BACKGROUND
The Fifth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that current carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have surpassed 400 parts-per-million. This is the first time in 800,000 years that CO2 levels have been this high, having risen dramatically since the Industrial Revolution. Scientists widely agree that this increase in atmospheric CO2 is caused by humans and our reliance on burning fossil fuels. This increase of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has contributed to environmental challenges like ocean acidification, pollution, and a warming planet.
As environmental awareness grows and as people desire a more sustainable future, “going green” has become an increasingly valuable feature for economic sectors like the hospitality industry to possess. Every day, hotels wash thousands of towels and sheets for guests, lights are kept on throughout the night, and thermostats run even when there are no occupants in the rooms. All of these activities cause hotels to be one of the most energy-intensive and consequently greenhouse gas-intensive building types. Consumers in the United States are beginning to desire environmentally responsible lodging accommodations: forty-four percent of U.S. travelers consider environmental impacts when making travel plans, and two-thirds consider active protection of the environment to be part of a hotel’s responsibility. Hotels are responding to this, and ecotourism is expected to increase at a higher rate than the tourism industry as a whole. Currently, however, less than 4% of lodging establishments in the U.S. are green-certified.
Because green lodging certifications are not yet universally embraced, hotels that participate in these programs are more likely to stand out to consumers, travel websites, and travel bloggers. To reduce the environmental impacts of the hospitality sector, the Green Seal Standard for Lodging Properties (GS-33) is a voluntary program that requires hotels to reduce their carbon footprint by transforming their energy system, enhancing the resilience of their buildings, and integrating sustainability practices into their day-to-day activities. Green Seal is a U.S.-based non-profit organization that uses third-party certification to verify environmental standards in various private sector industries, and it was recently named the official eco-certifier for Los Angeles hotels. With over 56 certified hotels in the U.S. (7 in the Los Angeles area alone), Green Seal needs a technical method for quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions directly associated with their hotel certifications.
By developing a model for Green Seal, the StayGreen project team will help demonstrate the environmental benefits that can be achieved from operational changes in hotels. This model can then be used to scale and project scenarios into the future and to examine how the different GS-33 certification levels for different quantities of hotels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts. Furthermore, our team will determine how these emissions reductions help the City of Los Angeles achieve its climate change mitigation goals. With policies like AB 32 motivating California to dramatically reduce its GHG emissions, the City of Los Angeles has created a Climate Action Plan as it strives to become a leader in green initiatives. Addressing changes in the hospitality industry is an essential step in ensuring Los Angeles meets California’s environmental goals and stays at the forefront of sustainability and environmental action.
