Global body adopts UAE technology

Green Globe International, which recently announced a five-year licensing agreement with Farnek Avireal to use the Green Globe brand, has adopted ‘Hotel Optimizer’ technology, which can produce savings of up to 20% in energy, water and waste costs.

Hotel Optimizer was developed by Farnek Avireal, a leading UAE and Swiss joint venture which advises companies on how to dramatically cut utility bills.

“Hotel Optimizer was designed for the hotel industry, and has achieved remarkable results for companies in the UAE. It deserves a worldwide audience,” said Guido Bauer, CEO: certification for Green Globe.

“It is a powerful online system that identifies potential saving in energy, water and waste, and can reduce the related costs by 15% to 20% on a sustainable basis.”

Green Globe is the only recognised certification of its type in the tourism and hospitality industry. More than 800 businesses in 50 countries have so far received Green Globe certification. Twenty tourism properties in the Middle East are currently covered.

Branding
Green Globe is branding Farnek Avireal’s Hotel Optimizer as GreenRevMax (Green Revenue Management) and promoting the product worldwide.

Farnek Avireal GM Marcus Oberlin said he was delighted that Green Globe had adopted technology developed in the Middle East for worldwide promotion. “Hotel operators and owners, as well as other businesses, have increased profits by saving on bottom-line costs with this technology, which also substantially reduces their impact on the environment.”

The Hotel Optimizer system tracks and analyses energy use, provides year-on-year comparisons, energy costs per occupied room, a reduction forecast and seasonal impacts of energy, water and waste.

“With the key readings generated by Hotel Optimizer, managements have a simple method of setting challenging, but realistic, annual targets in the areas of energy, water and waste,” said Oberlin.

Potential water shortages are top of most government agendas throughout the Middle East.
 

“Water is the Middle East’s most vulnerable resource, and will become dangerously scarce within decades unless it is radically managed better,” the World Bank said in its latest development and climate change study.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the world’s driest region, “per capita water availability is predicted to halve by 2050 even without the effects of climate change.”

Lagging behind
Middle East hotels lag well behind Europe in terms of energy efficiency and their impact on the environment. For example, in Europe the average hotel produces 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per annum compared with 6,500 tons in Dubai.

“Initially, when we first introduced Hotel Optimizer, some hotel managers were concerned about the costs,” said Oberlin.

“But those that have introduced the system have achieved a return on investment in less than two years. With the current climate in the industry, supporting sustainability and reducing energy demands in this way makes sound business sense, as well as helping the environment.”

The Green Globe programme traces its roots to the UN Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, and has mainly been used in the travel and tourism industry, but is now being expanded to include environmentally responsible businesses in other market sectors.

“Green Globe’s mission is to make sure that travellers recognise exceptional efforts by hotels and other travel businesses that certify with Green Globe and its partners,” said Bauer.

“These efforts are reducing pollution, creating wealth and improving the travel experience for all.”