International Tourism Partnership (ITP) is launching the Hotel Water Measurement Initiative (HWMI) today (August 30), with 18 global operators having worked together on the project.
The global hotel groups include Accor, Carlson Rezidor, Diamond Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, the Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Marriott International, MGM Hotels & Resorts, NH Hotel Group, Soneva, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces, Whitbread, and Wyndham Worldwide Resorts.
HWMI is the result of 18 months’ work to develop a free methodology and calculation tool which will enable hotel companies and individual properties to measure and report on water consumption in a consistent way.
ITP member companies collaborated to develop the methodology, working with KPMG as technical consultants and with feedback from a stakeholder steering group of global experts, including the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Water Footprint Network, CDP and CEO Water Mandate.
Fran Hughes, director of International Tourism Partnership, said: “The hotel industry identified water as an issue it urgently wanted to address, and whilst many hotels are already measuring their water consumption, the use of different methods makes it impossible to benchmark. By bringing these leading companies together we have created a free tool which will ensure all hotels can measure their water use in exactly the same way.”
Similar to ITP's HCMI (Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative) tool, now used by over 24,000 hotels globally, HWMI will allow any hotel anywhere in the world to measure and report on the water footprint of a hotel stay, meeting or event in exactly the same way.
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The methodology and tool are free to download and use by any hotel no matter its size, type or location.
In 2013 ITP commissioned and released a report from SIWI on global water risk for hotels which identified that hotels in key growth regions, Brazil, India, China and the Middle East, are particularly at risk from water scarcity and poor quality water.
In addition, research has shown that hotel guests around the world may use 10 times or more the amount of water used on average daily by local people cutting their water use.
Hoteliers who wish to benefit from the free tool and begin measuring their water consumption in the standardised manner agreed by the industry can download it here: http://tourismpartnership.org/water-stewardship/
A #WorldWaterWeek Twitter chat is also being hosted on September 1pm from 1.30pm (BST), along with two free webinars on September 8, for hoteliers keen to know more about HWMI and how to use it.
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