As the hospitality sector makes immense strides toward greater sustainability, carbon emissions are proving to be one of the trickier challenges for many brands to tackle. Shrinking a property’s carbon footprint often requires significant changes to how it is built and operated. And unlike other, more visible sustainability practices, improvements in the type or amount of energy a building consumes likely won’t mean all that much to its average guest.
Consequently, green development has been slower to take hold in the hospitality sector compared with other industries. Of the more than 110,000 building projects worldwide that have received LEED certification—one of several global rating systems that verify compliance with environmental standards—fewer than 1,000 are in hospitality.
The HBA-designed Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya treats the wastewater generated on the property
“There is a lot of room to grow,” says Rhiannon Jacobsen, managing director of U.S. market transformation and development for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nonprofit that administers the LEED program. But demand is on the rise for more sustainable ways to travel.
“More than ever, consumers are looking for brands that are embracing purpose, reducing their impact, and doing their part in local communities,” says Jean Garris Hand, Hilton’s vice president of global ESG. “We recognize that the longterm success of our business is linked to our ability to meet consumer demands while continuing to operate and grow sustainably.”
For a growing number of prospective guests, reducing their impact on the climate is a top priority, and the hospitality sector is striving to make it possible. Here are three key pointers from those leading the way.
Carbon footprint solutions
Anantara Mina Al Arab Ras Al Khaimah Resort in the UAE by Perkins Eastman uses energy-saving technologies including thermodynamic panels
The most effective way for companies to make sustained progress toward their climate goals is to factor emissions into the processes they already have. “Many of our clients don’t come to us with carbon in mind,” says Washington, DC-based Heather Jauregui, director of sustainability at architecture and design firm Perkins Eastman. In those cases, Jauregui’s team looks to initiate conversations about the environmental impacts of each project.
“My call to designers is that, regardless of whether the client asked for it, you need to be the one to educate and drive the conversation,” she says. “That’s part of our responsibility.”
Jauregui is starting to see a shift in interest, however. “We’ve had some clients recently come to us and ask us from the beginning, ‘What would it take to be carbon neutral?’”
The Canopy by Hilton Minneapolis Mill District by DLR Group, an adaptive reuse of a 1904 industrial building
DLR Group, another design and architecture firm that has integrated sustainability into every project, has started introducing carbon-conscious proposals and scaling them back as needed, rather than sticking to minimum local building standards and offering improvements from there. The approach ensures clients are aware of efficiency measures that may cost more up front but will often save them money over time.
The firm is focusing on “how to utilize limited resources to make the biggest impact. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re always doing on building projects,” points out Bobby Larson, a senior associate at DLR Group and its sustainable design representative for the hospitality sector. Part of the process is reusing existing structures instead of building brand new ones. “It’s something that [can end] up costing more, but those are the kinds of experiences that guests are looking for,” adds Larson.
Emissions test
The LEED Silver-certified Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, designed by Rockwell Group
Decarbonization—the word experts typically use when referring to the many adaptations society will have to make in order to stop climate change—can feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t all have to happen at once. Sometimes, trying to do everything can be less effective than taking stock of a property, brand, or company’s emissions and setting priorities from there.
Small changes that can make larger impacts are often the best starting point, says USGBC’s Jacobsen. “We’re looking for the outcomes,” she says. “It’s less about telling people what not to do and more about giving them a framework that allows them to make those choices.”
Replacing incandescent light bulbs with much more efficient LEDs is one obvious first step that results in instant energy and cost savings. For new construction, measures like thicker walls or more efficient fixtures can pay for themselves in a matter of years. During planned renovations, owners may be able to make similar upgrades to existing buildings. But the possibilities don’t stop there.
“There is so much you can do at a property,” says Michael Chang, vice president of energy and sustainability at Host Hotels & Resorts. Some of the improvements Host is eyeing for its properties, such as fortifying their existing windows, will not only reduce the buildings’ contribution to climate change but also help to protect them from its extreme weather effects.
A rendering of the lobby at the forthcoming Populus hotel, with interiors by Wildman Chalmers Design that evoke the forest floor
Real estate developer Urban Villages plans to go even further. Its flagship Denver hotel, Populus, which the company says will become the first carbon-positive hotel in the U.S. by capturing and storing more carbon than it emits, is packed with sustainability considerations.
With architecture led by Chicago practice Studio Gang, Populus—which will be operated by Aparium Hotel Group when it opens this summer—uses a less emissions-intensive type of concrete, its wood slat ceilings are made from repurposed snow fencing, and its rooms are smaller than average. To encourage guests to take advantage of Denver’s public transit options, the hotel doesn’t have a parking lot. The commitment to sustainability will also shape its operations: Food will be sourced from local farms that use regenerative practices, and food waste will be composted and returned to those farms.
“If you can find ways to build or operate a building that’s better for the planet and make just as much money, you’re going to create a compounding effect,” says Jon Buerge, Urban Villages’ president. “Other developers will start doing it as well.”
Success stories
With input from Marriott and Friedman Properties, DLR Group has a designed a full prototype of a mass timber hotel that can be constructed in any city in North America
Sustainability has been a priority for some global hospitality leaders like Marriott, Hilton, and SH Hotels & Resorts for a long time. All three companies have reported significant reductions in their properties’ carbon emissions over the last several years. Together—alongside other innovators—they are pushing the hospitality sector forward.
Marriott’s commitment to securing some form of sustainability certification for all of its hotels by 2025 raised the bar for the rest of the industry. SH Hotels & Resorts, meanwhile, has offset 27,441 tons of carbon to date between its 1 Hotels, Treehouse Hotels, Baccarat Hotels, and SH Collection brands. “By demonstrating leadership in sustainability, we set an example for the industry and encourage others to follow suit,” says Pranav Jampani, vice president of sustainability and impact at SH Hotels & Resorts. “Collaboration and knowledge-sharing among hospitality professionals is crucial for driving meaningful change and accelerating the transition to a more sustainable future.”
At Hilton, Garris Hand acknowledges that net-zero goals are “extremely ambitious commitments that rely on dramatic transformational change within every department.” An investment in Fifth Wall’s climate technology fund, which aims to decarbonize the $10.5 trillion real estate industry, for instance, is one way the hotel company is on the “leading edge of innovations that will pave the way toward a net-zero future,” she adds.
With architecture by Becker + Becker, the Hotel Marcel in New Haven, Connecticut is the first net-zero hotel in the U.S.
One of Hilton’s most sustainable projects is the Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, where architecture firm Becker + Becker transformed the Marcel Breuer Brutalist Pirelli building in Connecticut into one of the most efficient hotels in the world. It received its LEED Platinum certification, the highest level available, last year.
It’s one of several dozen LEED Platinum-certified hotels throughout the U.S. Dozens more have sprung up around the world, including more than 30 ITC hotels across India. ITC’s Windsor, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Bengaluru was the first hotel in the world to achieve the LEED Zero Carbon certification in 2021.
As greener construction makes its way into the mainstream, hospitality is also taking aim at its operational carbon emissions in increasingly creative ways.
Food waste is a top concern for many companies. Hilton has introduced carbon labeling at almost 30 hotels in the UK to help guests distinguish between foods that have a low, medium, or high carbon footprint. Host Hotels is piloting a program that uses AI to track what food is being wasted and optimize ordering and menu offerings. The Ascott Limited is also trialing an AI technology, in its case by adopting more efficient cooling systems in Singapore.
With all these initiatives and information, trying to figure out where to start with sustainability can be overwhelming. But the good news is that starting small is often the best solution. “Everybody thinks they should have known something they may not have already,” USGBC’s Jacobsen says. “Make sure you’re asking, ‘What are some of those first steps?”
With public areas by Parker-Torres Design, the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui from Host Hotels & Resorts boasts more than 2,000 rooftop photovoltaic panels
A rendering of the Curioso-crafted Hotel Westland lobby, opening this summer as Seattle’s first carbon-positive hotel
The Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort’s onsite solar photovoltaic panels generate more than 45 percent of the building’s electricity
Photos and renderings by Victor Elias, Jim Kruger, Seamus Payne, Victor Romero, Mark Silverstein and courtesy of DLR Group, Parker-Torres Design, and Urban Villages
This article originally appeared in HD’s April 2024 issue.
