The FINANCIAL — The Novotel hotel group entered into an agreement with Green Globe, the leading Benchmarking and Certification programme for the tourism and hospitality industry, to achieve worldwide certification of the network's 400 hotels across 61 countries, including the 22 Novotel hotels and resorts in Australia, and five in New Zealand.
According to ehotelier.com, the Green Globe programme is managed by Brisbane based EC3 Global, the commercialisation and adaptation division of the Sustainable Tourism Co-Operative Research Centre, whose research programme is overseen by 17 of Australia's leading universities.
Green Globe is the only international Benchmarking and Certification programme based on Agenda 21 principles. It provides a framework for environmental and social performance improvement through independent third party verification.
In July 2007 Novotel commenced the rollout of Green Globe with a pilot programme that involved 28 hotels in 13 countries across five continents. The countries are: Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Switzerland, France, Brazil, Ivory Coast, India, China, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.
The countries involved were Australia, New Zealand,: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Brazil, the Ivory Coast, India, China, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia.
At present, Novotel has 4 Green Globe Certified hotels: Novotel Lyon Part Dieu, Novotel London Tower Bridge, Novotel Benoa Bali and Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. The Novotel Atlantis Shanghai is in the process of being awarded Certification.
Each hotel will be assessed on 10 key performance areas in order to guarantee, among other things, better waste management, air quality improvement and controlled water and energy consumption. Thus, Novotel actively joins the fight against global warming.
Each hotel is to undergo an annual Onsite Certification Audit as part of the pilot programme in the initial year, and then every two years.
Novotel aims to have all 28 pilot properties achieving Certification by June 2008. Following this Novotel will move on the 2nd phase of its long-term commitment by extending this Certification process to all its 400 hotels over the next 2 years.
By 2010 all Novotel hotels shall have implemented an environmental approach which is in compliance with the Green Globe Company Standard, With this commitment, Novotel, reaffirms its primary goal: to be – and to remain- the benchmark in terms of hotel innovation.
And in so doing, the hotel chain is proving that it has always shared the visionary values of writer Antoine de Saint Exupéry: "We don't inherit the Earth from our ancestors: we borrow it from our children".
David Mazitelli, Chairman of EC3 Global commented that "the engagement of Novotel with EC3 Global and their goal to have 400 Novotel hotels Certified under the Green Globe Company Standard has set new standards for the hospitality industry. Their foresight and commitment to the environment should be applauded.
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