3. Defining Sustainability
Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
– World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987
• Economic Development
• Social Development
• Environmental Protection
(Harris, 2003)
4. Importance
Global efforts are key to ensure
environmental sustainability
Decline in agricultural productivity
Increased water stress
Global warming
Risks to human health
Threats to ecosystems and biodiversity
(Centre for Environment Education, 2008)
5. Banyan Tree Holdings Limited
Parent Company Banyan Tree Holdings Limited
Industry Hotel & Resorts
Founded 1994
Founder Ho Kwon Ping, Claire Chiang, Ho KwonCjan
Headquarters Singapore
Presence 30 resorts,70 spas, 90 retail galleries, and 3
championship golf courses in 28 countries
Chosen Company
(Banyantree.com, 2016)
7. Green Paradox
Many guests who stay at hotels with
programs that show environmental
sensitivity revel in the tourism
industry’s new emphasis on this
politically charged topic.
Industry all too often elides in this
process of greening hotels is labor
The consequences to labor remain
hidden in the promotion of these
sustainable practices.
(Brody, 2016)
10. Embracing the Environment Projects by Locations
• Seafood Savers Program – Ungasan
• Meliopona Bee – Mayakoba
• Awareness Activities – Bintan
• Monitoring Flora & Fauna – Mayakoba
• Bird Monitoring – Bintan
• Community Clean Up Days – Phuket
(Banyan Tree Holdings Limited,2011)
11. Environment Resource Conservation
Earth Check Certification
Potable Water Consumption per guest night, achieving a 1,432.3L
per guest night compared with a best practice for villa hotels of
3,413L per guest night.
13. Issues/Criticism
Banyan Tree’s programs suffer logistical issues that have a short-term perspective.
Funding is provided by the Green Initiative Fund (GIF), which was created by Banyan Tree
for the sole purpose of financing sustainable programs.
The fund is financed through charitable donations of the Banyan’s hotel guests.
Given the economic state, guests are less inclined to donate and therefore, weaken Banyan
Tree’s ability to finance their programs.
By not providing a consistent cash flow to the fund, Banyan Tree’s sustainable programs
will be thinned of any opportunities to help the environment.
(Cornell, 2016)
14. Managers Role in Issue
(Enz and Farhoomand, 2010)
(NBS, 2011)
How can my company mitigate and
adapt to climate change?
How can I best engage stakeholders
How can our corporate sustainability
practices attract and retain great
employees
What are the best measurements of my
company’s environmental impacts
16. Recommendations
• A suggestion is to partner with a third party equity holder or NGO as a way to
generate more funding.
• Provide guestroom recycler baskets for newspaper, white paper, glass, aluminum,
cardboard, and plastic.
• Provide recycling bins both in public areas (i.e., poolside), in the kitchen, and in the
back office (including one at each desk) to make recycling as easy as possible.
• Conduct an audit of equipment that uses "standby power" (the energy used while an
appliance is switched off or not performing - a usage monitor can show standby watts)
- plug equipment into bye standby or smart meters so that they are powered down
completely when turned off.
• Use daylight exclusively in your lobby, bar, and restaurant for as much of the day as
possible. Consider installing Energy Star skylights if needed.
• If the hotel has a pool and/or hot tub, install a solar water heating system and use
pool and hot tub covers when the pool area is closed.
• For roofs, use recommended levels of insulation or radiant barriers. Learn about other
options at energy.gov(also see Cool Roof Rating Council). Consider switching to a
green roof.
(Prezi, 2016)
17. Conclusion
They can use massive amounts of energy and water for no real purpose other than
luxury, or they can find
ways to innovate and conserve while still providing guests with the experience that they
look for in
a hotel.
At the same time, hotels can treat their employees as low-paid, highly replaceable pawns,
or they can empower them as the face of the hotel and know that a happy employee will
likely
mean a happy guest and will enhance the hotel’s reputation in the community.
This employee relationship is key to how the hotel interacts with customers, the local
community, and the natural environment.
18. Referencing
1. Harris, J.M. (2003) Sustainability and sustainable development. Available at:
http://isecoeco.org/pdf/susdev.pdf (Accessed: 1 April 2016).
2. Centre for Environment Education (2008) Sustainable development: An introduction. Available
at: http://www.sayen.org/volume-i.pdf (Accessed: 2 April 2016).
3. Banyantree.com (2016) Luxury resorts worldwide - the Banyan tree stories. Available at:
http://www.banyantree.com/en/the-banyan-tree-stories (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
4. Brody, D. (2016) ‘Go green: Hotels, design, and the sustainability paradox’, Available at:
http://www.academia.edu/16572918/Go_Green_Hotels_Design_and_the_Sustainability_Paradox
(Accessed: 4 April 2016).
5. publicCEO.com (2013) Local government resource outlining best sustainability practices now
available. Available at: http://www.publicceo.com/2013/09/resource-for-best-local-government-
sustainability-practices-now-available/ (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
6. Banyan Tree Holdings Limited (2011) Global sustainable destinations-Sustainability Report
2010. Available at: http://media.corporate-
ir.net/Media_Files/IROL/20/200797/banyan_tree_csr_2010.pdf (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
19. 7. Cornell (2016) Hotel industry. Available at:
https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/crp384/2009reports/MoonNgQuan_Sustainable%20Hotel%20Industry.p
df (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
8. Dias, C. (2015) Banyan nation uses technology to surmount India’s garbage mountains. Available
at: http://www.networkedindia.com/2015/09/09/banyan-nation-uses-technology-to-surmount-indias-
garbage-mountains/ (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
9. Prezi (2016) Copy of Banyan tree: Sustainability of a brand during rapid global expansion.
Available at: https://prezi.com/krr0koxyvc9o/copy-of-banyan-tree-sustainability-of-a-brand-during-
rapid-global-expansion/ (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
10. Enz, C. and Farhoomand, A. (2010) BANYAN TREE: SUSTAINABILITY OF A BRAND DURING
RAPID GLOBAL EXPANSION. Available at: http://www.farzadalvi.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/01/Banyan-tree.pdf (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
11. banyantreeglobalfoundation.com (2012) Banyan tree holdings limited sustainability report 2011.
Available at: http://www.banyantreeglobalfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Banyan-Tree-
Sustainability-Report-2011-En.pdf (Accessed: 4 April 2016).
12. NBS (2011) 10 things new sustainability managers need to know. Available at:
http://sustainableelectricity.ca/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/NBS_Article_10ThingsNewSustainabilityManagersNeedtoKnow2011.pdf
(Accessed: 4 April 2016).