When sustainability makes end meet
How and why is the accommodation and hotelier industry compelled to invest in energy efficiency.
The meeting will focus on:
- introduction to sustainability
- regulatory framework
- energy saving and sustainability
- practical examples of energy saving
- how to finance the business
The current steady context of generalised crisis inevitably leads to a tough and ruthless natural selection among enterprises: the survivors will be the most innovative and virtuous businesses, capable of implementing effective solutions (competitive positioning) which are also efficient (costs), to overcome short term difficulties and are capable of investing in the future with a view to durability. Energy saving, profitability and cost restraint, ethics, environment, corporate responsibility and - more generally – sustainability, have become indispensable features so as to stay in the market and to relaunch the competitive positioning of one’s business provided that: the organisation is able to generate lasting profits through the sustainable management of all its resources; and that the market acknowledges and emphasises such ability. The objective of the meeting is to give a practical answer, through examples and, where possible, quantitative data, to the above-mentioned questions and to define the term ‘sustainability’ in the management of the hotelier sector (going beyond the frequently abused concept of Sustainable Tourism and distinguishing from it) in order to outline a business development strategy: on the opportunities of cost reduction, introducing the green building and energy saving strategy; the renewed capability to find capitals and the related exploitation of the competitive position acquired, focussing on efficacy, image, quality of the service and the ability to differentiate the product. But how to give shape to ‘financiable’ projects? How does one obtain financing? What are the conditions applied by banks to Italian businesses? How long does it take to amortise investments and what are the financial costs for businesses?
