Sustainability Management for Hotels - Travelife...Sustainability Management for Hotels Practical steps and solutions CSR TOUR Corporate Social Responsibility Training and Certification

Sustainability Management for Hotels

Practical steps and solutions

CSR TOUR Corporate Social Responsibility

Training and Certification in the Travel Sector Project Nr: 2012-1-HR1-LEO05-01703

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Project is co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Croatia. The contents of this publication can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and/or the position of Ministry of Tourism Republic of Croatia.”

Programme

The relevance of sustainability

Introduction to the Travelife System for hotels and accommodation

Why sustainable tourism ?

Coffee break

Practical steps & solutions – environmental management

Financial impacts of environmental management

Environmental management – water, energy, waste

Lunch

Practical steps and solutions – sustainability management

Sustainability management – Community

Sustainability management – Human resources

Sustainability management – Suppliers

Coffee break

Action planning and next steps

Self-assessment , sustainability management tools, action planning

Steps of becoming a Travelife awarded hotel

Preparing for Travelife audit

Programme

Hotels & Accommodations

Introduction to Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations


Contents

• What is Travelife for hotels and accommodations?

• Travelife History, Vision and Mission

• Consumer expectations

• Why Travelife?

• Supporters and tour operator members

• How Travelife works, certification awards and costs

• Promotional opportunities

• Housekeeping

• Case studies 1–5 (Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Thailand)


What is Travelife for hotels and accommodations?

Travelife is an international sustainability certification scheme for hotels and accommodations

Travelife:

• provides a structured system to help hotels become more sustainable

• helps cut costs and improve brand image through increased sustainability

• uses fully-trained, independent auditors to assess the sustainability of hotels against the Travelife criteria

• is internationally-recognised, affordable and achievable


Travelife supports all 3 areas of sustainability:

ENVIRONMENTAL

SOCIAL ECONOMIC


What is Sustainable Tourism?

“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts,

addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” *

We do this by:

1. Protecting the physical environment

2. Protecting local culture and the well-being of local people

3. Supporting the local economy and businesses

Source: *United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation


What is the Travelife Sustainability System?

• A tool to manage sustainability in hotels, including:

– Planning, management and reporting

– Protecting the environment

– Treating people fairly – employees and suppliers

– Supporting local communities, culture, businesses and the economy


History of Travelife

2003 – Conceived by the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) to help improve sustainability of the tourism industry

2004-2006 – FTO Responsible Tourism audit and guidelines in use

2006 – Travelife brand developed to promote the FTO Responsible Tourism audit and guidelines to the European tourism industry

2009 – Travelife trains 100+ auditors

2012 – Travelife reviews criteria against international Global Sustainability Tourism Council (GSTC) standards

2013 – Travelife reaches 1,000+ hotel members worldwide

2014 – new Travelife criteria to be launched


Travelife Vision and Mission

Vision:

• “Inspiring and supporting businesses and their customers to transform tourism for a better future”

Mission:

“We will:

• Work with the tourism industry and other stakeholders to provide practical and competitive business solutions, training, and management tools to improve people’s livelihoods, support local communities and protect or enhance the environment.

• Provide independent and robust certification of the social and environmental management of tour operators and hotels.

• Make it easier for tourists to choose more sustainable companies and holidays.”

Hotels & Accommodations Supporters include:


Why Travelife?

• Straight-forward to implement, helping properties to: – save money

– improve business efficiency

– develop and retain valuable staff

• Enhances a property’s reputation as responsible business helping attract new and repeat customers – Enhances guest experience and helps meet their increasing

expectations

• Affordable and achievable

• One audit

Hotels & Accommodations How Travelife works

1. register 2. subscribe 3. support 4. audit 5. award


Travelife Certification Requirements

• Policies for all areas of audit (eg energy, water ,waste) and consumption monitored and recorded

• Waste management in place, including reduction, recycling and hazardous waste (if destination can manage it)

• Local goods and services purchased where possible

• Basic Human Rights and Labour standards followed

• Local communities are not compromised

• Policies are in place and staff are trained on the protection of children from tourism-related sexual exploitation

• Wildlife codes of practice are followed

• Information is provided to customers on local environment, customs and culture


Promotional opportunities include:

• Travelife award plaque

• Travelife Collection website profile

• Travelife award logo in hotel marketing


Travelife costs

Price Band

Total number of guests the property can

accommodate

Membership fee

(every year)

Audit fee (every 2 years)

A <100 € 180 € 210 This equals an average annual Amount of:

€285

B 101-500 € 225 € 270 This equals an average annual Amount of:

€360

C 501-1,000 € 270 € 330 This equals an average annual Amount of:

€435

D >1,000 € 360 € 390 This equals an average annual Amount of:

€555


Larisa Birthwright

Travelife Co-ordinator

E: [email protected] T: +44 (0)20 3693 0165 F: +44 (0)20 3117 0581 W: www.travelife.org

Contact

[email protected]

http://www.travelife.org/

Why Sustainable Tourism?


Consumer expectations

• Customer expectations are changing:

– 71% of customers will make eco-friendly travel choices in next 12 months (TripAdvisor, 2012)

– Increasing demand for sustainable accommodation (ABTA Consumer Trends 2011)

– Overall customer satisfaction ratings are higher at Travelife-awarded hotels (TUI UK analysis of 900k customer

satisfaction questionnaires, 2012)







27

1 A large hotel is located next to a

national park or protected area.

2 An all-inclusive hotel provides

entertainment using its own animation

team.

3 Guests are provided with an empty

minibar in the room but the hotel sells

plastic bottles of water at reception

4 A beachfront hotel draws all its water

from a bore-hole.

5 A hotel offers an outdoor buffet service

50 metres away from the buildings.

6 A hotel has extensive gardens and

grows its own vegetables

7 A 300 bed 5* hotel uses an external

laundry service for towels and linen.

8 A hotel provides several units that are

hired out to local businesses including

spa and salon.

9 Guests rooms are fully air conditioned

using split units. The public areas are

provided with a centralised air-

conditioning system.

Tourism has impacts across three areas:

Environmental

Social-cultural

Economic

13


“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts,

addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” *

We do this by:

1. Protecting the physical environment

2. Protecting local culture and the well-being of local people

3. Supporting the local economy and businesses

Source: *United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation

30

Why be concerned?

• Tourism lives off the environment

• Resources are not unlimited

• Competitiveness and profitability of companies

• Climate change

Irresponsible Tourism ?

What do these photographs illustrate?

How can we prevent these from reoccuring?

Irresponsible Tourism ?

This is a man-made hotel and marina. What impacts

are associated with it historically and now?

This forest was cleared to make

way for a golf course. What

impacts are associated with it?

Environmental Impacts

4 main areas:

1. Natural resources

2. Biodiversity

3. Pollution

4. Physical impacts

34

Social Impacts Social Impacts include:

COMMODIFICATION

Where local cultures / traditions become commodities for the tourism product

STANDARDIZATION

Over-catering for domestic tastes of tourists leading to cultural degradation and dilution

CULTURE CLASHES

Local level frictions between tourists and local communities

SOCIAL STRESSES

Traffic congestion, noise, queues

JOB LEVEL FRICTIONS

Top level / top-paid jobs going to foreigners and not locals.

15

35

Social Impacts Labour Conditions

According to studies from the International Labour Organization, many jobs in the

tourism sector are characterized by long hours, unstable unemployment, low pay , little

training, poor chances for qualification and precarious employment conditions.

Child Labour Young children are cheap and flexible employees, and child labour in tourism is common

in both developing and developed countries, especially in small business activities

related to hotels and restaurants, the entertainment sector or the souvenir trade.

Children are also more easily subjected to harsh working and employment conditions.

Child Prostitution and Sex Tourism

The United Nations has defined child sex tourism as “tourism organized with the primary

purpose of facilitating the effecting of a commercial sexual relationship with a child”.

Though tourism is no the cause of sexual exploitation, it provides easy access to it.

16

Economic Impacts Negative economic impacts can include:

Leakage:

The amount of tourism spend that leaves the host destination – studies have shown that this can up

to 70% and higher. 6 key reasons:

• Goods and Services (imports of tourism goods and services)

• Infrastructure (costs of infrastructure development)

• Foreign factors of production (investors)

• Promotional expenditures (marketing losses in foreign markets)

• Transfer pricing (foreign owned businesses)

• Tax Exemptions (incentivising foreign investment by tax cuts, exemptions)

Enclave tourism and all-inclusive packages:

Increases in prices for locals

Economic dependence and instability

Seasonal character of jobs

Why work towards sustainability?

Reduces Costs

Increases Profit

Access to financial capital

Human Capital (Employee satisfaction)

Corporate and brand image

Conservation of destinations

Risk Management and Licence to operate

Government Legislation

Because it is a good thing to do

Financial impacts of environmental management

39

Financial impact of environmental management

• Sound environmental management calls for:

– The efficient use of resources - water, energy, chemicals,

materials

– Pollution prevention rather than control, treatment and

disposal

• Environmental management is a profitability tool

How sustainable is your business?

• How much water did you use last week ?

• How much are you paying for 1 litre of water?

• How much water are you wasting?

• How much electricity does your PC use each hour?

• How much does that cost per month?

• Where are your consumables coming from?

• Do you have a purchasing policy

41


• Environmental management assessment conducted in a 300-room, 5-star hotel:

– 115 recommendations focused mainly on:

• Energy and water conservation

• Efficient use of chemicals and materials

• Waste reduction

– Benefits

• 35% reduction in domestic water consumption

• 70% reduction in irrigation water consumption

• 30% reduction in electricity consumption

• significant reduction in off-site solid waste disposal

– Financial savings from the 30 quantifiable recommendations = €150.000 /year

What did it take to achieve those savings?

“Top 6” recommendations

Reduce the output of showerheads to 9 L/min

Repair toilet leaks

Reduce the wattage of exterior decorative lights and turn them off at 1:00 AM

Improve the towel reuse program

Irrigate the grounds early in the morning

Optimize the backwashing of pool filters

Financial savings = € 78.000 /year

Implementation cost = € 8.000

Return on investment > 900%

Financial impact of environmental

management

43


Breakdown of recommendations by

implementation cost

< € 5 per

room

68%

€ 5-30

per

room

7%

> € 30

per

room

25%

44

Benefits of environmental management

• In addition to saving resources and money, environmental

management can:

– Increase the service life of existing equipment

– Reduce future expenditures in equipment

– Reduce the hotel’s workload

– Reduce the generation of waste and pollutants

– Reduce waste handling, treatment and disposal requirements

45

Monitor your performance

• You can’t control what you don’t measure

• Many hotels track their expenditure in energy and water but

overlook their energy and water consumption

• Expenditure = (unit cost) x (consumption)

• Monitoring consumption allows a hotel to measure changes

in its energy and water use performance

• What should you monitor?

– Total consumption

– Consumption index = (total consumption) / (occupancy)

Total

consumption

Consumption

index

Monitor your performance

0

4.000

8.000

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Jan

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r

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g

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p

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ate

r co

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mptio

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m3)

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ccupancy

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Water consumption index (L/pax) % occupancy

47

Apply improvement measures in all areas

Water use distribution in a 150-room Red Sea hotel

(excluding irrigation water)

Dive center

1.0%

Pools

13.7%

Staff kitchen

and cafeteria

1.2%

Staff quarters

48.7%

Managers'

quarters

1.2%Laundry

19.8%

Guestrooms,

front-of-house,

kitchens

14.3%

Water use distribution in 150-room hotel (excluding

irrigation water)

48

Use water efficient showerheads Typical showerhead flow = 10 to 20 L/min

Recommended flow = 7 to 10 L/min

Shower flow

controller

Low-flow

showerhead

49

Use water efficient taps Typical tap flow = 10 to 20 L/min

Recommended flows:

Low-flow applications = 2 L/min

Guestroom and bathroom taps = 4 to 6 L/min

Kitchen, bar and other work area taps = 10 L/min

Aerators Flow restrictor Shut-off valves

Use water-saving toilets

Water-saving toilets (6

L/flush)

Replacing older “high-

volume” toilets with water-

saving toilets is cost

effective, especially in

high-traffic bathrooms

Water consumption of a public bathroom toilet

(~30 flushes per day)

66

142

284

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

6 L/flush 13 L/flush 26 L/flush

Wate

r co

nsu

mp

tio

n .

(m

3/y

ear)

Make sure toilets are well maintained

Up to 50% of toilets have leaks or water losses in some hotels

Water losses from toilets can account for 5 to 40% of total

domestic water use

Main problems

leaking flapper valves

jamming flush mechanism

high/low water level in the tank

Operate the water distribution system at a

reasonably low pressure

The flow output of taps and showerheads and

leakage losses increase with higher pressure

Hotels often operate at 4 to 5 bar (~60 to 70 psi)

Most hotel equipment (e.g., washing machines, flush-

valve toilets) can operate with a pressure of 2 bar

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 1 2 3 4 5

Pressure (bar)

Flo

w r

ate

(lit

res /

min

)

.

Operate the water distribution system at a

reasonably low pressure

Pump pressure switch Pressure reducing valve

Sustainability Management for Hotels

Practical steps and solutions

CSR TOUR

Corporate Social Responsibility Training and Certification in the Travel Sector

Project Nr: 2012-1-HR1-LEO05-01703

WELCOME BACK

Conserve water in pool maintenance

operations

In hotels, swimming

pools typically account

for 10 to 20% of total

domestic water

consumption

Generally most of this

water is wasted due to

incorrect backwashing

operations, followed by

leaks (cracks/balance

tanks)

Conserve water in pool maintenance

operations

Recommendations

Backwash a filters only when its has reached the

recommended pressure build-up (typically 0,8 bar or 10 psi)

Stop backwashing when the discarded flow becomes

reasonably clean

Follow the backwash with a short rinse cycle (30 seconds)

Monitor pool water consumption

Put in place a leak detection program

Typically 10 to 25% of the water consumed by

hotels is lost through leaks

Recommendations

Use water meters to measure consumption in key areas

Monitor the daily, weekly or monthly water consumption in

key areas and check for unusual changes

Read water meters during times of no or low water use

Train staff (especially housekeepers) to detect leaks

0

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Hourly w

ate

r consum

ption

(L /

hour)

Operate water efficient gardens

In dry climates, gardens can consume as much water as the

rest of the hotel

Hotel gardens generally use irrigation water very inefficiently

Irrigation water consumption in Red Sea hotels

0

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

5.000

6.000

7.000

8.000

310-room 5-

star hotel

150-room 5-

star hotel

340-room 5-

star hotel

70-room 4-

star hotel

Litre

s p

er

m2 p

er

year

Operate water efficient gardens

Recommendations

Give preference to

drought resistant

vegetation

Use drip irrigation

wherever possible

Irrigate at night or

daybreak

Use energy efficient lamps

Incan-

descent

lamp

Equivalent

CFL

Savings over an 8000-

hour CFL life

(kWh) (€)**

40 W 10 W 240 kWh € 24

60 W 15 W 360 kWh € 36

75 W 20 W 520 kWh € 52

100 W 25 W 600 kWh € 60

** For a cost of € 0,10 /kWh

Use energy efficient lamps

** For a cost of € 0,10 /kWh

Example of Cost Savings CFL 13W Incandescent 60W

Initial Purchase Price

(per bulb) $3.77 $0.27

Replacement Costs

(estimated 7 bulbs) $0.00 $2.43

Energy Costs

(based on $0.10/kWh, 8,000-

hour bulb)

$10.40 $48.00

Total Cost $14.17 $50.70

Est’ savings per bulb (3yrs)

Payback on initial cost

$36.53

approx 3 months

Ensure lighting fixture are efficient

Use decorative lighting wisely

1 x 80W, 7 h/day

2 x 80W, 7 h/day

32 x 50W, 6 h/day

12 x 300W, 7 h/day

=

=

=

=

In most cases, the same effect can be achieved

with energy efficient lighting

Architects and interior decorators don’t pay your

electricity bills

Lighting - General considerations

65

Minimize solar heat gain in

air conditioned areas

0,0

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Energ

y c

onsum

ption (

kW

h)

.

AC energy consumption in shaded roomAC energy consumption in exposed room

11,2 kWh/day

18,9 kWh/day• Power density of direct sunlight

= 800 to 1000 W per square meter

• Only a small portion of the energy contained in direct sunlight is blocked off by standard windows

66

Minimize solar heat gain in air

conditioned areas

• To reduce the heat load in air conditioned rooms, ensure

South- and West-facing windows and glass doors are

protected from direct sunlight

• During the warmer months of the year, block out direct

sunlight but allow diffuse daylight in

Maintain a reasonable temperature

setting in air conditioned areas

• Comfort temperature for air-conditioned areas =24°C • Air-conditioned public areas often maintained at much less than

24°C

• Example: energy consumption of a restaurant chiller which is set to maintain an indoor temperature of:

20°C 24°C

68

Reduce the laundry’s workload

Recommendations

– Optimize laundry operations

– Modify property’s linen change policy

– Put in place a voluntary towel reuse program

– Use laminated place mats

An 80 room hotel in Portugal

Reduced the workload on the laundry by

10.000 kg/year

Eliminated 510 washer loads/year

Eliminated 1.350 dryer loads/year

Most towel reuse programs don’t work because the housekeepers

don’t respect them

Recommendations

Make sure your guests are well informed

Find the solution that meets your needs

Ensure there are enough racks or hooks to hang the towels

Put in place an effective towel

reuse program

70

0,0

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1,2

1,4

1,6

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Bath

tow

el use p

er

pax 2006

2007

• Recommendations (continued) – Let towels dry properly

– Train and retrain housekeepers

– Monitor performance

Put in place an effective towel

reuse program

Adopt a reasonable bed linen

change policy

• Program can be unilateral (eg, linens are changed every

two days), OR

• Program can be voluntary and require guest input

• Monitor performance to ensure compliance by

housekeepers

72

Reduce the amount of dirty

linens generated in restaurants

• Up to 20% of dirty linens generated by hotels come from restaurants

73

Reduce waste

Reduce waste

Reduce waste

76

77

78

79

Case Study – Hotel Vila Galé Cerro Alagoa,

Portugal

80

Maids sort

recycling

cut the costs of recycling

rubbish from guest rooms

by introducing a system for

maids to sort recycling as

they clean

Case Study – Hotel Vila Galé Cerro Alagoa, Portugal

81

Reduce waste

• Bottled water consumption = 210.000 L/year

• Cost for 1,5L disposable bottles = €25.000

/year

• Switching to 19L refillable jugs would:

– Reduce bottled water costs by €13.000 /year

– Avoid having to discard 140.000 plastic

bottles/year

82

Case Study – Valamar Lacroma, Croatia

83

Waste – The Valamar Lacroma has an exemplary waste

and recycling programme. It reduces waste per guest by

actions such as using refillable shower gels in guest

bathrooms. Waste that cannot be avoided is recycled

where possible, including glass, paper, plastic,

packaging, metals, organic waste, cooking oil, light

bulbs, batteries and some electronic items.


84

Water – The Valamar Lacroma waters its gardens at night to avoid

unnecessary water evaporation, as well as cleaning its windows with

steam and re-using the water. It measures its waste and water

usage on an on-going basis which enables it to monitor the impact

of their sustainability efforts and plan improvements.


85

Energy – The hotel uses hydropower (a renewable and

clean energy) for its electricity. It also uses energy-

saving measures, including: intelligent use of day-light

throughout the hotel, 100% low-energy lighting,

temperature controlled taps, and the heating of only one

pool. Air conditioning operated according to the season,

set to 21 degrees minimum, and is automatically

switched off when balcony doors are open.


86

Biodiversity – As well as day-to-day environmental

measures, the Valamar Lacroma goes further to protect

the environment by organising regular beach and

underwater clean-ups with the hotel diving centre, which

have helped it win awards for its beach and water

management.


87

Biodiversity – Another initiative is its collaboration with

The Blue World Institute of Marine Research and

Conservation on its ‘Meetinblue’ project.

To help protect the biodiversity of the Adriatic Sea, the

Croatian hotel chain adopts a dolphin for every event

booked at the Valamar with 100 or more participants.


88

Case Study – Jetwing Lagoon, Sri Lanka

89


Water efficiency:

• 100% of used water treated in an on-site water treatment

plant

• Treated water used to irrigate gardens

90

Case Study 3 – Jetwing Lagoon, Sri Lanka

Energy efficiency:

• 20kw solar photovoltaic system providing power to light all

guest rooms

• Biomass boiler used to provide power at night, using

cinnamon firewood as carbon-neutral fuel

Sustainability management – Community - Human Resources - Suppliers

92

Community and people

• The Valamar Group has developed their own training for

staff and management

• Free accommodation is offered to non-local staff

• Free monthly travel pass and employees and their

children receive a discount on spa and hotel use

• Language classes are provided to staff

• Staff are consulted on new projects


93

Community and people

The hotel provides fresh, local and

seasonal food and local wines in its

restaurant

Themed nights introduce guests to the

best dishes from Croatian cuisine

During the olive season local residents

are invited to pick the olives from the

hotel’s trees

Employees are encouraged to give blood

donations for the local hospital


94

Case Study 3 – Jetwing Lagoon, Sri Lanka

Supporting local charities:

• In Feb 2013, property made donation to local mission

house to build two new toilets

• Along with 5 other Jetwing properties, sponsored cataract

surgery for 52 underprivileged people

95


Jetwing Youth Development Project

• Initiative designed to empower rural youth

• Provides training for employment within Jetwing Hotels

How to create a policy

Travelife Checklist Type I

November 2013

Type I – Accommodation profile Medium to Large accommodations Either the business can accommodate more than 160 guests per night. Or the business operates as part of a chain or group of accommodations, under head office direction, and the chain can accommodate (collectively) more than 200 guests per night. Note. Accommodations are part of a chain or group when they are answerable to a “managing” company that has more than one accommodation business under its control and or ownership. i.e. two or more separate accommodation businesses are answerable to the same head office or owner(s).

Requirements were placed into three categories following pilot testing and review by the audit review group and consultation with hotel chain . Exemplary practice = going the extra mile A step up from current Gold (Mandatory year 3) On a par with current Gold (Mandatory year 1) First audit = year 1 Second audit = year 3

Three Award levels for new criteria:

Level C = only available for first audit

Level B = must be met on subsequent audit (including all level C criteria)

Level A = ALL criteria in the audit compliant!

and Externally, levels C and B will look identical

Level C = 125 requirements

Summary

• Documented policies are in place for all areas in scope of audit

• Emphasis on showing that major impacts are being addressed

• Consumption is monitored and data is recorded (energy water waste etc)

• Basic waste management, including hazardous waste, is in place (if destination can manage it!)

• Wildlife codes of practice are followed

• Basic Human Rights and Labour standards followed / enforced

• Local communities are not compromised

Level C = 125 requirements

Summary • Staff are trained on the protection of children from tourism related sexual

exploitation, and policies are in place.

• Local goods and services preferred where practical to do so

• Information is provided to customers about local environmental and community issues, culture, heritage, traditions etc

Level B = 43 additional requirements (additional to Level C = 168 total)

Summary • Policies and sustainability efforts are broadly publicised (public reporting)

• Proof of legal compliance

• Employees trained in labour standards, human rights and community issues

• Consumption assessments are conducted (energy water waste etc)

• Sustainability promoted to customers and suppliers

Level B = 43 additional requirements (additional to Level C = 168 total)

Summary • Disciplinary and grievance procedures documented ad communicated

• Businesses can show how they operate in a non-discriminatory way

• Community and Environmental impact assessments conducted (if needed)

• Preferential purchasing of sustainable products

Level A = 137 additional requirements (additional to Levels B/C = 305 total)

Summary • Detailed management plans are produced and followed

• Specific targets are met (Primarily Energy and Water related)

• Impact assessments undertaken

• Supply chain is actively encouraged

• The business demonstrates destination stewardship

Level A = 137 additional requirements (additional to Levels B/C = 305 total)

Summary • Many of the criteria originate from the EU Ecolabel

• Some of the challenging GSTC criteria are here

107

The new Travelife criteria for accommodations

1.SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

i. Business policies ii. Legislation iii. Communicating progress iv. Human and financial resources

2. ENVIRONMENTAL

MANAGEMENT i. Energy ii. Water iii. Waste iv. Pollution and erosion v. Hazardous substances vi. Wildlife

3. LABOUR AND HUMAN

RIGHTS

4. COMMUNITY INTEGRATION

5. SUPPLIERS

6. CUSTOMERS

108

The new Travelife criteria for accommodations

1. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT i. Energy

ii. Water

iii. Waste

iv. Pollution and erosion

v. Hazardous substances

vi. Wildlife

Each section (i-v) addresses

three categories of action

1. Recording

2. Managing

3. Reducing

Travelife Checklist

policies.docx

110

Audit Scope

• Number of sites / facilities

• Extension of facilities

• Number and type of activities

• Elements of the SSH to audit (e.g. key risk areas – is the

whole SSH being used?)

• Schedule activities to take account of all relevant elements:

• Shall I observe all activities?

• Consider timings of visits e.g. kitchen areas when less busy

• Do I need to observe shift changeovers?

Audit techniques

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Gather the necessary written evidence:

• environmental / H&S policy, manual and procedures

• company Codes

• accident books

• personnel records, employment contracts

• pay slips, pay & hours records

• timesheets

• worker ID / passports

• miscellaneous records

• communications from 3rd parties

Audit techniques

Interviews: • Ask employees indirect questions:

– what year where you born ?

– how long have you been working here ?

– do you feel free to leave the job?

Documentary evidence:

• Work permits / registration cards via employers and/or labour authorities

• Employment records (are workers officially declared?)

• ID / Passports (forged documents may be used to disguise employment of under-age

children)

• Are there records of any debt owed by workers or deposits made by workers?

• Do pay-roll records indicate any ‘stoppages’ from pay? Are the reasons indicated ?

• Are passports or other essential documents withheld ?

Audit techniques

Forced/Child Labour issues

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Documentation: • Accident books

• Policy documents

• Training records

• Records of fire drills

• Equipment safety checks

• Posting of safety information

• Safety data sheets for hazardous

materials

• Fire certificates

• Equipment maintenance records

Health and Safety

Observations:

• Fire safety

• Are exits clearly marked and unobstructed?

• Is fire fighting equipment available and

maintained?

• Are flammable materials protected from

ignition sources?

• Use of dangerous machinery

• Personal protective equipment

• Noise, dust, fumes

• Ventilation provision

• Toilets and rest rooms

Audit techniques

Suppliers and community

Documentation:

• Purchasing agreements

• Sample contracts

• Purchasing procedures

• Agreements with local authorities, indigenous groups, associations

• Records / minutes of meetings

• External communications, awards

• Shopping guides for customers and tourists, holiday brochures

Observations:

• Facilities or locations accessible to locals

• Local products made available to customers

• On-site security

• Are children on or near the property seemly involved in sex exploitation/trafficking?

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INTERVIEWS Auditors must protect workers’ interests and job security

• Introductions

– stress independent role

– comments not linked to individuals

– here to identify issues for workers to improve conditions

• Whistle blowing – not allowed • Where individual staff are interviewed, assure

anonymity in interview minutes • Avoid management interference & discrimination

Audit techniques

Thank you

Chris Thompson

Travelife Consultant

E: [email protected] M: +44 7585 112 990

Larisa Birthwright

Travelife Co-ordinator

E: [email protected]

T: +44 (0)20 3693 0165

F: +44 (0)20 3117 0581

W: www.travelife.org

mailto:[email protected]



[email protected]

http://www.travelife.org/

Documents

Sustainability Management for Hotels - Travelife...Sustainability Management for Hotels Practical steps and solutions CSR TOUR Corporate Social Responsibility Training and Certification