Environmental Conservation in Businesses
This research paper investigates the literature, available for environmental initiatives, that hotel and restaurant businesses would adopt, in order to become more appealing to potential customers. In particular, it elucidates what other companies have been doing, and the benefits they have recorded as a result.
According to the literature, environmental conservation is usually an expensive adventure for most businesses. However, the long term benefits are worth the sacrifices, that businesses make when they roll out such projects. Westover Inn in Ontario has been a market leader, hosting several retreats, weddings and hotel services throughout the year. However, the business has had to remain innovative, in order to retain their superior position in the market. This research will certainly enable the institution to adopt a workable conservation initiative (Yan & Plainiotis, 2006).
The hotel and restaurant business is currently getting involved in environmental conservation, as a way of endearing themselves to the market. According to the National Restaurant Association, the public has considerably become aware of the significance of environmental conservation to future sustainability of the earth. In fact, around 40% of customers choose their restaurants, based on their conservation practices. It is a new trend, that has awakened hotels and restaurants to the possible benefits of environmental conservation in terms of market popularity. According to the research by the National Restaurant Association, 40% of full-service restaurants and 31% of quick-service restaurants have adopted various conservation initiatives, in order to remain relevant to the market. However, these projects have gone beyond the desire to keep up with the market trends, especially with the realization, that conservation initiatives are not only beneficial to the earth, but also enable businesses to save on costs.
For instance, Kimpton’s group of hotels is currently replacing their modern roofing with green roofing techniques, that involve the use of plantsand grass. These materials are often tolerant to the prevailing weather conditions. Thus, the institution will not have to replace their roofing occasionally, due to rust or destruction by adverse weather conditions. Besides, the hotel rooms have become more comfortable, thereby, attracting more customers to their premises. According to environmental experts, these roofing materials considerably damp the outdoor noise and the excess atmospheric heat. Besides, Lalmba Restaurant recycles most of its water, so that they do not have to pay huge water bills every month.
Further, Jumbo Hotels have lately adopted the use of low energy bulbs to save on cost of energy. These essentially enable them to save on the costs for operation and care for their environment in an efficient and affordable way (Jay, 2008). Kimpton group of hotels has certainly recorded a range of benefits from these initiatives. For instance, they have effectively established their firm as an environmental leader in the market. There are, several organizations, involved in environmental conservation, that crave for identification with them, by organizing retreats and meetings in their premises. According to the records of the firm for the last two years, functions by such organizations have accounted for 60% of the total hotel bookings.
This implies, that their simple environmental practices have become its market brand to the extent, that the firm does not require a lot of advertisements to record high profits. Besides, the international community has also begun to identify with the firm. Furthermore, global travelers have made it a custom to book rooms with the firm in any country where they operate. In addition, the employees of Kimpton group of hotels have also become more efficient with the adoption of the initiatives. This is basically due to the fact, that they are actively involved in the planning and execution of the conservation practices.
Although there were uncertainties at the initial stages of the program, constant assurances by technocrats and Kimpton’s management have enabled their staff understand and apprecciate the importance of the conservation practices. In fact, it took the management to organize eco-champions to educate their employees and the general public on environmental conservation (Pinchot, 1910). The implementation of these initiatives has caused several challenges to Kimpton’s group of hotels. For instance, the cost of removing their old roofs and replacing them with “green roofs” cost them a lot of time and resources. In fact, the firm had to sacrifice weeks of normal operations to have the roofs properly fixed, before they could resume normal operations.
Essentially, replacing the roofs had an extra implication, and all the electrical connections had to be dismantled and re-installed afresh. This was certainly very costly for the firm, especially considering, that most of these electrical devices were replaced with low energy devices in order to save on energy consumption. Besides, the management was seriously astonished to realize, that their new roofs leaked during heavy rains. In fact, some customers would demand to be refunded when their property was seriously destroyed by the leaking water. However, environmental specialist assured the management, that this was a normal occurrence with new roofs of plant nature and that it would stop after a few months.
Indeed, the roofs have become the source of comfort, that people prefer to associate with Kimpton’s hotels (Auchmutey, 2009).In conclusion, the market has become very conscious about environmental conservation. Therefore, majority of the people choose their restaurants based on their environmental conservation efforts. This is why restaurants and hotels are rushing to adopt environmental friendly practices to remain steady in the market. Indeed, these practices were quite beneficial to the industry, due to the fact that “green products” are generally cost effective.
Nonetheless, there are some challenges, that restaurants and hotels must overcome in order to enjoy the eventual benefits of conservative practices (Yan & Plainiotis, 2006).
