Property carbon emissions index to launch

Leanne Bell, 28 March 2008

In what is believed to be a world first, a standardised carbon-emissions index and measurement system for hotels and meeting venues is launching next week. Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) executive director Peter Ducker has founded the Hotel Carbon Index Company, which, from the start of April, will collect and store data on carbon emissions produced by hotels and C&I venues. Ducker said those hotels and venues that pay an annual fee would enter data into a dedicated website on the physical size of the property, energy consumption, distance travelled by staff on journeys to promote the business, work undertaken to reduce carbon emissions and use of renewable energy among other environmental initiatives. This information will be forwarded to the Carbon Consultancy, which will analyse the data and produce an index, using Carbon Emission Per Available Room (Carepar), indicating the weight in kilograms of carbon emissions generated per room over a period of time. A gold, silver or bronze rating, dependant on the emissions, will be attributed to each participating property and be available to view on the website, www.carepar.com. Properties would, ideally, input data on a quarterly basis, said Ducker. Those whose data fell outside the norm would be audited and random checks would be carried out to ensure properties were inputting legitimate and accurate information. The Carbon Consultancy chief executive Hugo Kimber said the ultimate goal was for properties to not only measure their carbon emissions but to reduce them over time. It was also designed to allow companies, already able to measure carbon emissions from transport, a holistic overview of their carbon footprint generated by business events. The HBAA this week moved to officially adopt the index and Ducker has set a target of 2,000 properties, the majority of which will be UK-based, participating within the first year. “We have hotels lining up to input data,”...

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