Sustainability has become a critical path forward for the global hospitality industry, as well as most other commercial sectors today. While adoption of best practices and innovative new technology is advancing, progress remains uneven across regions and property types—leaving significant opportunities to accelerate adoption and change.
Today’s travelers increasingly seek environmentally responsible accommodation and culturally responsible local impact. This includes more sustainable energy, water, and waste management, as well as food & beverage options, wellness services and other related and meaningful guest experiences. Those expectations rightly emphasize not only how hotels are built, but also how they are staffed, operated, and integrated into their communities.
This context explains why certifications like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) have become attractive for hotel developers and owners. These programs signal environmental commitment and add value to these physical assets. Yet relying on these certifications alone is more like getting an enviable inheritance with no ongoing personal commitment to actions in support of the public good.
LEED and BREEAM are powerful tools for guiding building design and construction, but they do not equate to sustainable hotel operations nor community engagement. Without ongoing leadership engagement from general managers, directors of engineering, executive housekeepers, wellness directors, rooms directors, food and beverage leaders, finance and human resources directors working collectively on sustainability outcomes, these certifications risk being showcased as a substitute for the daily operational practices that truly define and sustain sustainability in action.
Understanding LEED and BREEAM
LEED, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, evaluates energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor environmental quality and sustainable site development. BREEAM, originating in the UK, assesses similar factors, with added emphasis on social and economic impacts.
These programs reduce initial environmental impact by encouraging efficient systems, sustainable materials, and responsible design. They can lower operations costs and carbon footprints during construction through opening day. However, their focus is only on the design and building process and, therefore, ends at commissioning.
The Limitations of Building Certifications
1. Operational v Design Focus
LEED and BREEAM assess design quality but do not evaluate day-to-day sustainable management. A hotel may boast high-efficiency systems but still waste energy if staff lacks time and training, or commitment. For example, poorly scheduled HVAC systems or unnecessary lighting can erase the benefits of sustainable design.
2. Guest Behavior and Engagement
Guest behavior significantly shapes a hotel’s sustainable footprint. High occupancy, excessive laundry use and wasteful consumption can undermine design elements. Research shows that guest participation in initiatives like the 1980s innovation for terry cloth towel reuse programs is critical for real impact.
Innovative programs highlight how guest engagement closes this gap. Hotels for Trees for instance, partners with hotels to incentivize guests to plant trees in exchange for sustainable choices. Similarly, Clean the World recycles discarded soaps and bathroom plastic products, turning a major waste stream into a circular supply chain. These efforts demonstrate that sustainability is as much about people and behaviors as it is about buildings.
3. Supply Chain and Procurement
True sustainability extends beyond the building envelope. A hotel might hold a Building Eco-Certification yet undermine its credibility by sourcing unsustainable food, beverages and amenities. Strong procurement policies—those favoring local, more sustainable suppliers—amplify positive environmental and social outcomes. Supply chain certifications like those offered by the Regenerative Organic Alliance with their ROK Certified products are wonderful examples that serve to compliment building standards and strengthen sustainable authenticity in meaningful ways to the staff and guests alike, building on loyalty for both audiences.
4. Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
Building Certifications incentivize construction efficiency but cannot guarantee ongoing oversight. One classic example is when a hotel invests in a guest room energy management system only to then abandon the maintenance required due to staff turnover and/or lack of ongoing training and monitoring success. In more than a few cases, the author has witnessed properties no longer having their login credentials to operate previously installed systems. This neglect wastes energy, reduces or delays ROI, and increases guests’ complaints—all avoidable with continuous monitoring and adaptive management practices.
Building a Culture of Continuous Sustainability
To achieve lasting and growing sustainability impact, embedding this program into the hotel culture is imperative, not just for design and construction.
Staff Training and Green Teams
Embedding sustainability into your job descriptions and consequent job postings, reinforcing it in your onboarding training, and emphasizing its importance in hotel career development, signals its importance to the organization. Recognition programs for Green Team members and contributors are essential, while rewarding team members who propose adopted sustainability practices or programs boosts morale, attracts more applicants, and adds to retention—all critical to today’s operating requirements in hospitality.
IBM and Deloitte 2022 research studies confirmed that embedding sustainability in workplace cultures improves recruitment and retention. From the author’s first-hand experience in leading hospitality teams, I have witnessed the impact of having high-performing Green Teams that resulted in a supportive culture, increased guest satisfaction, and enhanced profitability, all concurrently.
Go Beyond the Building Certificate
Achieving LEED or BREEAM certification is a commendable milestone. But without full integration into the daily operations, it risks becoming little more than a plaque on the wall.
Sustainability in hospitality is not a certificate; it is a commitment and a journey. Hotels and Resorts must move quicker to go beyond design standards to embrace what ongoing staff training, guest engagement, sustainable procurement, and continuous monitoring can do as a true sustainability force multiplier.
Programs like Audubon International’s Green Hospitality Certification provide the operational framework to extend the value of a LEED or BREEAM certification into everyday practices. Only with this holistic approach can hospitality deliver on its promise of environmental responsibility, social equity, and financially sound travel experiences.
Greg Poirier is the global director, hospitality certification programs at Audubon International. Poirier will join Jon Buerge, president of Urban Villages, exploring The Future of Green Cities in a fireside chat at this year's The Hospitality Show, Oct. 26-28 in Denver. For more information and to register, visit www.thehospitalityshow.com