Sponsored by fanute:
In a recently-released report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that we have just 12 years for global warming to be kept at a maximum of 1.5°C or face the catastrophic consequences that could take place around the world if the world heats up just half a degree more. Sustainability has been a buzz word in the hospitality industry over the last couple of decades, but clearly it’s never been more important, or more urgent, to make changes to how we do things as an industry.
In March of this year, the International Tourism Partnership released a report titled Water Stewardship for Hotel Companies and it’s well worth reading. According to the report: “Water crises have become a global concern in recent decades, to the point that 40% of the world’s population now suffer water shortages for at least a month every year.” And, the report goes on to say, amongst those countries forecast with the highest water stress, are those with the greatest tourism growth. This means that “hotel companies are at the forefront of current and future water challenges (water scarcity, pollution, access to clean water, extreme weather events, governance).”
The Water Stewardship for Hotel Companies report explains that water stewardship in hotels “addresses physical, health, regulative, reputational and financial risks hotel companies will increasingly face”, but water stewardship also offers several opportunities, one of which is to “act responsibly and demonstrate leadership,” an important thing to keep in mind when looking to implement sustainable initiatives.
Water Stewardship in hotels addresses many aspects, all of which can seem overwhelming to implement, but the Water Stewardship for Hotel Companies report outlines very useful steps that provide reference for hotel companies who want to work towards better water stewardship. The 6 recommended steps “focus on strategic management practices and actions [hotels] can take to embed water stewardship programmes across their portfolios.”
Two of the recommended steps are to ‘Manage water sustainably in your operations’ and ‘Work with suppliers on water’, and these are both steps that our partner, fanute, is passionate about.
fanute is the South African distributor of the near-waterless laundry system Hydrofinity, a system that replaces up to 80% of the water used in each wash by using XOrbs. The technology produces a superior result using up to 50% less electricity than traditional laundry machines to remove stains gently and helps luxury linens look and feel like new for longer.
XOrbs can be recycled thousands of times and, once they no longer work effectively, are collected by Hydrofinity technicians to be recycled. Across the board, it’s a sustainability win – incredibly low water and electricity usage, linen gets a high quality clean and looks and feels luxuriously new, without the XOrb technology creating an additional burden to the planet. It’s clever technology that puts sustainability front and centre.
We highly recommend that you read the Water Stewardship for Hotel Companies report from the International Tourism Partnership – it is a fantastic resource for those who want to make a change, but aren’t sure where to start.
