At Langham Place we love having fun, but when it comes to the environment it’s time to get serious. Hong Kong only has eight years until all its landfills are expected to be full! Following is a bit about what we’re doing to minimise our impact:
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER
Since 2007 we have employed Jor Fan as a full-time environmental and society manager. Jor’s role is to ensure that Langham Place is always a leader in environmental initiatives. He works with numerous national and international public and government bodies in order to seek greener ways of doing things. He also leads the hotel’s Green Team (volunteers within the hotel who also work to improve our interaction with the environment).
GUESTS OF THE EARTH
Guests of the Earth’ is our environmental guest programme that lets us keep you up-to-date with what we’re doing and also helps us provide tips on how we can all be environmentally friendly.
ENERGY CONSERVATION
We have specially installed heat pumps which recover heat from our chillers. This means we only need to operate our boilers for kitchens and guest rooms only a few days each year
We use double glazed windows to help maintain inside temperatures
Eco-light bulbs are used where service to our guests won’t be affected
Bio-degradable chemicals are used in the laundry process saving energy and water consumption
Our recommendations as ‘Guests of the Earth’:
Make your stay more comfortable by setting your thermostat between 20C – 25.5C
Enjoy the view; use natural lighting during the day time
Remove the key card when you leave your room to save electricity
CARBON AUDIT
We were Hong Kong’s first hotel to participate in the government’s Green Partner – Carbon Audit programme. Initiatives implemented as a result of this audit enabled us to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by 1,900 tonnes over a one year period.
ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE
In May 2010 we were awarded the top hotel award for environmental excellence by Hong Kong’s chief executive Donald Tsang. The Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence, recognised as the most prestigious and reputable, identify the top environmentally responsible companies within various sectors including construction, manufacturing, finance and so forth. Langham Place was awarded ‘Gold’ in the hotels and restaurants sector.
ISO CERTIFICATION
In 2008 we achieved the internationally recognised ISO14001 environmental certification. ISO14001 certification acknowledges that we abide by a stringent environmental management system.
EARTHCHECK BENCHMARKED
At the end of 2009 we achieved the prestigious EarthCheck certification. EarthCheck is the environmental accreditation organisation for the travel and tourism industry and operates in 52 countries. To achieve certification, Langham Place’s environmental procedures concerning aspects such as energy consumption, water saving and waste recycling were analysed and assessed against EarthCheck’s best practice levels. Certification is achieved once an organisation has proven itself to be following best-practice environmental procedures.
Following this, in September 2010, Langham Place was upgraded to ‘Silver’ status reflecting additional environmental initiatives undertaken. We are now seeking ‘Gold’ status, something not achieved by any hotel in Hong Kong to date.