One of the new business buzz words is sustainability. People often refer to sustainable issues as green issues or environmental issues but what does it mean for the average hospitality business? A sustainable business is one that good for the community, has minimum impacts on the environment and also is a business that makes a profit. Sustainable practices like any new venture have costs and in some cases costs, that a small business operator (a large portion of the hospitality industry) cannot afford. An argument for pursuing sustainable business practices is to preserve and conserve our resources by having a business be socially responsible. Proponents of sustainable practices can be critical of small steps taken by business when more could be done. However, the counter argument is that businesses should “just get started” with small steps that are affordable and achieve obvious results and then add to their sustainable portfolio as time passes.

Green versus sustainability

The conversation about green versus sustainability is one that needs to define and differentiate each. These are not conceptual dictionary prescribed definitions but operational definitions for discussion. Green practices typically employ recycling, reusing and in general waste conservation. Additionally, things like the reduction of greenhouse ...