Innovation hotel

Bed linen

Some hotels are now conserving water by encouraging guests not to expect freshly washed bed linen every day – either by stating they'll wash sheets at certain intervals unless asked otherwise, or by letting guests ask for their sheets to be changed less frequently.

Hotels can also save energy by doing their laundry at a lower temperature. Washing at 40°C degrees rather than 60°C uses a third less energy.

Natural carpeting

Hotels can provide natural carpeting made from wool, sisal or coir. These materials have a reduced environmental impact whereas synthetic carpets and vinyl rely on energy-intensive manufacturing processes and use non-renewable resources.

Recycling bin

Recycling bins around a hotel encourage a more responsible approach to refuse disposal, making it as easy for guests to recycle newspapers and cans as to throw them away.

Energy-efficient light bulbs

Compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less energy than regular bulbs. By replacing a regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent one, hotels can reduce 68 kg (150 lb) of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year – that's half a ton of CO₂ over the life of each bulb.

Major innovations during the past decade now mean that bulbs use considerably less energy but provide the same level of illumination.

Thermostat

Programmable thermostats help hotels cut back on the energy they use for heating and air conditioning.

Hotels can pre-set temperature ranges, turn down the temperature at night and adjust it during the day.

Setting a thermostat just two degrees cooler in the winter or two degrees warmer in the summer saves 2,000 lb (909 kg) of CO₂ a year.

LCD TV

Even TVs with similar picture quality vary widely in how much power they use. A TV with LCD technology can be up to a third more energy efficient than a plasma TV.

Displacement air conditioning

A displacement air conditioning system uses less energy than a window unit – generating energy savings over a year equivalent to taking 50 cars off the road.

It works by slowly introducing cool air into the hotel room at ground level. The cool air slowly rises until it meets heat sources – like people or computer equipment – and is eventually extracted.

It's not just more energy efficient, it's quieter than a window unit system too.

Key card

Having a key card to activate room services can prevent thousands of pounds of CO₂ emissions each year – simply by ensuring that electrical equipment like TVs and videos are turned off until they're needed.

An energy control unit by the door controls the room's electrical equipment. Guests use the credit-card sized key card both to open the room door and to activate the unit.

Furniture from recycled materials

By providing furniture made from sustainably sourced or recycled materials, hotels are helping to save energy and resources.

Natural materials are not automatically more sustainable than synthetic ones. It depends on the environmental impact of the material over its whole lifecycle – whether it is taken from a sustainable source, how it is gathered, processed and transported and whether it can be recycled and used again.