20 Resolutions for Sustainable Hotels in 2020

The New Year is a great opportunity to look ahead and plan to make some changes. We've put together 20 resolution ideas (10 business and 10 individual) for hotels – including addressing waste, carbon emissions and supporting the community. How many can you tick off in 2020? 

Business Resolutions: 

  1. Adopt a road, park or waterway and become part of the clean-up crew. 
  2. Go single-use free. Ban all single use items (straws, cups, plastic bottles etc) from your hotel. 
  3. Make a commitment to reduce waste from hotel toiletries (e.g. soap and container recycling programmes, use of dispensers, encourage guests to bring their own). 
  4. Sign up to RefillNZ (encourage people to refill their own water bottles). 
  5. Get rid of plastic bin liners in your hotel rooms. 
  6. Support a tree-planting project like Trees That Count or Million Metres. 
  7. Measure your hotel’s carbon use.  
  8. Develop and communicate your hotel’s sustainability policy. 
  9. Support the community e.g. plan a team volunteer day, donate product to a good cause, etc. 
  10. Make a plan to sustainably dispose of your organic waste (e.g. donate to a pig farmer, compost, use an organic waste collection service, collaborate with local businesses on a collective solution). 

 

Individual Resolutions: 

  1. Watch the movie 2040 if you haven’t already. 
  2. Commit to only buying takeaway coffee if your reusable cup is handy. Adopt the SUC (single use cup) motto: Sit, BYO or borrow! 
  3. Research and purchase in-season only produce at the grocery stores. 
  4. Commit to eating Meatless Mondays. Or become a flexitarian! 
  5. Choose one item that comes in a non-recyclable package, and give it up for the whole year (e.g. chips, chocolate bars, biscuits). 
  6. Challenge yourself to only buy used items - nothing new! 
  7. Switch to LED lights in your house. 
  8. Read at least one of the Top 10 books of 2019 on Climate Action.  
  9. Choose to bus/bike/walk to work one day a week (or more!). 
  10. Donate to a social or community cause (e.g. one of the Australian bushfire appeals). 

The New Year is a great opportunity to look ahead and plan to make some changes.