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Q & A with Inge Huijbrechts Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s ambitious Think Planet initiative is set to help reinforce the company’s position as one of the industry leaders in terms of sustainability, as Inge Huijbrechts, director of responsible business, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, talks about the goals and challenges of the project.
Travel Trade Weekly: What are the main goals of the programme? Inge Huijbrechts: Think Planet was designed to help us reduce our energy consumption by 25 percent over the next five years. Many of our hotels have already introduced progressive, environmentally-friendly measures in the past, and the implementation of Think Planet will help us spread these initiatives across our hotels and assist us to set priorities for energy-saving investments that will have the biggest impact. We also thought it was important to adopt something like Think Planet because we are currently faced with rising energy costs in many countries, along with government carbon taxation. Moving forward, reducing our energy consumption will also contribute to maximising our profits, so Think Planet is both good for business and our planet. Travel Trade Weekly: How will these initiatives spread throughout all of the group’s properties and help strengthen employee engagement? Inge Huijbrechts: With the support of the area vice presidents, a team of Think Planet champions has been appointed. It is a very active and knowledgeable network of 17 individuals. Staff engagement in Think Planet is tremendous. All of our hotels have introduced the Think Planet training video to the staff and have put up the posters. Many Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s properties have taken Think Planet a step further by actively stimulating employee suggestions and by making each hotel’s targets very tangible.
13 OCTOBER 2012
Inge Huijbrechts Director of responsible business, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
from the start than to retrofit. Travel Trade Weekly: Could you also share with us some regional examples? Inge Huijbrechts: At Park Inn Muscat, all TVs have been installed with infrared sensors where the TV gets switched off immediately if there is no movement in the room. At Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City, the lights on the roundabout are solar powered and the plants are watered with recycled water. At Radisson Blu Resort Sharjah, the conversion from diesel boilers to natural gas usage will result in expected savings of up to AED3 million (USD816,800). At Radisson Blu Resort, Jordan Aqaba, we have an organic garden which supplies the hotel with fresh vegetables.
Travel Trade Weekly: What sort of innovative energy saving techniques and measures will be introduced? Inge Huijbrechts: The biggest energy consumers in our hotels are the heating ventilation and air-conditioning, lighting, sanitary hot water, and cooling in the kitchen. Naturally, the biggest savings can therefore be made by optimising the technical installations in these areas which require investments. Some hotels are already seeing the important effect of these Think Planet investments. With Rezidor being one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world, working closely with owners to introduce Think Planet principles and technologies in new builds and renovations is essential. It is much cheaper to put the right technology in
Travel Trade Weekly: What are the major challenges of implementing such an ambitious and innovative programme in this region? Inge Huijbrechts: The region has specific challenges notably with market forces of district heating and cooling. Additionally, we need to work closely with our owners and suppliers to multiply the Think Planet success and make the circle of enthusiasts grow. The biggest challenge is education. As a region, we are still behind Europe, the US, and others. We have to educate our staff first and foremost and then we have to educate our guests and the surrounding community. One of the other challenges we face is supply and demand; some of the materials we need are not readily available in the region so it can hamper our efforts or make for slow progress.