Applications for Macau Green Hotel Awards 2013 to open on Monday

2013-6-27

From：Macau Daily Times

The winners of the Macau Green Hotel Awards 2012 gathered yesterday at Macau’s World Trade Center to receive their prizes. Organized by the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA), the awards were given to nine local hotels, including Sands Macau, Hotel Lisboa, MGM Macau and also the two-star hotel East Asia. The Macau Green Hotel Awards 2013 will kick off this coming Monday, when the application period begins.
The director of DSPA, Cheong Sio Kei, emphasized the positive outcomes of the hotels’ recent environmental protection measures: “Along these six editions, the awarded hotels achieved success at several levels, ranging from the conservation of energy and water saving to the reduction of solid waste.”
According to the information provided by the hotels, Cheong Sio Kei revealed that between 2007 and 2012, “each hotel room decreased the consumption of electricity by about 25,000 kWh, saving around MOP30,000 in costs.” He added that in four-star hotels, “the water consumption was reduced by about 4.7 percent in each guest room, saving MOP156,” while in five-star hotels the reduction of water consumption reached 12 percent. Regarding the reduction of solid waste, participating four-star hotels were able to reduce it by about 35 percent, and the five-star hotels by 28 percent. The director of DSPA concluded these results mean “the Macau Green Hotel Awards have contributed to stimulating energy conservation and reduce emissions, while enhancing a competitive environment and therefore a sustainable development of this sector.”
The application period of the Macau Green Hotel Awards 2013 is initiated this coming Monday and finishes on August 16. This year, the category division of hotels was removed from the competition, meaning “all licensed hotels and guesthouses, legally providing their services, are allowed to submit an application”.
The organization will also introduce certain mandatory indicators, “to make sure the hotels meet the minimum environmental requirements.” Finally, a new title will be added, awarding a hotel with “The Merit Prize”, alongside existent Gold, Silver and Bronze awards.
In the 2012 edition, the Sands Macau, Hotel Grand Lisboa and Hotel Guia won the Silver prize in the first category. The MGM Macau, Hotel Grand Waldo, Riviera Macau, Hotel Gold Dragoon and Rossio won Bronze in the first category. The Hotel East Asia was awarded with the Prize Macau Green Hotel in the second category, being the first time a two-star hotel entered the competition.
A representative of East Asia emphasized how satisfied the hotel personnel are with the prize, adding that “they worked toward a more effective water saving plan, by changing the hotel taps system.”
“We were able to reduce the electricity consumption by 20 percent, and we also invested in marketing measures to promote a more greener attitude,” she stated.
The president of Hotel Grand Waldo explained that they enforced measures to save energy and water. Furthermore, the hotel personnel “gathered guests’ opinions on the matter”.
“We have guests from all over the world, so we asked them for their own opinions regarding what the hotel could do to become ‘greener’,” he said.
The Macau Green Hotel Awards are organized by DSPA in partnership with the Macau Government Tourist Office (DST), alongside several associations of the hotel sector. Founded in 2007, the awards aim to stimulate a continuous environmental attitude within hotels in Macau. The awards were created to enhance healthy competition and encourage sustainable development of the hotel sector.  Staff reporter

Copyright@Macau Daily Times