A Green Hotel is an environmentally sustainable hotel that minimizes the impact on its natural environment. It is environmentally responsible and follows the practices of green living. It promotes practices like the use of renewable energy, organic soaps, energy-efficient light fixtures, waste segregation, in-house wet-waste compost, non-toxic housekeeping practices. It advocates reusing linens when a guest is staying for more than one night and recycling programs. It promotes serving local organic food in restaurants. There are many more hidden benefits of the Green Hotel program like livelihood generation, promoting local art and culture and gender equality.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• On average, a hotel guest creates around 0.5 kg of waste per night which mounts up if you multiply it by the number of guest nights each year, as does the cost to dispose of it.
• Waste disposal costs are likely to increase in the future due to diminishing landfill space and increasing collection and disposal costs.
• Often at least 30 percent of a hotel’s solid waste stream can be sorted for recovery and recycling.
• Increases business efficiency by reducing the amount of waste produced, promoting optimal use of resources and cutting down costs
• Many items of waste have value because they can be recycled into something else. You may be able to make money from your hotel’s waste.

Impact-

1. 12 hotels were converted to Green hotels in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
2. 15 new jobs were generated from this program
3. Women got equal opportunities as men to work in the hospitality sector in these areas
4. 11 MW+ energy was saved
5. 1.2 tons of plastic was diverted from being dumped somewhere in the valley