Four benefits of setting your baseline

1. You can better target your sustainability efforts to have more impact
Once you begin to collect data on the impact your business has – whether environmental or social – you’ll have a clearer idea of how you can change it. When Hotel Breeze opened, it made a commitment to become the world’s first zero-energy hotel, using unique measures such as a shower system that reduces water and energy consumption by up to 80%.

2. You can identify cost-saving opportunities
Setting your baseline gives you insight into your resource use. Over time, this data allows you to see where you can save on operational costs. With insight into their energy use, for example, hospitality businesses have been able to identify where to implement lighting controls and efficient luminaires and cut lighting energy costs by up to 50%. Measuring food waste enabled the Einstein St. Gallen to identify and cut 41% of their avoidable food waste, which led to savings of CHf28,000 in a year. The cost-saving potential of reducing plastic, on the other hand, depends on the item in question. So it’s important to know what your plastic use breakdown looks like.

3. It makes your commitment to sustainability tangible
It’s one thing to talk about running your business sustainably, and another to be able to prove it. Setting your baseline and tracking your progress gives you hard data on the impact your sustainability efforts are having on your business and local surroundings. Groups such as Scandic Hotels, Radisson and NH, for example, produce annual reports that credibly demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

4. You’ll strengthen your credentials and increase your appeal to guests
According to the Global Business Travel Association, 53% of North American companies have corporate sustainability programmes that affect how they choose their travel suppliers. Once you’ve set your baseline and started to measure change, you can communicate your progress through reports and marketing collateral to appeal to sustainability-minded guests.