Sustainable Travel

Tourists gobble a sizable portion of Kaua‘i’s resources, but businesses can take steps to reduce the strain on the island environment, industry leaders said at the Greening Kaua‘i’s Visitor Industry conference last week.

For example the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa converts 670 gallons of cooking oil to biodiesel each month, said Doug Sears, general manager. The Sheraton Kaua‘i cut its power bill by investing in a combined heat and power co-generator, energy technology that reduces consumption and saves the resort thousands of dollars each month, said Ed Fiegler, project manager of Starwood Vacation Ownership Pacific’s Princeville property.

“There is a lot of business opportunity in doing things differently,” said Ivo Martinac, director of Environmental Sustainability in Tourism at the School of Travel Industry Management of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. “It’s not an obstacle. It’s not something we need to overcome.”

But despite long-term financial incentives and the promise of good will, many businesses in the industry are not signing on to green initiatives, leaders said. “One of the myths we’ve got to do away with: It is expensive to be green,” said David Simmons, professor of Tourism, Environment, Society and Design at Lincoln University in New Zealand.

Waste, energy and water officials discussed strategies for going green, and participants agreed that for any change to be effective, one of the most important initiatives had to do with leadership. “Find a champion at your facility and empower that person,” said Al Hoffman, chief engineer of the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club. “Start off small and work to see what you can add as time goes on.”

Energy Conservation

Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative assesses residential and business energy use and offers incentives to customers who stand to gain long-term savings by investing in fuel conservation technology, said Ed Nakaya, key accounts executive of the Member Services Department at KIUC. The visitor industry accounts for about a quarter of the energy consumed on Kaua‘i, Nakaya said. While reducing the industry’s energy use would cut the bills of the cooperative’s biggest customers, it would also decrease stress on the island’s electrical infrastructure. “It delays our need to install new generators,” he said. “Hopefully by that time alternative sources would be more affordable.” Nakaya also asked island businesses to endorse wind-generated power. “We think windmills are something beautiful, and we’d like to see at least a few of them,” he said.

Companies don’t have to modify their power source to reduce energy use, participants said. Purchasing energy efficient technology and properly maintaining equipment can generate savings as well, Sears said. He has seen the Hyatt reduce energy use by replacing door seals to keep air conditioning from escaping guest rooms, as well as by installing motion detectors and in-room thermostats, he said.

Waste management

A recent waste characterization study showed that businesses contributed about 55 percent of the 95,000 tons of garbage taken to the Kekaha landfill annually, said Allison Fraley, recycling coordinator at the Department of Public Works. Food makes up more than 13 percent of that waste, with cardboard contributing 11 percent, she said. The county will step up enforcement of an existing ban on cardboard and green waste, she said. The county offers technical assistance to businesses interested in reducing waste, she said.

Officials will visit businesses and perform waste characterization studies. Because of Kaua‘i’s isolation, recyclers are shipped for off-island processing — something that drives up the cost of the initiative, Fraley said. “It may be a hardship on smaller businesses, to have the expense to do the right thing,” the Marriott’s Hoffman said. But innovative recycling can be effective.

For example the Hyatt sold their furniture in the community during an upgrade and donated used fitness equipment to an area high school, Sears said. Restaurants can recycle glass, cardboard and even send food scraps to feed pigs, Fraley said. And tourists acclimated to recycling will throw their used items in separate bins, if the bins are easy to find, Hoffman said. “The more we can do to make things easier, the greater the compliance,” he said.

Water Conservation

“We need to make every effort that we can to preserve our precious water resources,” Faith Shiramizu, public relations specialist for the Department of Water, said. Those efforts can include the installation of low flow fixtures in bathrooms and drip irrigation systems, she said. Restaurants can contact the DOW to obtain table tents that let patrons know water is available only upon request, she said. “Every glass of water brought to you in a restaurant requires another two glasses of water to wash and rinse the glass,” the tent states. “Throughout the United States, we would save over 26 million gallons of water every day if only one person in four declined the complimentary glassful.” Hotels can put up similar signs requesting that guests indicate whether or not linens and towels need to be washed. Rinse water reclamation systems and xeriscaping — landscaping with plants suited to the area — also reduce water use, she said.

The Kaua‘i Planning and Action Alliance organized the day-long conference.

Source: eTurboNews.com / Travel Trade News