Singapore Hotel Sustainability Roadmap
On March 21st, 2022, the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and GSTC Destination Member, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), announced the launch of the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap at the inaugural Hotel Sustainability Conference and Marketplace, held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
In line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, the roadmap sets out clear targets and strategies for hotels to adopt in their sustainability journey. This in turn enables the industry to contribute to sustainable development goals, capture new opportunities presented by the Green Economy, strengthen enterprise resilience, and tap new visitor segments.
Through the roadmap, STB and SHA envision a hotel industry that:
1. integrates sustainability as a core value across the entire hotel ecosystem,
2. is established as a living lab and uses sustainability to drive business competitiveness and growth, and
3. is recognised as a leader in environmental sustainability in the region.
The roadmap has set out the following two targets for the industry:
- At least 60% of hotel room stock to achieve internationally-recognised hotel sustainability certification (e.g. by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council) by 2025
- For hotels to commence tracking of emissions by 2023, reduce emissions by 2030, with a view to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050
STB and SHA have also identified 4 focus areas to green hotel operations, to ensure that hotels’ sustainability efforts drive impactful environmental outcomes. They are:
- Water Conservation (e.g. implementing smart water meters, reverse osmosis water recycling for laundry facility, water efficient toilet fit outs in guest rooms)
- Waste Management, Recycling and Circular Economy (e.g. artificial-intelligence (AI) powered food waste management solutions, food digestors)
- Sustainable Sourcing and Procurement (e.g. in-house farms, locally-sourced produce, assessing vendors based on certification/sustainable practices)
- Energy Conservation (e.g. district cooling systems, solar panel technology, smart energy meters, trigeneration plants)
The roadmap is endorsed by the Hotel Sustainability Committee (HSC), which was set up in March 2020 to drive industry-wide adoption of sustainability practices in hotels to promote Singapore as a sustainable destination. The committee comprises members from the hotel industry as well as representatives from the public sector.
To read the full media release, please click here.
To download the Sustainability Roadmap Infographics, please click here.
Sustainable Accommodation is More Important than Ever
Travellers and consumers are becoming more aware of their environmental, social, and cultural impact, seeking confirmation that sustainability practices are in place.
Sustainability certification for accommodations is a voluntary, third-party assessment through an audit to ensure compliance with sustainable tourism standards. GSTC does not certify directly. Certification is conducted by Certification Bodies (CB) while GSTC provides an accreditation program through its partner Assurance Services International to accredit Certification Bodies.
Accommodations certified by a GSTC-Accredited CB can use the GSTC logo along with the CB’s mark. The logos are also shared with OTAs and other buyers of hotel space.
Learn more about how to become certified as a sustainable accommodation.
