It has to be conceded, from the outset, that it is unlikely that many people in Dorset – or even in the entire UK – will have heard of Matthew Walsman, Rohit Verma and Suresh Muthulingam. Even fewer, one suspects, will have read their latest work, The Impact of LEED Certification on Hotel Performance.
As publications go, to be frank, it is not going to feature on too many Christmas wish-lists, let alone trouble the Booker Prize judges or win rave reviews at next year’s Hay-on-Wye literary festival.
Which is not to say that it is without merit. Indeed, its ultimate conclusion has potentially-promising implications for anyone in business today, regardless of industry sector or geographical location.
The three authors appear to have established that environmentalism has turned a corner – “going green” is no longer a way of merely saving money, but a way of actually making the stuff…
Originally intended to raise awareness within the US construction industry of eco-issues, LEED stands for “leadership in energy and environmental design”, and the certification programme was introduced to encourage architects and others to incorporate “green” elements into their buildings.
Although it wasn’t specifically aimed at the hospitality industry, hoteliers latched onto the idea, and started to fit energy-saving lightbulbs and ask guests to re-use their towels.
In short, at least initially, it was all about cost control – there wasn’t any money to be made, but it did make the utility bills slightly less scary. A decade or more later, according to Messrs Walsman, Verma and Muthulingam, it appears that customers are actually prepared to pay for the privilege of helping to save the planet.
The trio, all from Cornell University’s centre for hospitality research, compared the profitability of LEED-certified hotels against that of equivalent properties which have not yet made the green grade. Overwhelmingly, they found, the eco-friendly establishments came out on top.
Of course, their research was necessarily limited – they focussed on fewer than 100 LEED-certified hotels. Of course, they only looked at hotels – that’s the business they’re in. And of course, their findings are entirely US-centric.
However, the implications are clear. All those television clips of bemused polar bears wondering why their ice-capped hunting grounds are shrinking, all those magazine maps showing how rising sea levels will consign East Anglia to a watery grave – they have not been forgotten.
Customers care. Whether you’re a hotelier or a haberdasher, chiropodist or candlestick-maker, now is probably the time to sit up and take notice. The initial eco-outlay may look prohibitive, or even pointless, but consumer trends on the other side of the Atlantic usually end up over here after a while.
If and when this one does, it will pay – quite literally – to be prepared.
Walsman, Verma and Muthulingam may not have produced a best-seller, but they may have come up with a best practice, and a profitable one at that.
As far as the business bottom-line is concerned, going concerns should be going green. It’s a whole lot easier – and more lucrative – than going bust.