On January 8, 2015, The Peninsula Tokyo continued its position as Japan’s leading hotel in sustainable luxury by attaining its internationally recognized EarthCheck Silver Certified status for its management systems and practices in support of energy conservation and sustainable property management. The achievement follows on from the hotel’s garnering of Bronze Certified status last year.
Headquartered in Queensland, Australia, EarthCheck is a specialist organization that assists businesses, communities and governments in their efforts to protect and enhance the environmental, economic and social sustainability of their tourism initiatives.
In presenting the certification, founder and CEO, Stewart Moore, announced, “The Peninsula Tokyo is the first luxury hotel in Japan to benchmark and certify through the EarthCheck program. In doing so, it is measuring its performance against best practices and making positive changes to reduce its environmental and social impact.”
A dedicated team at The Peninsula Tokyo worked together with EarthCheck for six months to provide data and information on its practices in order to be benchmarked against EarthCheck’s standards to qualify for Silver Certification. The benchmarking data addressed a range of issues, including environmental impact, occupational health and safety, risk management and corporate social reporting.
EarthCheck’s three-tiered rating of Bronze, Silver and Gold status is premised on the belief that effective benchmarking over time puts rigor and transparency into business processes, benefitting all stakeholders for the long term.
Hotel Manager Mark J. Choon commented, “The Peninsula Tokyo aspires to deliver the highest standard of luxury in a sustainable way. We are honored and proud to achieve such recognition, as it reflects our staff’s commitment to taking action for constant improvement. EarthCheck’s benchmarking allows us to measure ourselves against global industry standards, a valuable resource that gives pointers on where we do well, and where we can do more.”
One initiative taken by The Peninsula Tokyo is the introduction of a silica filtration system to the hotel’s cooling tower. The silica particles, recovered from indigenous volcanic rock, enabled the conservation of more than 1,000 cubic meters, or 5,300 bathtubs’ worth, of water over the course of one year.
Sustainable luxury is a way of life for The Peninsula Hotels and other properties in The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) portfolio. The certification of The Peninsula Tokyo follows the 2014 launch of HSH’s Sustainable Luxury Vision 2020, a blueprint for a new, holistic paradigm that puts sustainability at the heart of the global hospitality group’s business model by documenting more than 50 economic, social and environmental goals it is committed to achieve by 2020. Its aim is to provide a structured framework for the trends that will affect the industry’s future over the long term.
To achieve EarthCheck Silver Certification, a business is required to have a sustainable policy in place and to implement an environmental action plan for proper monitoring and measurements on ten key performance areas: greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency/conservation, freshwater and stormwater resources, ecosystem conservation, social and cultural policies, land use planning and management, air quality and noise control, wastewater management, solid waste management and environmentally harmful substances.
The Peninsula Tokyo will continue to enhance its measures for environmental responsibility and social sustainability on both the management and operational fronts, while maintaining the genuine comfort of the guest experience.
About The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH)
Incorporated in 1866 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00045), The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited is the holding company of a Group which is engaged in the ownership, development, and management of prestigious hotels and commercial and residential properties in key locations in Asia, the United States and Europe, as well as the provision of tourism and leisure, club management and other services. The Peninsula Hotels portfolio comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula Bangkok, The Peninsula Manila, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, and The Peninsula Paris. Projects under development include The Peninsula London and The Peninsula Yangon. The property portfolio of the Group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower and St. John’s Building in Hong Kong; The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 1-5 Grosvenor Place in London, UK, and 21 avenue Kléber in Paris, France. The clubs and services portfolio of the Group includes The Peak Tram in Hong Kong; Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand; Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California; Peninsula Clubs and Consultancy Services, Peninsula Merchandising, and Tai Pan Laundry in Hong Kong.
About EarthCheck
EarthCheck is the world’s leading environmental management and professional services group for the travel and tourism industry. Its flagship product, EarthCheck Certification, has helped clients in more than 70 countries realize over Aus$500 million in operational savings while reducing their footprint on the environment. EarthCheck believes smart business practice and sustainability go hand-in-hand. It focuses on productivity, profitability and performance as well as resource efficiency, eliminating waste and safeguarding the social and natural environment.
For further information, please contact:
Mark K. Kobayashi
Regional Director of Communications, Japan
The Peninsula Hotels
Telephone : +81 (3) 6270 2888
Direct : +81 (3) 6270 2525
Fax : +81 (3) 6270 2608
E-mail : markkobayashi@peninsula.com
Website : http://tokyo.peninsula.com/en/default
News Room : http://news.peninsula.com/EN/THE-PENINSULA-TOKYO/NEWS
Image Gallery : http://news.peninsula.com/EN/IMAGE-GALLERY/THE-PENINSULA-TOKYO
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