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SUMMARY:Green Certification in the Hotel Sector? Does it actually reduce g
 lobal CO2 emissions? - Aoife Houlihan Wiberg\, Department of Architecture
DTSTART:20081127T130000Z
DTEND:20081127T134500Z
UID:TALK15305@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr James Kirkbride
DESCRIPTION:The research poses a simple question\, ‘Does Certification i
 n the hotel sector signify lower CO2 emissions per guest night?' The resea
 rch examines whether certification schemes are rigorous and whether the re
 sults are credible. The paper discusses climate change and global tourism\
 , the issue of ‘green’ electricity and carbon offsetting\, provides a 
 critique of current methods of certification used in the hotel sector and 
 examines the environmental impact and the accounting method used.\n\nGloba
 l CO2 emissions were compared and calculated from the delivered electricit
 y and fuels consumption data from seventy selected certified hotels worldw
 ide. No corrections were made in the calculations for climate\, quality of
  services\, existence of services etc. The performance indicator used is k
 gCO2 per guest night.\n\nThe analyses shows no clear pattern. In some case
 s emissions reduced after certification in others no\nchange. Certified ho
 tels do not necessarily have lower emissions than uncertified hotels and a
  comparison of before – and after – certification shows no significant
  improvement. Most dramatically emissions from certified hotels widely var
 y by a factor of 7. Although it is arguable a number of corrections should
  be made to account for different climates\, the research highlights that 
 hotels with high CO2 emissions are being awarded certification and it ques
 tions what message ‘certification’ gives to guests and other stakehold
 ers. At worst it appears ‘business as usual’ can achieve certification
  with no obvious improvement in performance. The authors conclude a simple
 \, accurate method of CO2 emissions calculation needs to be developed whic
 h can be adopted universally.
LOCATION:Entertaining Room\, Darwin College
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