The Impact of the Carbon Tax on Housekeeping Operations

By Stephen McGoldrick, Institute of Sustainability and Hygiene International

Global Warming is changing the way we have to do business

The Federal government has introduced a carbon tax this July 2012 as well as incentive programmes to encourage investments in green solutions. Stephen McGoldrick from the Institute of Sustainability will give you some simple but in depth explanations about global warming, the carbon tax and the impact on your hotel, housekeeping and the planet. 

Who will have to pay the Carbon Tax?

The carbon pricing mechanism, introduced by the Clean Energy Act 2011 and the NGER Act, applies to Australia’s largest emitters (known as liable entities). Liable entities either operate facilities that meet an emissions threshold of at least 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) or supply, or use large amounts of natural gas. The mechanism covers approximately 60 per cent of Australia’s carbon emissions and includes emissions from electricity generation, stationary energy, landfills, wastewater, industrial processes and fugitive emissions. Around 250 companies will have to pay the carbon tax in 2012/13. The tax will increase the price of electricity, fossil fuels and land fill i.e. Energy and landfill costs are likely to go up especially operators of large landfills.

Will Carbon Tax go up?

In the 2012-2013 financial year, the carbon price is $23 per tonne. The carbon price will be $24.15 per tonne in 2013-14 and $25.40 per tonne in 2014-15. From 1 July 2015 onwards, the number of units issued by the Government each year will be capped by a pollution cap, this is set by regulations. Most carbon units will be auctioned by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and the price will be set by the market. You will not see the carbon tax on invoices. Industry groups predict that the energy costs are likely to rise 10% every year over the next 10 years. It’s likely that energy costs will double by 2020.

Sustainability Definition

Sustainability is the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management  of resource use. Sustainability economics is sometimes referred as Triple Bottom Line (TBL).

 

Global Weather

It is important to note that the meteorologists and scientists advised governments that the planet is warming.

 

What is CO₂e?

You may hear the term CO₂e. What is that? CO₂e stands for CO₂e = Carbon Dioxide Equivalents

You cannot measure your carbon footprint without understanding what a CO₂e is. 

What does Carbon Dioxide Equivalents mean?

Let’s start with Carbon Dioxide or CO₂. Carbon Dioxide is a 3-atom molecule – 1 Carbon and 2 Oxygen atoms. We breathe in O₂ in and we breathe out CO₂. Not surprising our atmosphere contains a lot of CO2. CO₂ is measured in %’s or parts per million (PPM). The current amount of CO₂ in our atmosphere is around 350 PPM or 0.35% and rising. CO₂ is a Greenhouse Gas. A Greenhouse Gas is a molecule that is in a gaseous state, i.e. in our atmosphere with the specific ability to radiate heat energy from the sun back to the earth rather than allowing the sun’s heat energy to return back into space. The main greenhouse gases are listed in the diagram below – Carbon Dioxide, Methane, CFC’s, Ozone and Nitrous Oxide.

The more greenhouse gases in our atmosphere the more gas molecules reflect heat energy back to earth and warm the planet.

To calculate the impact the combined impact that greenhouse gases have in ‘warming the planet’, scientists have measured the potency of greenhouse gases to ‘trap heat energy’ in the atmosphere. Because CO₂ is the main greenhouse gas it has a potency of 1. The other greenhouse gases are compared to CO₂ and given a potency score, e.g. methane (a colorless, odorless, flammable gas that is the simplest hydrocarbon. It is the major constituent of natural gas and is released during the decomposition of plant or other organic compounds, as in marshes and coal mines.) is 21 x more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO₂.

So when fossil fuels such gasoline, LPG, coal burning to make electricity, different amounts of these greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere. The amount of CO₂ gas Equivalent emitted is measured by multiplying the potency by the amount of each gas given off. The government has produced greenhouse gas tables for each fossil fuel your business or home uses. For example 1 kWh of electricity in NSW uses 0.89 Kgs of CO₂e. This means if your hotel uses 10,000 kWh per annum the power station up the road will emit 8,900 Kgs or 8.9 tonnes of CO₂e into the atmosphere because of the hotel’s energy consumption of electricity. Go look at your bill and multiple by 0.89 to see how many Kgs of CO2 per quarter your hotel emits.it is important to note that each state’s electrical generation emit different levels of CO₂e based on the efficiency of the power they use, for example Victoria uses brown coal and emits more CO₂e per kWh than NSW. This is why hotels in Victoria have a higher carbon footprint then a similar hotel in NSW with the same kWh usage per annum.

Greenhouse Gas Potency

Carbon Dioxide                  (CO₂)       =                CO₂

Methane (CH₄)                    =                21 x more potent than CO₂

Nitrous Oxide (N₂0)          =                310 x more potent than CO₂

1 Kg of each of the above Greenhouse Gases would be equivalent to 322 CO₂ gas, i.e. not 3 Kgs.

Or (1 Kg of CO₂ x 1 + 1 Kg of CH₄ x 21 + 1 Kg of N₂0 x 310) = 322 Kgs of CO₂e.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of CO₂ generated by your process. However your process has upstream inputs and downstream outputs that cause carbon emissions associated with your business activity, i.e. Housekeeping requires energy, water, chemicals and the waste from the process creates landfill that emits high amounts of carbon emissions. To understand carbon footprints more clearly you have to be aware of the term “Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions”.

What are Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?

The gases in the cloud are greenhouse gases.

Scope 1 emissions

Are the carbon emissions from the energy used at the Hotel to do Housekeeping chores, e.g. vehicle fuel used to get supplies 

Scope 2 emissions

Are the carbon emissions from the electricity company up the road for you to do Housekeeping chores, e.g. use of air-conditioners, vacuum cleaners etc

Scope 3 emissions

Are the carbon emissions of everyone upstream and downstream associated with housekeeping Examples of this are fuel used by staff to drive to work, energy used to make chemicals, laundries, textiles used in rooms, disposables and a downstream example is the volume of waste going to landfill as landfill generates around 1 Kg of CO2e per Kg of waste. The more your recycle the less greenhouse gas your business will emit.

What does 1 Kg of CO2e look like?

A black balloon can help your staff understand that every 1 Kg of CO2 that can be prevented from being emitted helps the planet and visa versa. In most cases the lower your carbon footprint then the lower your ENERGY BILL. Therefore it’s good for your business to know your carbon footprint and work out how to lower it. It is also good for staff morale and team work to set goals that are meaningful to your employees and your customers.

A Carbon footprint is a measure of carbon emissions as a result of an activity. Your carbon footprint is measured in Kilograms of CO₂e – carbon dioxide equivalents

Here are some examples of measuring the carbon footprint?

Hotel Stay

1.5 Hours at a Hotel                                            15 Kgs CO₂e / room night[1]

1 Linen Change (10 Kg/room)                        0.4 – 1.0 Kgs CO₂e/Kg Linen[2]

1 Kg of Cotton Sheets                                         25 Kgs CO₂e/Kg of Textiles

1 Kg of Polyester Sheets                                   31 Kgs CO₂e/Kg of Textiles

On Premise Laundries are significant contributors to carbon emissions in a hotel. It is best to outsource laundries to a more energy efficient laundry.

Energy Consumption %’s in Hotels

Housekeepers are associated with many of the energy usages of a hotel.

 

Dining at a Restaurant

Energy to make [3]Meal                      1 Kg CO₂e / meal

Food at a Restaurant

500 gm’s Chicken Meat                                    2 Kgs CO₂e / Kg

58 gm’s Beef3                                         17 Kgs CO₂e / Kg

The menu combined with the energy efficiency of the restaurant determines the carbon footprint of hotel dining. Accor Hotels found that feeding their clients beef was the biggest environmental issues in their hotels because of the amount of water required to make beef.

Travel to / from Hotel

Travel by bus 15.7 km                      BNE/SYD =   60 Kgs CO₂e

Travel by car 6.3 km                          BNE/SYD = 150 Kgs CO₂e

Travel by plane 2.2 km                    BNE/SYD = 420 Kgs CO₂e

Public land based travel has the lowest carbon emissions whilst air travel has the highest. It makes environmental sense for governments to build a high-speed rail from Brisbane to Sydney taking 3 hours!

Carbon Emissions of Housekeeping

Scope 1, 2 and 3 Carbon emissions will vary by site, but here is an example. Assume a room attendant cleans a room 30 minutes.

Items                                         Usage                                        Energy                     Kgs CO₂e

Scope 1 & 2

Electricity                               3 x 40 watts                          60 W                        0.07

Air Conditioner                                     2.0 kW  @ 30 min’s          1 kW                         0.89

Vacuum                                   1.8 kW @ 5 min’s              150 W                     0.17

Scope 1&2                                                                                                                       1.13

Scope 3

Linen change                       10 Kg’s                                                        10 Kg’s                    5.00

Waste                                       0.2 Kg                                        0.2 Kg                      0.22

Chemicals                              100 ml’s/room                    0.1 Litres              0.20

Scope 3                                                                                                                                                5.42

Note: scope 3 can include other types of activities or products 

Example Only

400 room hotel with 25 Room Attendants x 13 rooms/day or 325 rooms cleaned

Scope 1&2                            367 Kg’s/day                        = 134 T CO₂e / year

Scope 3                                                     1,761 Kg’s/day                    = 643 T CO₂e / year

The Scope 1,2 and 3 Carbon Emissions associated with Housekeeping of a 400-room hotel

2 Tonne / day of CO₂e

777 Tonne / Year of CO₂e

Note: example only

If the hotel outsources its laundry their scope 1 and 2 emissions will fall dramatically however the hotel’s scope 3 emissions will go up dramatically because the commercial laundry that supplies the hotel has to buy textiles and use significant amounts of energy to wash, clean, dry and deliver linen to you daily. Therefore it is important to know ‘some’ of the leading scope 3 emissions of your main inputs and outputs because the suppliers of a service that handle inputs and outputs are likely to pass on carbon taxes associated with their scope 1 o 2 carbon emissions. The carbon tax applied to the electricity and water suppliers of your laundry will most likely an increase in your laundry service by 1 – 4% over the next year depending on their energy efficiency.

You cannot manage what you do not measure (and visa versa)

We learn that 367 Kgs of scope 1 & 2 greenhouse emissions occur from housekeeping in the example above for a 400-room hotel cleaning around 325 rooms a day. We can estimate then that housecleaning in this hotel has a carbon footprint of 1.1 Kg / room. Therefore housekeeping excluding the laundry service impact the greenhouse emissions of a hotel around 7%.

Room Night                           15 Kgs

Cleaning                                    1 Kgs                      7.3%       (Scope 1&2 only)

The Housekeeping Staff are the EYES and EARS of the hotel

Despite cleaning representing 7% of the carbon emissions of one room night, the Housekeeper plays a critical role in reducing the guest’s carbon emissions by implementing sustainable housekeeping practices. For example, 20 – 30 % of guest carbon emissions could be reduced per room night by the Housekeeping team and their GM being committed to becoming a sustainable hotel

Towards Sustainable Housekeeping

Room Attendants and Housekeeping clean and service all of the rooms of a hotel regularly. Consequently, Room Attendants and Housekeeping Staff play a significant role in monitoring and reporting unsustainable practices as part of their day-to-day activities. Business Sustainability Assessors are trained to measure carbon, energy, water and waste footprints and help you lower them. Here are a few ways to improve your sustainability, although the best way to improve sustainability is to adopt a sustainability program with goals, monitoring and training of staff.

There are many ways to improve sustainability

• Turning taps, lights, TV’s and air-conditioners off when they are not in use
• Ensure the design of each room allows for good ventilation and thermal performance, e.g. shut curtains if direct sunlight is heating up a room
• Clean rooms in the least amount of time; use lean housekeeping methods
• The selection of laundry and textile suppliers
• Ensure you have sound cleaning practices

How can Lean methods help housekeeping – use less time to clean a room

• Measure Hour productivity rate
• Cycle times – sequence of service
• Use Lean Housekeeping Principles such as 5S and waste elimination 7W
• Develop overall efficiency scores % for housekeeping

The following ideas are ideas that housekeepers can use to reduce their carbon emissions and reduce the hotel bills for energy, water, chemicals and waste.

Lights

• Clean lights
• Turn off lights
• Use sensors to turn lights off (and on), e.g. movement, timers depending on application
• Use key entry auto switch off lights
• Occupancy sensor lights
• CFL – 70% < incandescent
• Replace T12/T8 fluro’s with T5 fluro’s
• Use energy efficient appliances, e.g. hair dryers, kettle, microwaves, televisions, irons etc.
• Investigate switch appliances that prevents them operating on standby mode
• Check that refrigerators are sealed and are working effectively
• Avoid one switch turning on many lights
• Use sensors for lighting, e.g. presence, light levels etc
• Use auto-off / auto-on key systems to conserve energy
• Conserve lighting whilst cleaning without impacting your ability to see defects
• Label light switches so clients know what switch turns on what light

Energy Efficient Ventilation

• Use natural ventilation where practical
• Cross ventilation
• Use a digital thermometer to monitor room temperature
• Are thermostats regularly adjusted and checked

Air Conditioners

• Turn off Air Conditioner
• Set thermostat on a wide range to prevent heating & cooling
• Set temperature
  • Summer                 23 – 25
  • Winter                                      18 – 20
• Heating Ventilation Air Conditioner systems to use timers
• Keep thermostat away from heaters
• Check when A/C last serviced
• 1^oC on thermostat = 10 – 15% impact on energy

Windows & Doors

• Close the window and doors when the A/C is on
• The glazing of window can significantly improve the thermal performance of a room
• Report hot or cold rooms to management
• Seal doors and windows effectively, i.e. check seals

Office

• Turn off lights, computers and standby’s
• Use both sides of paper
• Network computers and have one printer
• Minimise the use of paper where possible
• Use energy efficient lights
• Check energy efficiency of your computers; use power save mode

Water

• Turn taps off
• Report leaky taps
• Dual flush toilets
• Use water meters to measure water usage, e.g. per floor
• Low flow shower heads
• Water efficient laundry equipment, e.g. continuous batch washers < 6 L/Kg
• Water reuse equipment in the laundry
• Check water bills

Encourage the Reuse Linen by Customers

• Customer awareness that linen does not have to be serviced daily
• Customer linen reuse programs, e.g. boomerang on the bed
• Carefully consider linen stocking levels to avoid over-servicing of rooms

Cleaning Chemicals

• Choose biodegradable chemicals
• Measure and monitor your chemical and water usage
• Seek expert advice to minimise chemical use without effecting the cleaning process
• Use multiple coloured micro-fibre cloths to reduce chemicals and to improve hygiene

Waste

• Remember that 1 Kg of waste = approx. 1 Kg of CO₂e in landfill!
• Recycling programs will cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce waste bill
• Ensure recycling systems are in place, e.g. cardboard, plastics, mixed, organic etc.
• Use dispensable solutions where practicable
• Analyse suppliers use of packaging and challenge your suppliers
• Ensure bins are used efficiently; the bin is full when it is emptied
• Monitor waste levels related to Housekeeping

Textiles

• Minimise the loss of linen
• Durable linen has less carbon emission per use; i.e. more washes per purchased item
• White linen lasts longer than coloured linen because it doesn’t fade
• Outsource textiles and laundry services to laundry specialists that have energy / water efficient plants
• Request commercial laundries suppliers to supply you with energy, water per delivered Kg measures
• Choose energy and water efficient laundries

Be Sustainable
Start Today! Develop a Sustainable Housekeeping Programme by engaging a sustainability assessor

• Obtain support of senior management and managers
• Team up with other departments
• Understand historical trends for energy, water, waste etc.
• Engage a sustainability assessor if you need assistance
• Establish baselines, benchmarks and targets/goals
• Know your NABERS (Performance based rating system for existing buidings) star rating based on your region (Google it)
• Develop a sustainability checklist for auditing
• Meet regularly and prioritize action plans
• Monitor and measure your progress
• Celebrate your achievements

Finally …

• Engage a Business Sustainability Assessor that understands hospitality!
• Develop a team of sustainable room attendants that your hotel and GM will be proud of

Even if political parties change in Australia, the Carbon Emission issue will not go away. So now you can explain to your GM about the Carbon economy and its implications to Housekeeping.
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About Stephen McGoldrick – Sustainability Institute and Hygiene International
Stephen McGoldrick manages a consulting business that provides sustainability solutions across multiple industries such as hospitality, commercial laundries, cleaning and as diverse as agriculture. Stephen has over 10 years experience consulting to and then managing a large (250 tonnes a week) commercial laundry in Australia. Through that role he has had the pleasure working closely with executive housekeepers. Now Stephen is a Business Sustainability Assessor providing businesses (or specific operations, eg housekeeping) with formal assessments of the operation’s carbon footprint. The Institute offers an affordable program that includes a sustainability assessment, practical ways to reduce energy, water etc, staff training, forms and procedures and ongoing monitoring of key indicators such as carbon, energy, water, waste etc. Businesses that participate in sustainability programs can obtain a Bronze (participation), Silver (monitoring and carbon goal setting) and Gold (carbon reduction achieved). For more information on Stephen McGoldrick or the Institute or Sustainability and Hygiene International visit www.ishi.com.au or contact Stephen by email isustainhygiene@gmail.com or mobile 0414 535 161.