| 12 September 2000: Reflecting Sydney Olympic Park�s commitment to a
�Green Games�, Accor�s Novotel and Hotel Ibis Homebush Bay have recently
completed a comprehensive survey ascertaining the impact of environmental
initiatives on hotel guests and how, if at all, they affect the guest experience.
The Novotel and Ibis Homebush Bay are the first-ever hotels to be built
in an Olympic Park and they are also the first hotels in Australia to have
their environmental management systems recognised by being awarded ISO14001
certification from Quality Assurance Services (QAS).
The hotel has just completed a survey of 105 guests to determine the
public�s attitude towards the many �environmentally friendly� practices
introduced into the two hotels as part of the �Green Games� charter.
| According to the General Manager of the Olympic Park hotels, Mr Neil
Scanlan, �whilst our extensive range of environmental initiatives is important,
we believe that making an impact on staff and guests is the most important
issue. If we can raise people�s consciousness on environmental issues from
a stay at one of our hotels, then we�ve gone a long way to achieving our
goals.
�Our �Green Guide� which explains the hotel�s initiatives is placed
in every guest room and I am pleased to see that 90% of respondents to
the survey said they had read the booklet. Many of our initiatives are |
Novotel Homebush Bay
Olympic Boulevard,
Homebush Bay, NSW,
Australia
|
clearly visible, such as the recycled timber used in Arena Restaurant and
the flooring in Homebush Bay Brewery, or the natural fibre carpets, but
the guide raises the awareness of just how easy it is to implement these
systems�, Scanlan concluded.
Ground-breaking environmental initiatives at the Novotel and Hotel Ibis
Homebush Bay are divided into five main focus areas and include Air Quality,
Water Quality, Energy Conservation, Water Conservation and Waste Management.
Examples of these include:
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Australia�s largest centralised commercial solar hot water system
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Use of 100% green energy makes the hotels 40% more energy efficient than
equivalent hotels.
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A comprehensive waste reduction and recycling program, and
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A unique partnership with leading conservation organisation, World Wide
Fund For Nature (WWF) - believed to be the first of its kind.
Survey results
| The A$1.00 from every room night sold donated by the hotel to World
Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) received the �green� thumbs up with 95% of respondents
voting this a worthwhile initiative. |
| 90% of guests polled said they preferred to stay in a hotel that cared
for the environment (compared to 8% who were indifferent). |
| During their stay, 78% of guests used the recycling bins in the hotel
rooms correctly (Vs 95% of respondents who said they used the facility),
83% chose to use the soap dispensers rather than ask for individual soap
cakes and whilst 58% used their operable windows rather than air conditioning,
a staggering 98% identified the windows as one of the top three environmental
initiatives. |
| Whilst 57% of guests opted to reuse their towels more than once to
save water and washing detergents, a growing 35% of guests opted to reuse
their sheets more than once for the same reasons - a new trend in hotels. |
| At home or at work, 91% of respondents indicated that they recycle,
82% said they reuse plastic bags, 50% said they opt for less packaging
and 46% make compost. |
As two of 100 Accor hotels in Australia and 3400 hotels worldwide, the
Novotel and Hotel Ibis Homebush Bay are a leading example in environmental
hospitality. As part of a global charter, Accor Paris has recently announced
a long term commitment for hotels across the world to implement an environmental
charter of 15 initiatives per hotel.
In Australia, other Accor hotels that have implemented extensive environmental
programs include Novotel Langley in Perth, the All Seasons Pacific Bay
Resort and Novotel Opal Cove Resort in Coffs Harbour, Grand Mercure Hotel
Bowral Heritage Park (Winner �Macarthur Wasteboard Award for Waste Minimisation),
Novotel Launceston, Novotel Brighton Beach and Mercure Hotel Sydney.
Other Novotel and Hotel Ibis Homebush Bay initiatives include:
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Hotel vehicles run on renewable energy source
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150kg of fruit and vegetable scraps per week converted to nutrients for
hotel herb garden by hotel worm farm of half a million worms.
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50% reduction in use of potable water through dual piping system
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100% green energy saves 6000 tonnes of CO2 emissions
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Use of breath easy paints, natural fibres and fabrics and minimal use of
glues and PVC
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Replacement of twice the equivalent number of trees used in paper each
year
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High quality toiletry dispensing system saves 100,000 small plastic shampoo
bottles and soap cakes each year
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Operable windows and cross flow ventilation replaces 100% reliance on air
conditioning and contributes to 40% reduction in overall energy usage
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Reuse or recycling of 80% of all waste - reduces waste to landfill by the
size of an Olympic pool each year
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With Australia�s largest centralised solar hot water system, 60% of the
hotels� hot water is produced minimising the use of fossil fuels for energy.
About the survey -
Questionnaires - 105 surveys, 70% male respondents, 70% business travellers,
14% leisure travellers, 87% Australian.
Room inspections - House attendants inspected 345 rooms (139 Ibis and
206 Novotel)
Conducted in August 2000
Accor with 130,000 associates in 140 countries, is the European leader
and one of the world�s largest group in travel, tourism and services with
two major international activities: hotels: 3,400 hotels (370,000 rooms)
in 90 countries (including 93 in Australia under the Sofitel, Novotel,
Mercure, All Seasons, Ibis and Formule 1), and travel agencies, restaurants
and casinos; services: each day, over 11 million people in 30 countries
use a broad range of services (vouchers and cards, online services) developed,
issued and managed by Accor on behalf of corporate clients and public authorities. |
