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Lobby View
Fulfilling a social responsibility
There are two kinds of
hotels: some who are located in the metros amidst the hurry burry of the continental
life and yet are ecologically sensitive, and others who are located at hill stations
but show little respect for nature. They eventually suffer legal actions for violating
ecological laws. Commitment to protect the environment and maintaining the ecological
balance therefore is more in the minds of the management rather than the location
of hotels.
Progressive hotel managements accord importance
to environment protection; the biggest service they do is prevent pollution by
avoiding indiscriminate discharge of wastes, stop commercial exploitation, show
concern to open spaces, do gardening, treat septic tanks, do sewage treatment,
follow building rules, avoid use of chemical detergents and pesticides, save energy
like electricity, diesel, petrol, LPG and firewood, besides, of course, water.
In other words, just by following these simple rules, hotels can become eco-hotels.
The
corporate social responsibility of hotels towards the environment is not to simply
follow ecological laws but also to create necessary awareness among others. Every
hotel is required to do this even as it conducts normal business; progressive
hotels are doing this in many different ways.
This year
on World Environment Day, Taj Garden Retreat in Chikmagalur - the coffee heartland
of Karnataka - came out with a telling example for many to follow. Led by general
manager, A P Nanaiah, the staff took the guests and students to Karadihally Kaval
forest area and showed them the actual habitation of flora and fauna accompanied
by Prof Sruthi, environmental professor at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology.
This education of nature gave students a direct feel of the environment and was
a welcome change to the classroom lectures.
Then came the
direct involvement of students with Prof Sruthi exposing them to various seeds
and explaining their significance and care. All students were handed over a packet
of seeds to plant them at their homes. To ensure a commitment from them, they
were given a postcard on which they were asked to write what they will do for
the environment. These postcards will be sent back to them after a few months
to ask if they have been doing what they had pledged to do.
These
postcards which were made in-house carried several useful messages: 'Too many
cars pollute the air, 'Use both sides of the paper', 'If you see a trash on the
ground, put it in a trash can', 'Don't leave the water running while you brush
your teeth', 'Turn off your lights and TV when you leave the room', etc.
A P Nanaiah, GM of Taj Garden Retreat, Chikmagalur, said, "We planted saplings
of neem trees in the hotel campus. We tell our foreign guests that this is the
species that has sustained Indian tradition for over 2,000 years."
The staff at Taj Garden Retreat in Coonoor, Nilgiris, went to the century old Coonoor
railway station and made the station manager plant a tree sapling in the garden
maintained by the hotel. Passengers alighting from the Nilgiri Mountain Railway
(a UNESCO World Heritage Site) were pleasantly surprised when the hotel staff
distributed tree saplings among them. In all, they distributed some 200 saplings,
but more importantly, they gave them pamphlets that explained how the saplings
must be planted and protected.
Oriental Hotels also initiated
a tree planting drive among its guests. Its MD says, "At Taj, such projects
are a round-the-year commitment but we use June 5 to remind us of our responsibility
so that we can leave a better Earth to our future generations. We maintain parks,
green traffic islands, fountains and gardens in many places, apart from the hotel
campus. This year, we enabled a tree planting programme as this coincides with
the UN theme - stop desertification. Deforestation leads to desertification while
planting trees helps aforestation. Distributing saplings for free helps more people
follow suit."
The writer is a freelance columnist
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