Thanks to the pandemic, subjects like sustainability, wellness and pollution have come to the forefront for all industries. However, folks at ITC have always been ahead of the game with their focus on ‘responsible luxury’ and have our undivided attention now as they become the largest hotel in the world and commercial building to achieve the LEED Zero Carbon Certification accorded by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council).
Zubin Songadwala, general manager, ITC Grand Chola, area manager — South, ITC Hotels, explains, “Traditionally, luxury and sustainability never went hand in hand. However, at ITC Hotels our mantra has always been sustainable and responsible luxury! In fact even as the government sets 2050 as a target for zero carbon emission — we are already there!” He further adds how the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Zero Carbon certification for ITC Grand Chola and ITC Windsor is one step closer to creating a better world for all of us where buildings are actually generating more energy than they consume and removing more carbon than they create.
Incidentally, in March 2021, ITC Windsor, Bengaluru became the first hotel in the world to achieve the LEED Zero Carbon Certification. Earlier this week, the certificate was awarded to the team in Chennai and we caught up with P Gopalakrishnan, managing director, GBCI — SE Asia and Middle East markets, who was in town for the occasion. “India has continuously maintained its position as the fourth largest market in the world for LEED — a reflection of the strides that the country is making in healthy, sustainable, and resilient building design, construction, and operations.
At the recently conducted United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, India made a landmark announcement to achieve Net Zero by 2070. Everyone has a role to play in the larger scheme of things. Right from the transport an employee might take to work to what a guest has planned for the day — everyone contributes to the carbon footprint of a property. We hope that this consciousness will set in across communities and industries!”
All ITC Hotels that will be built henceforth will be following the LEED programme, we are told.
Numbers that matter:
1) Carbon emission for an occupied room, per night at ITC Hotels, stands at 75 kg CO2 against ITPs 2030 target of 80 kg CO2!
2) 57% of the electrical energy demand is met through renewable sources, offsetting more than 50 million Kg of CO2 emission annually.
3) Renewable energy generated annually by ITC Hotels is enough to light up the National Highway between Srinagar to Kanyakumari (3,656 kms) for a year.
4) The carbon emission avoided annually is equal to carbon footprints generated by flying across the globe more than 4,000 times.
5) They treat and recycle enough water annually to irrigate 1 lakh trees which subsequently aids in sequestering approximately 95,000 tonnes of CO2.
6) ITC Hotels have reduced usage of ‘Single use plastic’. Approximately 2.5 lakh kg/year of single use plastic is eliminated which helps in reducing 6.25 lakh kg of CO2 emission.