Hospitality Design - August 2013 - 49

perspectives

sustainable studio
By Alia Akkam

FOLLOW THE
GREEN ROAD

A recent MindClick survey reveals sustainability
is fast becoming a hospitality standard

In partnership with Hospitality Design (HD) magazine, MindClick SGM
conducted an online survey in which 72 percent of more than 130 designers
polled agree that making sustainable strides is no longer a choice, but
increasingly, a way of doing business. There was additional good news: 85
percent of designers reported taking green initiatives in at least one of their
projects over the past year. Those designers from firms with more than
50 projects a year on the roster anticipate that half of them will feature
sustainable elements.
There’s one caveat, however: Despite spending an average of 30 hours
per project sourcing sustainable products, only one in four designers can
readily find the information they need. Offering a solution is MindClick’s
Sustainability Index. Of those polled, 94 percent say they will turn to this
easy-to-navigate tool, with 80 percent planning to use it with the goal of
finding new suppliers. Nine out of 10 designers from firms with 50 or more
projects a year say they will rely on the Sustainability Index at
least monthly.
Here, MindClick CEO JoAnna Abrams discusses the positive
developments the survey depicts.

What has you most excited about the survey results?

I was surprised to learn designers are spending almost a week per ‘green’
project looking for sustainable products. So, I’m very excited to provide a
solution that saves so much time and money for the design community, and
gives them a trusted resource for the sustainability information they need.

Survey results reveal that sustainability is no longer something
to contemplate, but an integral component of a hospitality
project. Why do you think green has become so vitally
important to the industry?

I see three key factors. First, owners and operators are seeing the financial
benefits from operating hotels more efficiently, which in essence is a
core component of sustainability. Second is the increased reporting of
hotel sustainability efforts in response to corporate travel RFPs, ‘green’
meeting requirements, and inclusion of hotel sustainability performance
in OTA descriptions and ratings, as highlighted by the recent launch of
TripAdvisor’s Green Leaders program. Lastly, sustainability is highly
important to the Millennial generation, the new core consumer for the
hotel industry.

What are some of the green myths you think the Index has been
able to alleviate?
Sustainability is a very broad term and includes a company’s social and
environmental practices in addition to the attributes of specific products.
As a result, we eliminate two myths: One, it doesn’t cost more to purchase

from suppliers who are socially and environmentally responsible. And
two, with the participation of leading FF&E suppliers from fifteen different
product categories, and the commitment of brands such as Marriott—
which is spending seventy-five percent of its FF&E budget on suppliers
who are in the MindClick Sustainability Index—sustainability is here
to stay.

Based on this recent survey, what are some of the hurdles to
embracing green initiatives that remain, and how do you think
(and hope) the Index will eventually be able to counter them?

As demonstrated by the research results, as well as what we’re seeing
in the world of consumer products—ranging from consumers’ favorite
beverages like Pepsi and Coca-Cola being packaged in plant-based bottles,
to the global response to the tragedy of Bangladesh—sustainability
is no longer seen as a separate initiative. The challenge is translating
sustainability to ways that easily integrate into how business is done. A
lot of progress has been made in hotel operations. We’re helping to drive
that same progress in hotel purchasing in two ways. First, we’re making
it easy for purchasing decision makers to obtain relevant, validated, and
comparable information about the ways suppliers help improve a hotel’s
environmental performance through products that reduce energy, water,
and waste—and/or contribute to a healthier guest experience. Also, we’re
helping suppliers improve and highlight their sustainability efforts and
accomplishments in their operations, and with their products, to meet the
needs of the hospitality industry. hd

hospitalitydesign.com August 2013

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