Second CarboNZero certified hotel
Sudima Christchurch Hotel has become the second carboNZero certified hotel in the country, following in the footsteps of Sudima Auckland Airport which achieved the milestone in 2013.
Technical account manager for Enviro-Mark Solutions, Shannon Ball, says over the past year, Sudima Auckland Airport has decreased total emissions from 481.49 to 414.02 – a 67.47 tCO2e reduction overall.
“This means the hotel has reduced LPG use by 67%. Natural Gas is down 14% and they have reduced waste by 24%.”
The savings are equivalent to:
- Eight times the average household emissions per year
- Driving from Auckland to Wellington in an average size car 447 times
- 70 times the average electricity use of one home per year
- 19 times the average emissions of one vehicle per year
Sudima Auckland Airport has recently installed two electrical vehicle charging bays for hotel guests.
“Car rental companies and corporate companies are already shifting towards electric vehicle fleets, so it’s important that we get ahead of the curve from both a sustainable and competitive perspective.”
Not only has Sudima Auckland Airport achieved these milestones in a year designated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as International Year of Sustainable Tourism, but the results follow hot on the heels of Booking.com’s global Sustainable Travel Report 2017.
The report revealed that 65% of global travellers said they intend to stay in eco-friendly accommodation, compared to 34% previously.
68% of travellers confirmed they are more likely to favour accommodation knowing it was eco-friendly, including 93% of Chinese surveyed. 94% of those surveyed said they would be willing to stay in accommodation that used energy saving lightbulbs.
Sudima Auckland Airport was built 2011 in a North-South orientation to harness maximum energy from the sun and was outfitted with green technologies which include:
- A 25,000-litre tank for rain harvesting
- Refrigerator free in the majority of guest rooms
- 100% energy saving LED light bulbs in the property
- Chilled Beam air-conditioning, which is unique to Sudima in the South Pacific (the system uses hot and cold water to maximise energy efficiency and double the fresh air of any comparable system)
- Rainwater harvesting (the rainwater is filtered and recycled for non-potable use)
To achieve its carbon neutral status, Sudima Auckland Airport measured all goods and products from more than 20 suppliers over a six-month period, including assessing natural gas and electricity usage, the quantities and disposal of waste and tracking air and car travel by hotel staff.
Once emissions were determined, the equivalent carbon credits were purchased by the hotel, along with which came the requirement to change practices and features where necessary to reduce and mitigate its emissions year-on-year.
The group intends to achieve certification for its other properties, in Hamilton and Rotorua.
Enviro-Mark Solutions, a subsidiary of Landcare Research, owns and manages the carbonNZero certification programme, which is internationally accredited in accordance with the ISO standard for reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
The Sudima Auckland Airport has a Qualmark rating of 4.5 and consistently operates near full capacity.
Sudima Hotels & Resorts has signed up to the Tourism Sustainability Commitment.
