Sustainability and Environmental Standards

Sustainability and Environmental Standards: Seeking Competitive Distinction at Damai Lovina Villas . Executive Summary Throughout this analysis, my purpose is to clarify and condense the information so the reader will have a better understanding at the end of the analysis. This analysis will be broken up into six categories; the executive summary, issue statement, alternatives analysis, recommendations, actions and implementations, and data analysis. In the issue statement, there will be a brief overview on how the hotel companies and the environmental regulations clashed.Throughout the alternative analysis we will discuss different alternatives that Damai could have focused on to benefit and sustain his hotels. As we move to the recommendations our group will give clear advice on how we would’ve handled the situation. Actions and implementations will implement the steps that Damai took to clean up his name and benefit the locals that were on the island. The data analysis will be a break up of data to better explain the situation at hand. Issue Statement:One of the major issues impacting the Hotels was that the environmental regulations were lacking since existing standards were not enforced and growth often was promoted to the detriment of the environment. For years the Balinese government had promoted sand dredging to enlarge the island for more hotel development off the port of Benoa. By the continued dredging of the sand, this would in effect alter the water currents and the new currents have eroded the natural beaches bordering the town Sanur.Dredging projects rarely involved environmental impact studies or guaranteed protection of natural areas as required by law. Tourism was the island only source of income, but this source of income was causing serious social and environmental problems. For example the drinking water often slowed to a trickle during daylight hours due almost exclusively to the high demand for water in the resort area of Nusa Dua. Also the lack of a centralized waste collection system has encouraged alternative solution such as the formation of an informal collection system.Many hotels and residents left used paper and plastic outside of their properties. Despite these challenges the system successfully diverted a significant amount of waste from the landfill. Data analysis: As the benefits of advertising proactive environmental efforts were recognized by global hospitality hotels targeted environmentally conscious customers to gain competitive advantage as a result of which helped non luxury hotels command premium prices of $30/night in a very competitive industry. Marketing sustainability shows that participation in a VEP could be costly depending on the program.Adopting a formal EMS and certifying it IDO 141001 may typically cost $270-$1370 per employee depending on the extent to which the company had instituted proactive environmental and continual improvement procedures prior to implementing a formalize d Ems. Although more than a dozen VEPs and eco-labeling programs targeted the hotel industry by 2006 only handful of these were available to Indonesia hotel. Alternatives analysis: Damai has several alternatives to ultimately benefit and sustain its hotel.Damai could of considered voluntary environmental programs and take the risk of the hotels luxury to take a negative impact by lacking integration that can possibly have a major impact in the long run. Another alternative damai could of pursued was a better marketing strategy that fully described everything about the hotel in regards to its environment, community status overall. This could have been achieved through a brief slideshow that offered key components of information on the website or brochure developed by Damai.Damai should focus less on advertising its produces of food and more on the sustainability efforts. A better description and more detailed amount of information given about the hotels sustainability efforts along w ith other factors will ultimately create more attraction for business. Recommendations: So at to expand capacity by constructing additional rooms, Damai should ensure that existing room were filled and that the restaurant operated above its current 65% occupancy. This will bring improvement in the business as Knape hoped to better integrate Damai into the local network of eco-hotels and eco-tours.Damai should continue to rely on its website and local travels agents to promote the hotel’s sustainability vision because Damai’s website was the primary vehicle for marketing hotel’s various sustainability efforts which directed environmentally conscious customers to an organic resort link to learn about the hotel’s sustainability vision. Besides, these local travel agents will play an important role by promoting the hotel’s sustainability vision to customers, which will benefit the industry. . Action And Implementation:Through a partnership with IPSA, D amai helped the farming and fishing communities remediate the effects of management techniques that could be harmful to the environment and public health. The burning of agriculture impaired air quality and human health, which comes from the hundreds of small farms that operate in a single community. The hotel work towards teaching farmers composting methods and organic growing practices, using IPSA products to increase the pace of decomposition. Damai utilized a water recycling system that directed used guest water to on site tanks.All wastewater was filtered through a series to tanks containing volcanic rock, porous rubber, and sand and then reused in the hotel gardens. Even waste from the toilets, was then collected and treated using natural enzymes to break down the organic waste. This waste was then passed through a series of filters and re used in the hotel gardens. One of the hotel big implementations came when it decided that they should join forces with local farmers to rec laim eroded topsoil. Damai built a series of large rock wall filters in the river that ran through the property creating a series of waterfalls.At the bottom of each waterfall was a large pool of water that captured much of the topsoil from the hotel pools to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Question: 1. The relationship between tourism and social/environmental issues in Bali was every thing that was resulted from tourism had impacts on society and environment of Bali. Although tourism plays an important role in Bali’s economic growth and financing, it also caused serious social and environmental problems. Bali’s hotel alone required 260 liters of water per second, which was an amount equivalent to the typical water consumption of 50,000 villagers when drinking water in Denpasar often slowed to a trickle during daylight hours due almost exclusively to the high demand for water in the resort area of Nusa Dua to the south. Besides this Hotel and retail chains ha d avoided locating in Lovina Beach of Bali because it was less accessible than South Bali. 2. Bali’s environmental status was affected by different government polices like the government’s focus on energy development and resource extraction, close relationship with developers, and lack of budgetary caused many citizens to lose faith in its ability or intent to protect Bali’s environment.Environmental regulations in Bali was lacking since existing standard were not enforced and growth often was promoted to the detriment of the environment. The Balinese government had promoted sand grudging enlarging the island for more hotel development off the port of Benoa. Dredging projects rarely involved environmental impacts studies or guaranteed protection of natural areas as required by law and when they did was almost never monitored for accuracy. The island had one government-operated landfill that was located outside Denpasar on reclaimed tidal land.Like many landfills in emerging economies, it lacked controls to guard against groundwater contamination. 3. Firms did not need to wait for government in order to take action in addressing Bali’s social and environmental issues. Many Balinese began to get discouraged of how the government handled the environmental and social issues that occurred. Instead Balinese citizens took matters into their own hands and decided to rely more on communal code guided by strong social norms to influence behaviors 4. Damai’s focus was to sustain and distinguish their hotels.Since damai did not participate in the idea of voluntary environmental programs they were able to avoid the luxury status of the hotel to downgrade. It complemented the sustainability program because the hotels reputation remained the same by relying on other factors such as the website and travel agents that have the potential to create a positive impact. 5. There are numerous sustainability activities Damai had already implemented. Which activities can be described as pollution prevention, product stewardship, clean technology/innovation, and sustainability vision?Pollution prevention: Damai has made an impact on the local surrounding when it comes to preventing pollution, for example normally at the end of each growing season, traditional farming practices involving the burning of agriculture waste to generate ash for the fertilizing of the next year crops. But hundreds of farmers in the community lack the knowledge on how the burning of agriculture impaired the air quality and the human health. The continued of burning of agriculture drive a greatly needed source of income which is tourist away from the community due to poor air quality.Damai solution for this is through partnership with local farmers to educate them about different ways of making fertilizer, which is through the different composing methods and organic growing practices using products from IPSA, which would increase the pace of decompositio n. Product stewardship: Damai shift from paying a deposer contractor to lovina Beach, to pick up the hotel’s solid waste, which transports the waste back to a dispensary, had proven costly. So Damai develop an environmental efficient way by transporting plastic and bottle containers to their respective suppliers to be recycled and reuse.To save cost of the purchasing of the purchasing of water, the Damai hotel use waste from the toilets, which are collected and treated using natural enzymes to break down the organic waste. This waste then passed through a series of filters, which is then re-used in the hotel’s gardens. By doing this implementation of treating waste from the hotel, Damie water conservation efforts reduced hotel water use by 75%. Clean technology/innovation: Hotel works closely with local famers and village leaders to develop the best possible way to reclaim the community eroded topsoil.The eroded topsoil came about because of traditional irrigation wate r systems, and monsoon rains, which caused fertile topsoil to flow from the rice paddies and drain into the ocean. The problem of the loss of topsoil loss prompted more farmers to rely on chemical fertilizers to grow their crops. Damai address this issue by building a series of large rock wall filters in the river that ran through the property creating a series of waterfalls. At the bottom of each waterfall was a large pool of water that captured much of the topsoil lost from the seven villages surrounding the hotel.This showed the hotels continued efforts to better the community through is efforts, Damai went on to encouraged the local farms to reclaim their topsoil from the hotel pools to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Sustainability Vision? The hotel had chosen to refrain from promoting its sustainability focus in guest rooms, restaurant and gardens. Damai also decided not to involve guest in an optional linen reuse program in order to maintain its luxury status, even though such programs had become popular in the US and European hospitality industry. . How does Damai’s current sustainability focus compare to the environmental performance criteria listed in the VEPs listed in case Exhibits C-H? Damai did not participate in any VEPs. However, the hotel was considering if it would be beneficial for the hotel to participate in the VEPs. Damai was not able to expand its capacity by constructing additional rooms; the most important way to improve the hotel was to ensure that existing rooms were filled and that the restaurant operated above its current 65% occupancy.By doing this, Damai had integrated itself into local network of eco hotels and eco tours. Damai has different sectors in which its market itself whether marketing through its website which directed environmentally conscious customers to an â€Å"organic Resort† link which help customers learn about the hotel’s sustainability vision. Damai provided travel agents with in formation about the hotel, some the travel agents began to market the hotel as being environmentally conscious by advertising that Damai produces 80% of its food local gardens. 7.Best Green Hotels and others have no financial charge listed. A 10% expense on lodging charge has to be paid by the owner that lists on the Eco Lodge even though the website is free of charge to utilize. The number of rooms and workers determine the fees for Global Green 21. Hotels with less than or equal to five workers or less than ten rooms pay $395, whereas hotels with less than or equal to 50 works or 70 or less rooms pay $1610. An independent external auditor must also be appointed along with the cost of becoming ISO 14001 certified. . I recommend that Damai join the Eco Lodge Program. The program offers ways to tutor guests and staff of environmental protection by recycling trash and water. Partaking in this program allows Damai to network with members who are not wasteful and proved to contribute to environmental protection. It also gives his future customers a way to view Damai on the Internet, which has over 600 travel agencies. Although there is a 10% commission it doesn’t compare to the benefits Damai will receive from being on the site.