THE HOTELS ASSOCIATION OF ZHEJIANG PROVINCETHE HOTELS ASSOCIATION OF ZHEJIANG PROVINCETHE HOTELS ASSOCIATION OF ZHEJIANG PROVINCETHE HOTELS ASSOCIATION OF ZHEJIANG PROVINCE

Preface

With the increasing worsening of the global environment, people are paying greater attention

to protecting the environment and safeguarding human being’s health. All countries and regions

have enacted corresponding laws and statutes and established various policies and measures.

Many vocations set corresponding trade norms to restrict their behavior so as to promote

environmental protection. Thus, all organizations take into consideration how their movements,

products and services affect the environment.

The development depends on the situation of the local environment. As a mainstay of the

tourism industry, the hotel industry is trying to protect the environment and make reasonable use

of resources. This is directly correlated to the development of the tourism industry and also affects

sustainable development in society. Therefore, hotels’ environmental management has been put into schedule and setting up guidelines for “Green Hotels” is an important step in environmental management.

The Green Hotel is a new notion, which requires hotels to include environmental management as part of hotel management in general. Taking environmental protection as the starting point, it is necessary to adjust hotels’ mindsets, development strategies, management modes and service, to implement pure production, to supply products that are healthy and safe for human beings, to build up public consciousness of environmental protection, to change traditional notions of consumption and to encourage “green” consumption. The idea of the Green Hotel is to provide guests with high-quality products that satisfy requirements for environmental protection and to also conserve energy sources and resources, reduce letting, prevent environmental pollution and improve product quality. The Green Hotel is a kind of direction and goal. It is a notion with endless development. In order to guide present practice, these criteria define Green Hotels: hotels with the notion of sustainable development, which insist on pure production, encourage “green” consumption, protect the environment and make reasonable use of resources. Its core is to strengthen protection of the environment and the reasonable use of resources.

The construction, practice and maintenance of Green Hotels is a developing process and should be harmonized with the functioning of other management systems. In all, this is a process with all aspects developed.

Hotels are different in many ways, the history being long or short, the working range being large or small, the building shape unlike each other and the facilities, techniques and capability varying. Therefore, during construction, different measures will be taken according to the practical situation of each hotel and advanced techniques and facilities of environmental protection must be actively introduced to ensure the sustainable improvement of the environment.

The criteria provide guidance particularly for constructing Green Hotels and implementing environmental management. And also they give practical advice about how to construct Green Hotels while implementing and enhancing environmental management.

The criteria will be edited and fine-tuned according to the practical situation due to the

technical development of environmental protection, ongoing research on environmental problems and the improvement of hotel environmental management and performance.

Zhejiang Tourist Bureau brings the criteria forward. Unit drafting the criteria: Zhejiang Tourist Association

Main drafting team: Chen Tianlai, Xu Peng, Xiao Ge, Wang Jianping, Shen Yiqing, Du Juexiang, Wang Xiaobo and Lu Jinglan Green Hotel 1 Scope

The criteria are to provide guidance for constructing Green Hotels and implementing and enhancing environmental management.

The criteria are applicable to any hotels that intend to construct a Green Hotel, implement and enhance environmental management, regardless of their property, size, style, or degree of maturation. 2 Normative Citations

The clauses in the following document are clauses of the criteria through quotation. The revised editions of the citations with exact dates are not applicable to the criteria. However, all parties coming to an agreement are encouraged to study whether the later editions of these documents can be used or not. As for those citations with dates, their later edition is applicable to the criteria.

GB.12941 Water quality standard of water supply for sight and amusement GB. 3095 Ambient air quality standard GB.3096 Criteria for ambient noise in urban regions GB 8928 Standard for synthetical discharge of effluent GB5749 Drinking water sanitary standard GB/T.12455 Rational utilization of electric power in hotels and restaurants GB.13271 Standard for discharge of boiler pollutants GB/T. 24004 Principle of environmental management system, system and

general guide to supporting techniques 3 Definitions

The criteria adopt the following definitions. 3.1 Green Hotel Hotels with principles of sustainable development and which insist on pure

production (see 3.2), encourage green consumption (see 3.3), protect the environment and make reasonable use of resources.

3.2 Pure production A developing and improving process using more pure materials, adopting more

pure production process, producing more pure products or offering more pure services.

Note: “Pureness” means beneficial to the environment 3.3 Green consumption It means that when people purchase goods and consume, they pay attention to the

problem of how commodities affect the environment in production, usage and

supersession and concern for environmental protection in consumption.

3.4 Green guest rooms

Rooms that have no pollution of construction, fitments and noises and the indoor climate of which is suitable for health. All the goods and appliances and their utilization should accord with requirements for environmental protection.

3.5 Green food Green food is free of pollution, safe, high-quality and nutritious that follows

principles of sustainable development, is produced with special requirements and has been attested by horizontal organization and authorized to use signs of Green Food.

3.6 Environmental standard The environmental standard is also called the green standard or ecological standard. The environmental standard is words or symbols that are in or affixed to the products or its packaging to attest to its environmental quality or character. The environmental standard indicates that the products accord with environmental demands in the whole process of production, utilization, recovery and disposal, with little or no harm to the environment and useful to reuse and recycle.

3.7 Green lighting Light fixtures that are scientific and safe, with principles of efficiency and dense brownout and environmental protection.

3.8 Green service Services during which environmental protection equipment, establishment and appliances are adopted and green consumption is encouraged.

3.9 Environmental guidelines This is the statement of intention and principles expressed by an organization for the whole environment. It provides a frame for organizing action and constructing environmental goals and targets.

3.10 Environmental performance It organizes the measurable management outcomes, which are obtained by control of environmental problems and are based on environmental guidelines, goals and targets. 4 Basic principles

4.1 Principle of reducing quantity Hotels should try their best to conserve materials and energy sources without impacting on the quality of products and services. Hotels are expected to minimize product volume, lighten weights and simplify their package to reduce cost and waste in order to realize established goals of economic and environmental benefit.

4.2 Principle of reuse Hotels should try their best to use articles that can be reused without lowering the hotel’s establishment and service standard. Articles should not be disposed of freely and disposable items are to be reduced in range and volume.

4.3 Principle of recycling Articles are to be reclaimed after utilization and to be turned into renewable resources.

4.4 Principle of substitution Hotels are to use unpolluted or renewable articles instead of certain articles to save resources and reduce pollution.

5 Basic demands 5.1 The senior management of hotels promise to persistently improve

environmental performance and prevention of pollution, and abide by laws and rules related to environmental protection, energy conservation, sanitation, epidemic prevention and programming as well as any other requests.

5.2 The senior management appoint a governor for running the construction, implementation and functioning of the Green Hotel. That there be personnel specially assigned for taking charge of environmental management, thereby forming a network of management. These help to create an interior environment that all the staff can participate in the construction of Green Hotel.

5.3 Hotels should draw up environmental guidelines, define the goal and target of “constructing a Green Hotel”, and establish and actualize bylaws related to energy conservation, environmental protection and encouraging green consumption.

5.4 Supervisors at all levels should check the operation of each department at stated intervals and have effective recording and revision procedures.

5.5 There should be decoration to showcase environmental and zoological protection, notification and illustrations to encourage green consumption, and relative newspapers, periodicals and magazines should be visibly available.

5.6 Hotels should institute general staff training and education on environmental consciousness, with a focus on putting training into practice. There should be corresponding technical training for those staff whose work concerns the environment closely. 6 Management of energy sources

6.1 Basic management 6.1.1 Set up the classification of energy-consuming facilities and measuring instrument account 6.1.2 Install meters for water, electricity and gas, and specify the quantity and distribution account of meters. 6.1.3 Establish a working system of energy sources statistics, with reports for comparison, advice and analysis. 6.1.3 Establish rations of energy source consumption, assessing

systems and means of rewards and punishment. 6.1.4 Supervisors should control particular instances of energy

consumption, clarify the problems, define goals and make measures of feasible and efficient energy consumption.

6.2 The running efficiency of main facilities of energy consumption is to conform to the prescript to appendix B

6.3 Actively apply new techniques of energy conservation. 6.4 Actively adopt multiple water-saving measures.

7. Environmental protection 7.1 control of pollution

7.1.1 Maturate facilities of sewage disposal 7.1.2 Sewage accords to the requirements of GB.8928. 7.1.3 Boiler’s soot accords to GB.13271 or employ heat supply.

7.1.4 Waste heat and exhaust gas accords to the “Standard for Discharge of Pollutants.” 7.1.5 Discharge of pollutants from the kitchen accords to the “Standard for Discharge of Pollutants.” 7.1.6 Discharge of noise accords to the requirements of GB.3096. 7.1.7 Disposal of solid wastes is in agreement with relevant national laws and rules. 7.1.8 Personal vehicles use unleaded gasoline and exhaust accords to corresponding standards.

7.1 Actively adopt facilities, articles and materials promoting environmental protection.

7.2.1 Use bromizated hydride absorbing water-chilling units. 7.2.2 Use air-conditioning in accordance with environmental protection. 7.2.3 Use refrigerators in accordance with environmental protection.

7.2 Indoor climate 7.3.1 Indoor air quality accords to the requirements of GB. 3095. 7.3.2 Adopt fitment materials with environmental symbols. 7.3 Greenness 7.4.1 Have a green outdoor environment. 7.4.2 Have a green indoor environment.

8. Reduce material consumption 8.1 General demands of material utilization.

Hotels have measures for reducing and controlling utilization of all kinds of materials, try their best to use less, reuse and substitute.

8.2 reduce material consumption in guest rooms. 8.2.1 Lessen washing of cotton goods in guest rooms. 8.2.2 Reuse disposable items. 8.2.3 Abolish, change or simplify the package of household goods and

sanitary accessories in guest rooms. 8.3 Reduce consumption of material articles for meals and food preparation.

8.3.1 Do not use disposable dishware or cleaning articles. 8.3.2 Make the most use of leftover materials during food preparation.

8.4 save all kinds of expendables. 8.4.1 Save papers 8.4.2 Use cleanser according to prescribed quantities. 8.4.3 Save other materials.

9. Supply green products. 9.1 Provide green guest rooms.

9.1.1 There are smoke-free guest rooms and building areas. 9.1.2 There is a system of air purification installed. 9.1.3 Actively adopt measures to reduce material consumption in guest

rooms. 9.1.4 There are correlative explanations in the service directory and detailed

criteria in service procedures and post responsibility.

9.1.5 Equip facilities for air purification. 9.1.6 Supply pure drinking water. 9.1.7 Place green plants good for health.

9.2 Restaurants provide green service. 9.2.1 There are criteria for green service. 9.2.2 Actively provide green food. 9.2.3 There are smoke-free zones. 9.2.4 Provide safe food. 9.2.5 Do not use wild or protected animals as food materials.

10. Economic benefit of social environment. 10.1 Social environmental benefit.

10.1.1 Systematic publicity measures. 10.1.2 Obtain good public feedback. 10.1.3 Gain the support and approval of guests. 10.1.4 Degree of guest satisfaction more than 80%. 10.1.5 Occupancy rate of green guest rooms rise or the average occupancy

rate of green guest rooms is greater than the average occupancy rate of other guest rooms. 10.2 Economic benefit.

10.2.1 Energy consumption per annum (including electricity, water and fuel) is lower than that of the previous year or has satisfied set guidelines.

10.2.2 Expendable costs are lower than the previous year’s or has satisfied set guidelines.

11. Assessment of Green Hotels. 11.1 Competency of assessors.

Those that have been formally trading for more than one year in Zhejiang.

11.2 Institution and authority of assessment. 11.2.1 The committee of green hotel authentication in Zhejiang takes full charge of organization, leading and authentication of green hotels. The committee of green hotel authentication should include representatives from related departments and receive supervision from the Provincial Tourist Bureau and the Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. 11.2.2 Tourist hotel associations and organizations or corresponding organizations in each city take charge of primary assessment and guidance under the direction of the provincial committee of green hotel authentication.

11.3 Procedures. 11.3.1 Hotels and restaurants submit applications for green hotel assessment and related forms. 11.3.2 Corresponding organizations in the city perform primary assessment. 11.3.4 Authentication is organized by the provincial committee of green

hotel authentication. 11.3.5 There is notification after authentication.

11.3 Aptitude of personnel of authentication. 11.4.1 Those who are familiar with the laws, rules and policies of tourism,

quality and technical supervision and correlative vocations and accomplished in basic knowledge of environmental management.

11.4.2 Those who are of good character, strict, responsible and impartial and will not seek personal gain.

11.4.3 Those who are familiar with operation and have adequate experience of work or trade management.

11.4.4 Those who have strong analytical and research abilities, certain organizational abilities and good written communication skills. 11.4 Management of symbols. 11.5.1 Apply for symbols freely but enforce their proper utilization. 11.5.2 Authenticated green hotels will be granted symbols of the corresponding degree and awarded certification.

11.5.3 The Green Hotel sign is uniformly made and delivered by the provincial committee of green hotel authentication. Units or individuals may not use the sign without authorization or certification. 11.5.4 Authenticated green hotels will be checked annually by the committee of green hotel authentication or corresponding organizations. 11.4.5 Period of validity of symbols is three years from the day of

awarding certification. Hotels must apply and be authenticated again at the end of this term.

11.4.6 During the usage, the right to use symbols will be cancelled and facts will be exposed in the case of nonconformance with the criteria or behavior that causes direct or indirect damaging of behalf.

11.4.7 If hotels do not reapply at the end of the period of validity, their status as Green Hotels will expire naturally and the symbols cannot be used any longer.