Google is introducing a way for hotel owners to highlight their sustainability practices to environmentally-conscious consumers. There’s a growing trend of consumers who care about the environmental impact of their purchases. They’re increasingly seeking out information to help them make more informed and responsible decisions.
Instructions
You can add your hotel’s sustainability practices through your Google Business Profile . Choose from a list of options across 4 categories, and indicate if you’ve received any eco certifications. Attributes and certifications will appear on the hotel placesheet in the “Sustainability” section based on what you’ve reported.
Sustainability practices and definitions
These are the attributes which you're able to select in Business Profile. They have been carefully considered and selected to best summarize common and most impactful practices across the industry. Google uses the following terms and definitions to align sustainability practices across our hotels.
Energy efficiency
Your property has an energy conservation program that includes the following:
- Tracks corporate-level scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Commits to implement initiatives to reduce GHG emissions yearly
- Shows an absolute reduction in emissions for at least 2 years
Emissions are either verified by a third-party organization or published in external communications.
Your property sources carbon-free electricity through one or more of the following methods:
- On-site clean energy generation
- Power purchase agreements with clean energy generators
- Green power provided by an electricity supplier
- Purchases of Energy Attribute Certificates, such as Renewable Energy Certiwficatees or Guarantees of Origin
Your property conducts an energy audit every 5 years. The results are either verified by a third-party organization or published in external communications. An energy audit is a detailed assessment of the facility which provides recommendations to existing operations and procedures to improve energy efficiency, available incentives or rebates, and opportunities for improvements through renovations or upgrades.
Examples of organizations that conduct credible third-party audits include: Engie Impact, DNV GL (EU), Dexma, and local utility providers. These organizations often provide energy and water audits.
Your property:
- Doesn’t use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based refrigerants in heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems unless a third-party organization audit shows it's not economically feasible. The CFC-based refrigerants used should have a Global Warming Potential (GWP) less than or equal to 10
- Uses occupancy sensors on HVAC systems in back-of-house spaces, meeting rooms, and other low-traffic areas
Your property installs energy-saving thermostats throughout the building to conserve energy when rooms or areas are not in use. Energy-saving thermostats are devices that control heating and cooling in the building by learning temperature preferences and automatically adjusting to energy-saving temperatures as the default.
The thermostats are automatically set to a temperature between 68-78 °F (20-26 °C), depending on seasonality. In winter, set the thermostat to 68 °F (20 °C) when the room is occupied, lowering room temperature when unoccupied. In the summer, set the thermostat to 78 °F (26 °C) when the room is occupied.
Water conservation
| Towel and linen reuse program | Your property offers a towel and linen reuse program. |
| Water-efficient faucets, toilets, and showers | Your property’s guest rooms have shower heads that use no more than 2 gallons per minute (GPM). |
| Water use audited by an independent organization | Your property conducts a water conservation audit every 5 years. The results are either verified by a third-party organization or published in external communications. A water conservation audit is a detailed assessment of the facility, providing recommendations to existing operations and procedures to improve water efficiency, available incentives or rebates, and opportunities for improvements through renovations or upgrades. Examples of organizations who conduct credible third-party audits include: Engie Impact and local utility providers. These organizations often provide energy and water audits. |
Waste reduction
Your property offers 100% compostable food containers and cutlery. Compostable materials are capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site, such that material is not visually distinguishable and breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass.
Your property has a food waste reduction and donation program aiming to reduce food waste by half. These programs typically use tools such as the Hotel Kitchen Toolkit and others to track waste and measure progress.
Your property bans single-use plastic water bottles and straws.
Your property eliminates the use of Styrofoam in disposable food service items.
Your property:
- Has a reputable recycling program that keeps hazardous electronic parts and chemical compounds out of landfills, dumps and other unauthorized abandonment sites
- Recycles and reuses applicable materials, like certified electronics recyclers
- Safely stores and disposes batteries and lightbulbs
Your property has a hazardous waste management program aligned with GreenSeal and LEED requirements, and meets all regulatory requirements for hazardous waste disposal and recycling. Hazardous means substances that are classified as “hazardous” by an authoritative body, such as OSHA or DOT, are labeled with signal words such as “Danger”, “Caution”, “Warning”, or are flammable, corrosive, or ignitable.
Requirements:
- The property maintains record of the efforts it made to replace the hazardous substances it uses with less hazardous alternatives.
- An inventory of the hazardous materials stored on-site.
- Products intended for cleaning, dishwashing, laundry, and pool maintenance shall be stored in clearly labeled containers. These containers shall be checked regularly for leaks, and replaced as necessary.
- Spill containment devices shall be installed to collect spills, drips, or leaching of chemicals.
Sustainable sourcing
Your property:
- Doesn’t source seafood from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “avoid” list
- Must source seafood listed as “good alternative”, “eco-certified”, and “best choice”
- Has a policy outlining a commitment to source Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Chain of Custody certified seafood
Your property provides:
- Vegetarian menu options for guests. Vegetarian food doesn’t contain meat, poultry, fish, or seafood
- Vegan menu options for guests. Vegan food doesn’t contain animal products or byproducts
Eco certifications
Eco certifications are granted to hotels that meet sustainability criteria designated by a third-party certification agency. Eco certifications also serve as a signal to help consumers and the broader community know that your hotel is actively working to make a positive environmental impact in the world.
When a hotel is labeled “eco-certified” on Google, it means they have reported earning a certification from an agency that Google has identified as meeting the following standards:
- The agency must use globally recognized and reputed criteria to evaluate the hotel.
- The evaluation must focus on environmental impact from at least these 4 categories:
- Energy efficiency
- Water conservation
- Waste reduction
- Sustainable sourcing
- The agency must conduct an on-site audit to verify the hotel's sustainability practices, or use an independent third party to do so.
List of eco certifications
Currently, the following eco certifications meet our standards. Each has comprehensive and rigorous sustainability criteria that aims to reduce a hotel’s carbon footprint.
- Asian Ecotourism Standard for Accommodations (AESA)
- Biosphere Responsible Tourism Standard
- BREEAM
- Bureau Veritas
- Control Union
- EarthCheck
- Eco-Certification Malta Standard
- Ecotourism Australia’s ECO Certification Standard
- GREAT Green Deal Certification
- Green Globe
- Green Growth 2050 Standard
- Green Key
- Green Key Eco Rating Program
- Green Seal
- Green Star Hotel Standard
- Green Tourism Active Standard
- Hilton LightStay
- Hostelling International’s Quality and Sustainability Standard
- Hoteles más Verdes (AHT) Standard
- ISO 14001
- ISO 50001
- LEED
- Nordic Swan Ecolabel
- Preferred by Nature Sustainable Tourism Standard for Accommodation
- Sustainable Travel Ireland – GSTC Industry Criteria
- Sakura Quality
- TOFTigers Initiative’s PUG Standard
- Travelife Standard for Hotels & Accommodations
- United Certification Systems Limited
- Vireo Srl
- Wyndham Green
