Green recognition for Malaysian hotels

Eleven hotels in Malaysia were honoured with the Asean Green Hotel Recognition Award 2012 at the Asean Tourism Forum held at Grand Kawanua Convention Centre in Manado, Indonesia recently.

The awards were presented by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who attended the ceremony together with other Tourism Ministers from the 10 Asean countries. Among the Malaysian hotels that received the award were Mines Wellness Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur and its sister properties Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Kota Kinabalu and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, Penang.

Good news: Samm (back row, third from left) with Mines Wellness Hotel’s heads of departments and gardeners celebrating the hotel’s latest achievement.

The award recognises players in the hotel industry whose operations are based on environmentally-friendly principles and adopts energy conservation measures. The Asean Green Hotel Standard is valid through the years 2012 to 2014. Mines Wellness Hotel general manager Eusebius Samm, said: “Environmental consciousness is not just a management decision which we need to practice but a way of life for us at the Mines Wellness Hotel. Here, we believe that each of us can play a part in keeping the earth green and we attempt to do so every day.

“The hotel’s policies not only assist to keep our operations green but to propagate the green message, every employee is tasked to spread the word on green. This way, we play a part not only as operators but educators who help the green cause,” he added.

Some of the initiatives areharvesting rain water to be reused, recycle cooking oil, creating baskets using magazines and newspapers, advocating green messages to young children through their CSR campaign, placing health and environment related messages in rooms and hotel vicinity, creating table centre piece using broken glass wares, increasing the air cond temperature to 24 degrees Celsius, and doing away with plastic newspaper holders – the hotel makes their own newspaper holder using coconut husks and scrap wood pieces.

Meanwhile, Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur vice president/general manager Lothar Nessmann said: “Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur’s accomplishment for this Asean Green Hotel Award further serves recognition towards its continued effort in sustaining an environmentally-friendly hotel that benefits not only its guests and employees, but also the community at large.” Held every two years, the Asean Green Hotel Award is a form of appreciation and recognition towards tourism stakeholders for adopting the Asean Green Hotel Standards into their services.

Environmental issues are the main aspects for the assessment, as stipulated in the Asean Green Hotel Standard document. Criteria and essential requirements include environmental policy and hotel operation activities, utilisation of green products, cooperation with local community and organisations, human resources development, solid waste management, energy efficiency, water efficiency, water quality management, noise pollution control, waste water treatment and management, and toxic and chemical substance disposal management.

-thestar online.