Rezidor launches green initiative

Rezidor, a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, has launched a group-wide energy-saving initiative.
The ambitious and pro-active program Think Planet targets an energy consumption reduction of 25 percent by 2016 in all Rezidor hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The group is currently present in 70 countries where 330+ hotels of the brands Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson and Hotel Missoni are operated, and 100 further properties are under development.
“Think Planet reinforces Rezidor’s position as one of the industry leaders in terms of sustainability. Many of our hotels have already introduced progressive, environmentally friendly measures – now we are spreading these initiatives into all our properties and focus on key energy-saving investments that will have the biggest impact”, said Inge Huijbrechts, director responsible business, at Rezidor.
“At the same time, we are currently faced with significantly rising energy costs in many countries, along with government carbon taxation. Moving forward, reducing our energy consumption will also contribute to maximizing our profits”, said Wolfgang M. Neumann, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Rezidor.
Think Planet has been developed and is driven by a specially formed, interdepartmental and cross-regional team at Rezidor – with representatives from Technical Services, Operations, Purchasing, Finance, and Responsible Business.
The program’s first phase, a company-wide energy audit, has already been carried out and resulted in a general Energy Action Plan listing the group’s top energy priorities.
In hotel operations, Think Planet focuses on creating smart energy habits – such as switching off lights & equipment, turning heating and cooling to eco-mode, and reporting energy related issues that request attention and preventive maintenance.
“We focus on energy saving investments with a return on investment up to 7 years”, explained Inge Huijbrechts.
The energy saving results are monitored and verified through monthly reports on environmental key performance indicators.