Co-hosts of New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference 2014 decided to organise this industry conference as a climate-friendly meeting. As it is a pilot project in the industry, we suggested the co-hosts starting with an easily controlled methodology. Therefore, the following emission sources are defined in the inventory in line with the basic requirements on climate change listed in UNEP’s Sustainable Event Guide:

• Long-distance travel,
• Transport,
• Accommodation, and
• Venue.

A online survey for delegates are designed by Greenfield in order to gather the data of travel and transport that delegates go to attend the conference, and the information of their stays in Auckland during the conference. Online aviation calculator developed by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was employed to calculate the emissions generated by long-distance travel. Emission factors published by Ministry for Environment, New Zealand, and UK DEFRA were employed to measure the road traffic emissions from private car, public bus, trains and ferries. British emission factors were employed because of the lack of relevant emission factors from Auckland Transport publicly.

Emissions from accommodation and venue were calculated in line with the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) version 1.1 jointly developed by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and International Tourism Partnership (ITP). This standard is widely recognised by the hospitality industry, and follows the principles of Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard (GHG Protocol) by World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the rules stipulated in ISO 14064-1. However, it is worth noting that the HCMI is for calculating carbon footprint at individual hotel rather than at corporate level.

We were also invited by the Tourism Industry Association to be panelist of assessment panel for annual environmental hotel award.

Left: Steve Martin, General Manager of James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor Wellington and Ray Leach from Greenfield (2014); Right: Franz Mascarenhas (right), Managing Director of Langham Hotel Auckland, and Ryan McCallum from Greenfield (2015).