Hospitality company Wyndham Worldwide reduced its normalized carbon footprint by 5 percent over the course of 2011, according to the company's latest sustainability report.
In 2010, the company produced 0.0098 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per square foot of space. In 2011, this figure dropped to 0.0093. Wyndham is working towards a goal of reducing emissions per square foot by 12 percent by 2016 and by 20 percent by 2020, over 2010 levels.
The company also produced 14.17 metric tons of CO2e per employee in 2011, representing a 5.6 percent reduction per associate over 2010 levels.
Wyndham's absolute 2011 global carbon footprint stood at 380,395 metric tons of CO2e equivalent. This represents a 4.5 percent reduction versus the prior year, the report said.
The company says it is complying with the UK government’s carbon reduction program, which requires Wyndham Hotel Group, as a franchisor, to report the emissions of franchised hotels. The legislation requires that allowances are purchased per metric ton of CO2 emissions in the form of a carbon tax. Wyndham's Europe, Middle East and Africa team is using the program as a catalyst to focus facilities on reducing energy use, emissions and ultimately their costs, the report says. The team is using a series of workshops, educational sessions and energy audits, and sharing best practices, to achieve this goal.
Wyndham's reported water consumption rocketed 221 percent from 2010 to 2011, figures show.
In 2010, Wyndham used 299.8 million gallons of water. In 2011, this figure jumped to 666.3 million gallons. All of Wyndham's water is obtained and discharged through municipal sources, the report says.
Wyndham's report says that "in measuring water usage and conservation, we have an initial focus on a limited portion of our portfolio, which we have expanded from last year," which perhaps explains the increase in the figures. Notes in the report say that the 2010 figure was an estimate for Wyndham's managed hotels, whereas the 2011 figure includes both managed hotels and Worldmark by Wyndham Resorts.
Wyndham's Parsippany, N.J., headquarters saved an estimated 5.9 million gallons of fresh water in 2011, through a recycling program carried out in partnership with Waste Management. The company estimates that LEED-compliance initiatives at the campus cut its water use by 25 percent year-on-year. The report says that Wyndham has been focusing on linen reuse to reduce its water use.
The company's overall energy use dropped 0.8 percent year-on-year, from 987,943 MWh in 2010 to 980,049 MWh in 2011. (See chart below)
The LEED project at the company's headquarters resulted in a 16 percent energy savings from lighting and an overall energy savings of 17 percent. Furthermore, 75 percent of the site's HVAC equipment is Energy Star-certified. All of the energy needed to power the headquarters comes from wind power. The company has increased the number of renewable energy sites it owns from nine in 2010 to 23 in 2011, figures show.
Some 16 percent of the company’s total 2011 $1.5 billion spend was made with suppliers who meet the Wyndham Green Supplier criteria. Wyndham’s goal is to have 30 percent of its supply chain budget spent with Wyndham Green designated suppliers by 2017, the report says.
One example of the green supply chain is Wyndham uniforms. Launched in 2008, the uniform line for hotel staff which is made from recycled polyester fibers spun from plastic beverage bottles. To date Wyndham has bought over 18,000 such front desk uniforms. Other green supply chain initiatives include shade-grown coffee from Peruvian cooperatives, recycled key cards and compostable, recycled-content eco-cups, of which Wyndham used 122 million in 201o and 2011.
In June, the company was one of a group of hotel chains involved in the launch of a standard to calculate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings. The methodology, named HCMI 1.0, was first developed in 2011. Along with Wyndham, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and 19 other hotel chains agreed on the standard.
In October 2010, the hotel chain participated in a webinar hosted by Environmental Leader in which company executives described their environmental best practices and the process for setting environmental targets.
