Willy Legrand, part-time assistant professor of Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality, together with co-writer Philip Sloan and Joseph S. Chen, are finalizing the third edition of their international textbook, Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry: Principles of Sustainable Operations, due out on shelves in late 2016.

 

Those following the climate negotiations in Paris since Nov. 30, 2015, may recognize Legrand’s name – he authored the agreement adopted by 195 countries and the EU on Dec. 12.  That agreement, the result of six years of work, provides a global framework for “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C” (United Nations, Framework Convention on Climate Change, Adoption of the Paris Agreement, FCCC/CP/2105/L.9/Rev.1,12 December 2015, available at http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf). The hospitality and tourism industries are directly affected by changes in the environment, with the effects of climate change being felt first-hand at ski resorts in the Alps, at coastal retreats, and at restaurants that source food locally or organically.  Consequently, the agreement has direct implications for the future of these industries.

 

Over the last few years, hotel companies have made a concerted effort to address the impact their business activities have on the environment, particularly by measuring and reducing their carbon (e.g., the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative launched in 2012 or the Energy Solutions Toolkit launched in 2011) and water footprints (e.g., the Hotel Water Measurement Initiative launched by the International Tourism Partnership) . While a clean environment is crucial in attracting tourists, there are other tangible benefits for hospitality companies that proactively mitigate environmental impacts, including real efficiency gains and an improved corporate reputation. Another closely linked challenge for these companies is managing the ethical operation of their businesses. Encouragingly, there is evidence that the hotel industry is assuming a proactive, collective approach to promoting human rights and business ethics, incorporating human rights risk mapping, providing employee training on responsible business, and fostering sustainable local benefits.