Hilton Europe touts energy savings to green travellers

Company claims sustainability is emerging as a "key differentiator" for attracting increasingly environmentally-conscious travellers

Hilton Hotels has bolstered its appeal to environmentally-conscious business travellers this month with the announcement that it has hit energy saving targets for the past year.

The multinational chain said it has delivered energy savings of over 10 per cent last year across more than 80 hotels in Europe as well as cutting water consumption by five per cent, saving nearly 190m litres.

Wolfgang Neumann, president of Hilton Hotels Europe, said that hotels' environmental credentials sustainability will become an increasingly "key differentiator" for customers choosing accommodation. "As more people look to book according to their conscience and beliefs, it is inevitable that hoteliers will need to demonstrate and communicate their commitment to saving the environment," he added.

Hilton’s Europe and Africa-wide sustainability initiative, entitled "we care!", was launched in 2006 and focuses on encouraging hotels and employees to introduce new environmental initiatives and best practices, competing with each other to conserve energy.

The company said carbon emissions measured for every guest have been reduced by nearly 11 per cent in two years, saving over 10,000 tons of CO2 and are on target to achieve the 2009 target of reducing energy consumption by 15 per cent.

The initiative has also resulted in a saving of more than $9m in two years, "proving that being green is smart for business," said Neumann.

As part of the initiative a Paris-based branch of the hotel chain reduced the size of its toilet cisterns and installed water-saving devices in showers, saving around 25 per cent on the hotel's water bill. Similarly, Hilton Izmir installed energy-saving lights in its foyer and lobby and saved 40,000kWh a year, the equivalent of $3,000 annually.