Addressing a gathering on cleaner production demonstration projects for hotels organized by the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC), at the Jaic Hilton Residencies, Srilal Miththapala, President, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), highlighted the benefits of cleaner production.
According to a press release by NCPC, Mr. Miththapala highlighted the difference between conventional production and cleaner production. He said conventional production, processes, products and services, were designed without due consideration for waste prevention, or any thought given for reusing of by products.
He said, in reality, all these approaches collectively addressed the Triple Bottom Line of Environment, Economy and Society- or the People, Planet, Profit approach, which was common in the private sector today, with a greater commitment and focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
He said the hotel perspective was where “Hotels have been perennially stereotyped as energy ‘guzzlers’ and ‘wasters’. The total hotel load is estimated to be about 6% of the total demand of the national grid. The energy cost of a typical hotel will range around 20-25% of its total operational expenses, up from 13-14% few years ago. Many hotels have embarked on some form of energy conservation and energy auditing, but so far it has been mostly limited to reduction of electricity. No methodical and analytical approach has been made in a comprehensive manner to study entire processes, usage of raw materials, wastage etc.
He added that tourism facilities hold tremendous scope to adopt environmentally responsible practices and to develop in a more sustainable manner. “Cleaner Production has much to offer the hospitality industry. It is easy to adopt, easy to implement and the environmental and financial savings are extremely attractive. It does however require a paradigm shift among managers and employees to ensure that the objectives are not only sustained in the workplace, but consistently upheld, monitored and improved. For Cleaner Production to truly make a lasting difference in the tourism sector it needs to be entrenched as a standard practice- in training establishments, hotels, tourism and hospitality associations, and in Government bodies dealing in tourism,” he said. |
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