on the weaker immune systems of both baby boomers and children. While baby boomers and young families have become a larger part of the US travel market as a whole, their travel experiences are also the ones hit hardest by respiratory distress and skin rashes that can result from unexpected exposure to toxins. But by using products and service providers that have already considered these vulnerable populations in their product and service design, you can reduce the likelihood of these reactions occurring among your more chemical sensitive guest population and help to ensure a risk-free experience for them.

The use of environmentally preferable products and services in your operations can also help to protect your guests from the potential over application or misapplication of conventional cleaning and laundering products. Many of the environmental leadership standards out on the market now require the use of dispensing control systems and/or concentrate dilutions when they are applied. While these procedures minimize exposure to these chemicals by your employees and guests, it can also save your facility the cost of using conventional products which continue to be manufactured with high levels of water and inert carrier material.

Product & Service Categories to Consider When Making Your Purchasing Decisions

In considering the aspects of your operations where environmentally preferable products and services can be used, the list below can be a helpful starting point in identifying services and products that suit your property’s needs.

- Facility Cleaning Products

Many independent labeling organizations and national programs address the issues of this industry, but your city or state environmental department can provide more information for what guidance they follow.

- Building Products

The US Green Building Council and Green Building Institute can provide you a wealth of information and listing of materials.

- Furnishings

The Business and Institutional Manufacturer’s association is in the process of developing its furniture sustainability standard e3-2010, but has a number of other Safety and Performance standards that address human health and environmental issues.

- Landscaping Services & Supplies

Many local service providers offer native landscaping, compostable yard maintenance materials, and integrated pest management services if asked, but for more information it would be best to contact the environmental management department of your city or state for more information.

- Spa & Personal Care Products

The Green Spa Network provides a wealth of information concerning news and issues related to health and environment spa services and equipment.

- Laundry Care Services & Supplies

Many independent labeling organizations and national programs address the issues of this industry, but your city or state environmental department can provide more information for what guidance they follow.

- Office Supplies

There are a variety of independent labeling organizations and national programs address the issues of this industry, but your city or state environmental department can provide more information for what guidance they follow, pay attention to the recycled content of these products and the source location of the fibers that are used.

- Dinnerware & Seasonal Food Menu Options

Many independent labeling organizations and national programs are starting to address the issues of this industry, but your city or state environmental department can provide more information for what guidance they follow, but also independently seek out local suppliers for seasonal options to add to your current menu.

- Appliances

The Environmental Protection Agencies EnergyStar, WaterSense, and EPEAT AND Climate Leaders program can provide you and your management team a number of options for responsibly designed appliances and recycling programs for your older equipment.

The most important factor however in identifying a product or service that provides a marked improvement in protecting human health and the environment is to look for those trying to address a number of health and environmental issues throughout their design, use and disposal, and avoid those making single attribute claims. Some of the specific issues to pay attention to in the categories listed above include: products and services that claim no or low VOCs, products that do not include chemicals identified as reproduction or endocrine disruptors, products that do include or list source locations of ingredients, products that require the use or encourage portion control equipment/procedures during use/application, and product or service providers that provide take-back programs to recycle used products and packaging.

We hope this article has provided you and your staff a bit more background and insight into why environmentally preferable purchasing can be such a powerful tool in protecting the health of your guests. It’s also important however, that service providers like you can also continue to innovate and find new inroads in defining the both the quality and variety of customer experiences that are possible beyond just protecting your guests from the world. The ultimate guest experience can help guests become a part of resolving these issues rather than just victims of them couldn’t it?

Rani Bhattacharyya conducts research and analysis in the hospitality and tourism sectors that includes comparative studies of hospitality and tourism sustainability criteria, green business program criteria, and programs focused on local, regional, state and global sustainability efforts. Through her work Ms. Bhattacharyya is also studying how company and community performance benchmarking can be integrated into long-term city, and community development planning processes. Ms. Bhattacharyya can be contacted at 202-436-0800 or rani.a.bhattacharyya@gmail.com Extended Bio...

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