Energy Efficiency Day: What sustainable hotels look like

Did you know that 5th March is Energy Efficiency Day? Here at Hotels VIVA, we’d like to celebrate it by telling you all about the activities and initiatives we carry out on a daily basis as sustainable and environmentally-friendly hotels.

The search for energy efficiency is an essential goal for companies in all sectors, and it’s vital that we achieve a balance between business excellence and social commitment.

But what is energy efficiency and why is it so important?

Energy efficiency basically means using less energy to carry out the same activity or service. For example, an LED bulb is more efficient than a conventional incandescent bulb because it requires less energy to generate the same amount of light. 

This same principle could be applied to air conditioning, lighting or irrigation systems, hot water supply, household appliances and, basically, to all processes that require energy in some form or another.

Energy efficiency is also a way for companies and businesses to grow and expand, as they follow a sustainable business model in which people and respect for the environment play an increasingly important role.

In this sense, efficiency creates added value and income in the company, but it also enables us to establish processes and systems that help us to satisfy customers and employees’ expectations and needs more effectively. 

World Energy Efficiency Day is celebrated on 5th March, and it invites us to reflect on how efficient our energy use really is, and we’d like to share some of the ways we’re making our hotels more sustainable. 

After all, small gestures such as putting timers and flow reducers in the showers, or replacing old bulbs with LED lamps are, without a doubt, very beneficial for all of us.

VIVA: Healthy sustainable hotels

Sustainable hotels include a balance between the three dimensions of sustainable development (environmental, social and economic) in their design and management.

These hotels are recognized by their willingness to help reduce their carbon footprint, respect the environment and surroundings, and manage the natural resources and energy they need to run more efficiently.

This isn’t an issue we should take lightly. According to the World Tourism Organisation, hotels and other types of accommodation account for between 2% and 5% of the global CO₂ emitted by this industry, so it’s clear we must all do our part. 

As you know, Hotels VIVA is a hotel chain based on the island of Mallorca. Our location, in a beautiful natural environment, means that we are particularly careful when it comes to caring for and preserving the environment, as well as making sure we offer well-being and equal opportunities to everyone who forms part of our extended family.

VIVA's efforts to make our hotels more sustainable comprise three aspects: environmental commitment, social responsibility and corporate awareness. 

Why do we work on all three of them together? Because, even though changing or adapting our facilities and use of technology is the first step, in order to achieve our objective we also need to establish protocols and carry out awareness campaigns.

One of the initiatives that we have implemented at VIVA is the installation of charging points for electric vehicles in our hotels. This initiative is closely related to the slogan of Energy Efficiency Day 2022, which is connected to the issue of renewable energies and transport and mobility.

We have also undertaken different projects to install photovoltaic panels in our hotels, as well as renewing some of our machinery, household appliances, and devices, opting for those that create energy savings and reduce CO₂ and other polluting gases. In this sense, we have made a firm commitment to biomass in air conditioning, with the installation of much more efficient boilers to replace the old oil-fired boilers.

As a result of these efforts, and considerable investment, is that, between 2017 and 2019, our CO₂ emissions were reduced from 776.92 to 478.3 tonnes, a reduction of almost 40%.

Electricity consumption (kW per stay) was also reduced by almost 1 kW in one year thanks to the use of LED lighting in our hotels and central offices, replacing household appliances with class A efficiency appliances, the use of automatic air conditioning disconnection devices in rooms (when guests open doors or windows) to avoid unnecessary consumption and energy losses, and the establishment of on/off times in accordance with the hours of natural lighting. 

The use of dual-flush push buttons on toilets, single lever taps in showers, efficient showers and sinks with flow reducers, together with drip and sprinkler irrigation, pressure limiters, and watering during the hours of less sunshine to avoid evaporation, as well as posters to raise awareness of water consumption, have all been key to reducing water consumption in VIVA hotels from 0.31 to 0.30 (m3 per stay).

Here at VIVA, we want our hotels to be more sustainable and energy efficient, and we’re working tirelessly to achieve this. Will you help us too?