Government Business

Green business, the organisation behind the GTBS (Green Tourism Business Scheme), has seen interest from the business market grow steadily.

“Greening conference centres seems to be the flavour of the year – perhaps the decade – and we are seeing leading conference centres step up and really focus on going greener. The GTBS has launched its fourth version and has upped the anti for conference centres to gain accreditation,” said Jon Proctor, technical director for the scheme. “Our leading conference centres have taken this challenge very positively and we have seen a dramatic increase in activity.

“As our programme requires significant action based environmental good practices as well as a robust management framework with monitoring systems we have found conference centres take significant steps to reduce impacts and emissions. Audits carried out include an advisory assessment of ExCeL, showing significant energy savings, an audit of the ACC in Liverpool, which through effective green teams is delivering concerted actions to reduce water and energy wastage and support renewable technologies, and the SECC, which is driving green issues forward through positive refurbishments and supporting reforesting actions with the Caledonian Forest.

“The EICC became the first Gold award winner for version IV of the programme but we expect a number of conference centres in areas such as Glasgow, Liverpool and London to join them at the top table.“

Raising standards
Going green is no longer a question of a luxury to be enjoyed while sticking to mainstream opulent lifestyles but engineering green into the overall quality of the experience is becoming essential. This is demonstrated by some of the leading London Hotels such as Claridges and the Savoy, which are both building green into their refurbishment plans.

As the GTBS requires some form of quality achievement in its procedures we are seeing increasingly commercial businesses finally seeing the green light. This light is now go for a number of hotel groups in the UK and we have seen very commercial groups such as the Ramada Jarvis, Radisson SAS, Jury’s Inns and Park Inn groups all making corporate commitments to join in.

With a concerted effort it is quite possible to enjoy a high quality experience and consider the environment and this is proven through the significant number of GOLD award winning 5 star properties in both the City and the country. The Cavendish recently gained a gold award in green tourism for London and has bespoke green meeting packages and many others are following suit. Gleneagles and Blair Atholl Castle are also gold highlighting that older properties can lead the way too.

Credit crunch
In a recession going green with the GTBS makes as much sense as during the boom years. As energy prices become a greater proportion of the running costs of leading business venues, novel and well proven practices need to be established. For example, ExCeL is yielding significant energy savings by using free cooling available in the shoulder months when a well managed business needs neither cooling or heating. If we could get more businesses to follow suit with even this simple low cost action, energy bills, customer service and the sites green credentials would all be enhanced.

“It is a most exciting time in our marketplace and we have seen all businesses we deal with really taking note and making significant strides in their eco performance. We can demonstrate that our progressive businesses are achieving typically 30 per cent savings as well as securing more bookings through the green pound and we are even getting evidence that the best graduates choose green businesses to work for,“ said Jon Procter.

The recession looks set to make Britain more environmentally friendly, maintain experts. Academics studying the impact of the global financial crisis on company practices claim that far from ending the green dream it will inject a new wave of enthusiasm for saving money which could actually help save the planet.

”Skeptics who suggest that the recession will put an end to enthusiasm among consumers and companies for the environment are guilty of muddled thinking,” said Professor Ken Peattie of Cardiff University, director of the Centre for Business Relationships Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS).

“It assumes that being ‘green’ is more expensive, whereas in many cases it involves using fewer resources, using them more efficiently and avoiding waste – all things that save money.

“The premise that firms will give up environmental policies also ignores the opportunities that developing cleaner technologies and products can provide for investment and employment. The Green Tourism Business Scheme, Britain’s leading independently verified accreditation body, has seen membership numbers soar this year.

”We’ve seen a huge increase in enquiries from businesses looking for help to cut their operational costs,” said Andrea Nicholas, director of the GTBS, which has more than 2,000 members across the UK. ”Despite the credit crunch we are still seeing an increase in membership and no evidence of a slow down.”

The Green Tourism Business Scheme, which is now operational in all regions of England and Scotland, ensures members have to meet rigorous minimal standards from over 150 measures of best practice before being awarded a bronze, silver or gold award. The measures include a range of actions from efficient lighting and heating, to nature conservation, renewable energy, use of local produce and community involvement.

Far from loosing money, studies by Leeds Metropolitan University into green hotels and B&Bs in the UK have shown that they enjoy repeat custom from between 40 and 50 per cent of their visitors, far higher than enjoyed by regular accommodation providers.

“There is no danger of the credit crunch spelling the end of the green dream because a lot of the green movement actually leads to eco-savings. If anything the culture will move towards making more efficient use of resources, in terms of water, waste and energy, which will make the eco-movement stronger than ever,” said Dr Xavier Font, director of Studies at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University.

“A lot of research has shown that businesses can get the same profit by increasing customers by five per cent or by reducing operating costs by ten per cent. Hotels can reduce water and energy costs by up to 30 per cent with some minimal changes.

“The Ramada Jarvis chain of hotels put in an environmental management plan and they saw their utility bills go down from £5m to £4m a year. £1 million saving is surely reason enough to do it.”