Caribbean hotels go green in great numbers, UF study finds

October 9, 2008

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Hotels in the Caribbean are going green.

The accommodation industry in the tourist-heavy region has started on an environmentally conscious or “green” campaign to lessen stresses on natural resources, according to a recent University of Florida study.

The study found that two-thirds of 197 hotels in 19 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean are taking steps to protect the environment, from changing linens less often to urging guests to recycle. It also found that success in environmentally-friendly reform often was pegged to a “green champion,” an individual in the workplace who pushed for green practices.

“This is a real effort by hotels at all levels to try to minimize, to reduce, to mitigate their influence on the environment,” said Mechelle Best, who completed the study for her doctoral dissertation at the College of Health and Human Performance at UF and is an currently assistant professor at California State University at Northridge.

Even if hotels did not begin comprehensive environmental programs, they still enjoyed benefits — such as reduced resource use and decreased operating costs — from the green practices that were put into place, the study also found.

Environmental management or “greening” can range from a comprehensive system undertaken by a hotel, to informal practices undertaken by individuals on an as-needed basis, Best said.

A comprehensive environmental management system often begins with an internal audit of resource use and resource impact — how much water and electricity are used, how much solid waste is produced and what effect those things have on the environment.

Such systems are often spearheaded by a “green champion” in the workplace — an employee or manager – who “sees the potential and drives the process to have a comprehensive plan” of environmental reform, Best said.

In addition to the Caribbean, many of the areas of the world that rely on natural beauty to attract visitors have been slow to protect their resources, Best said.

“A lot of what you try to sell is not what will happen today but what will happen in the future,” Best said, of those who try educating hoteliers and their staff about resource management.

Green practices are catching on in Florida, too. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection established the Florida Green Lodging Program in 2004, a program that encourages and rewards the accommodation industry for environmentally friendly practices. The industry can be a leader when it comes to a sustainable future, according to Karen Moore, program coordinator.

“By adopting green practices that reduce water use, conserve energy, improve air quality and decrease solid waste, the lodging industry can play a significant role in protecting the environment,” Moore said.

In the Caribbean, specific examples of green practices include encouraging guests to recycle or separate waste, showing environmental videos and encouraging guests to consider using linens for two days.

Not changing the sheets every day in order to conserve resources seems easy enough – but this is where green practices come up against established habits of hotel employees, said Best.

“It’s simple for a guest to do but requires changing the mindset of employees,” Best said. “Daily linen service is standard practice in most hotels — that’s supposed to be five-star service. For people who have worked in the industry for 10, 20, 30 years, it’s difficult to change.”

Best points to the formation of the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) in the mid-1990s as a landmark event in the changing of attitudes and practices in the Caribbean.

The organization was started by members of the Caribbean Hotel Association, a nonprofit organization representing hotel interests in the area, in order to promote sustainable development and preserve natural resources.

“Investing in the conservation of the environment is not a luxury for the hotel industry,” said Adolfo Lopez, association director. “It is becoming clearer and clearer that it is a necessity, and represents the only hope for its future.”

Until a few years ago, the industry had been characterized by destroying the region’s more pristine areas, Lopez said.

Tourism makes up 30 percent of the gross domestic product in the Caribbean, according to the United Nations.

The Caribbean Hotel Association lists 125,476 rooms among its member hotels, and the Caribbean Tourism Organization estimated in a 2002 report that 300,000 people were employed by the accommodation industry in the region.

For green habits that have taken hold among employees, creativity plays a role; Best described hotel staff turning old shower curtains into aprons and bedspreads into potholders.

“You can see how implementing similar things in their homes and communities can help them,” Best said.

Beyond the Caribbean, the current energy crisis of rising fuel costs has brought greater awareness to the importance of taking on sustainable practices, Best said.