Biodiversity: My Hotel in Action Hotel Manager s Checklist This checklist is designed to guide you in evaluating how many of the practices recommended in this guide have been implemented in your hotel. The results of this assessment can help you determine where your hotel is excelling and what might be your priority areas for improvement. This checklist is divided into six sections, corresponding with the six sections in Part II of the Guide, Taking Action in the Hotel: The first section, Overall Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation Practices, is a good place to begin, allowing a general evaluation of your property that can give you an idea if you are on the right track toward protecting and conserving biodiversity through your actions. The middle four sections, Hotel Restaurants, Guest Rooms and Public Areas, Hotel Souvenir Shops, Hotel Grounds and Gardens, go into more detail about specific actions you can take to protect and conserve biodiversity in each of these different areas of the hotel. The final section, The Destination, offers recommendations on how your hotel can have a wider impact in the surrounding area, supporting local biodiversity conservation efforts and minimizing the impacts of off-site activities and excursions offered by your tour desk. For each specific activity listed below, hotel managers should evaluate the hotel based on whether or not you are in compliance with the recommendation or not. The following rating scale can be useful for determining extent of compliance. Page numbers listed in the checklist correspond to the page of the Guide on which each recommendation appears. Rating scale: 3: Already in compliance 2: Nearly in compliance 1: Strategy in place, not yet implemented 0: Not yet The guide Biodiversity: My Hotel in Action is available from www.iucn.org/publications
1. Overall Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation Practices Action Page Rating You have appointed a senior manager and/or green team to take responsibility for your biodiversity actions. You have set clear and realistic targets, and are monitoring and reporting on progress towards reaching those targets. You have made it simple for staff, clients, suppliers and stakeholders to do what is asked of them. You have provided staff with any necessary training, and asked them for their ideas and suggestions for biodiversity actions that your hotel could support. You have created incentives for staff to support biodiversity conservation, e.g. through a Green Employee of the Month award. You have taken the time to explain your hotel s actions and motivations behind those actions to staff, guests, suppliers and stakeholders. You have integrated the principles and recommendations in this guide into your hotel s existing Environmental Management System. You are monitoring and evaluating progress in all areas. 25 You avoid using resources that are produced or harvested by methods that are unregulated or particularly damaging to biodiversity. You encourage certification schemes for sustainably produced food. 25 You specify requirements for the goods and services that you obtain from your suppliers, and choose suppliers based on their compliance with your standards. You inform your clients about the characteristics of local biodiversity and what they can do to protect and enjoy that biodiversity. You have worked to raise awareness about your contributions and the importance of local biodiversity among relevant stakeholders in the destination, including other businesses, public authorities, conservation organizations, local communities and managers of protected areas. Wherever possible, the products that you use come from sustainably harvested and/or sustainably produced sources and, if relevant, are certified and labeled under certification schemes that include biodiversity criteria. You avoid using any items from threatened species or populations. 25 24 24 24 24 24 24 25 25 25 25 25 25
2. Hotel Restaurants Action Page Rating You have made your menu more biodiversity-friendly by: avoiding purchasing species that are locally, regionally or globally depleted, except from sustainable sources; choosing food items that have been certified by sustainable, fair trade or organic certification schemes; offering regional dishes based on locally produced foods. You are educating your restaurant staff about: biodiversity issues related to the production and harvesting of food; the need to regularly check local regulations; helping customers understand and appreciate foods sourced from sustainable sources. You have a kitchen garden, greenhouses and/or orchard, either within the hotel grounds, or on another site. 29 29 29 You have explained to your current and potential suppliers that you want to purchase foods from sustainable sources, asked them how you can work together to put this goal into practice, and offered them advice on improving their practices. You encourage and support certification schemes for sustainably produced products. You seek out suppliers who use sustainable packaging materials and systems, such as natural cork. You assist local food producers and suppliers to produce and store food supplies so that they meet your quality requirements and demand. 30 30 30 30 You are informing your customers about: issues concerning sustainable food production, harvesting methods that promote biodiversity conservation, sustainable labels and the origin of food; the benefits of sustainable food for themselves, both in terms of health and improved taste. You offer learning opportunities to guests, such as: a small exhibition of local products or photos of local food production and harvesting equipment; invitations to visit the kitchen gardens, greenhouses and/or orchards. 30 30
3. Guest Rooms and Public Areas Action Page Rating WOOD You have identified the wood products purchased by your hotel that may negatively impact high-biodiversity forests, and substituted alternative wood products from sustainable sources. You provide staff with information about: the need to obtain wood from sustainably managed sources and to regularly check local forestry regulations; sustainable wood used in your hotel and activities your hotel takes to support tree planting and sustainable forestry. You re-use wood whenever possible. 36 36 36 You avoid purchasing timber and forest-derived products from species that are locally, regionally or globally depleted, that are of unknown origin, or from areas which are over-harvested, and/or that have been harvested illegally. You have explained to your suppliers that you want to purchase wood from regulated and sustainable sources, and asked them how you can work together to put this objective into practice. 38 38 You support local projects that: promote sustainable forestry; help communities use fuel wood more efficiently or adopt alternative renewable energy supply options. 38 You encourage guests to support sustainable forestry by: providing information on how you integrate biodiversity concerns in relation to wood; promoting visits to local forest conservation projects; collecting donations for local forest conservation projects. AMENITIES AND SPA PRODUCTS 38 You have ensured that all plant-based products come from plants used that have been harvested sustainably, have been collected from cultivated sources that do not endanger wild sources of supply, and are not endangered and/or listed under CITES. You explain to your staff the hotel s commitment in relation to the use of medicinal and aromatic plants in amenities and spa products and help them to communicate with customers about these issues. 38 38
Action Page Rating You choose products from reputable sources that are informed about conservation and sustainable use issues, and which operate in accordance with international sustainability standards. You have explained to your suppliers that you want to purchase plantbased spa products that come from sustainable sources, and work with them to put this standard into practice. You support local communities and producers to build their own businesses for sustainable harvest and cultivation of plants for plant-based body-care products, and purchase their products. 40 40 40 You educate your clients by: explaining the importance of protecting medicinal and aromatic plants; offering information about where they can purchase sustainably produced medicinal and aromatic plant products; using the wall space in the spas to showcase local culture and biodiversity through photographs and artifacts. ORNAMENTAL PLANTS AND ANIMALS 40 You have created a list of hotel activities that risk introducing alien invasive species, and explained to your staff your programme for limiting the use of invasive species. You have inventoried existing invasive species in or around your hotel and obtained advice on how to remove them. You avoid the use of locally, regionally or globally threatened species. You have checked that ornamental plants and animals used in your hotel are not listed as invasive species, and you give preference to the use of alternative native species. You have ensured that any ornamental plants and animals that your hotel purchases have been sustainably cultivated or collected. You have engaged local experts in the design and decoration with plants of the hotel s public areas, and provision of explanatory signs. Within the local community you are: raising awareness about the problems that invasive species cause and ways of controlling them; supporting programmes to eradicate invasive species and promote conservation and educational use of native species. You inform your clients about: how you integrate biodiversity concerns in the decoration of the hotel with ornamental plants and live animals displays;
Action Page Rating problems of invasive species, and how to control them; how to treat animals present on your premises.
4. Hotel Souvenir Shops Action Page Rating You check regularly with local authorities and associations for species added to CITES lists and national legislation controlling or banning trade in threatened species. You train your staff to communicate about the issues concerning illegal trade in endangered species, CITES and local regulations to protect endangered species. 43 43 You raise awareness among shop managers or leaseholders by: informing them about issues concerning illegal trade in endangered species, species on the CITES lists and regulations controlling or banning trade in threatened species; ensuring they understand that they should not display, stock or sell such species or products derived from these species. 43 You work with local organisations and within the community to: encourage local artists to develop souvenirs from sustainable materials, including recycled products; raise awareness about threatened species and the need to protect them. develop programs to control use of local threatened species and their parts in production of souvenirs and other items. You raise awareness among clients by: providing information about illegal trade in endangered species and trade restrictions under CITES and/or national legislation; displaying a sign in your shop saying that customers can buy CITESproof souvenirs and articles there selling toy animals of charismatic local species that are under threat for their children. 43 43
5. Hotel Grounds and Gardens Action Page Rating and Actions with Suppliers Within your hotel grounds and gardens, you are: planting local indigenous species and/or drought-resistant species, purchased from local greenhouses wherever possible; checking that any plants used in your grounds and gardens are not listed as invasive species; planting local, native tree and bush species to create shaded areas and new habitats. You have made your grounds more wildlife-friendly by: encouraging wildlife in your hotel grounds; ensuring that hotel lighting does not adversely affect wildlife, particularly if your hotel is situated near sensitive wildlife sites; using sound insulation and reduce noise at source, to limit disturbance to wildlife If there are exotic animals on your grounds, you have all the relevant national permits that may be required for purchasing and keeping them, and they are obtained from sustainable sources. You have worked with local conservation organisations, universities or botanical gardens to: design a biodiversity-friendly garden or hotel grounds; develop explanatory signs on the various species; develop nature trails and biodiversity activities for children and their families. In gardens and public areas around your hotel, you: encourage the use of local indigenous species and incorporation of wildlife areas; support programmes to eradicate alien invasive species. You support the development of local biodiversity businesses, such as indigenous tree nurseries, and incorporate the products of these businesses in your supply chain. You offer learning opportunities to guests, such as: information on how you have integrated biodiversity concerns in the design and management of the grounds; signs on trees and in flower beds with names of indigenous species; nature trails with interpretive leaflets and biodiversity information; a map of the garden, with various species and opportunities for bird and wildlife watching included in the hotel directory; sign boards on the hotel beach about local biodiversity.
6. The Destination Action Page Rating SUPPORTING LOCAL BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION EFFORTS You encourage your staff to support local conservation efforts by: organising activities to support environmental associations; providing information on local biodiversity and ecosystems, and about the partners your hotel is working with; and organising and participating in campaigns to clean up local habitats. You use your contribution of staff time and other resources to leverage community interest and support for nature conservation. 49 49 You are raising awareness among your suppliers by: providing information about the partners your hotel is working with and their biodiversity protection activities; explaining that you want to set up partnerships for conservation and sustainable use and asking for their input and support. 49 You work with destination management organisations and local authorities to: 49 raise awareness of the importance and value of protecting biodiversity for the destination, its communities and businesses; encourage them to designate and adequately manage areas for biodiversity conservation; encourage them to support local businesses whose products and services value biodiversity; encourage the development and implementation of voluntary practices and codes of conduct for hoteliers that will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in your destination You support the projects of organisations and public authorities that improve biodiversity and tourism at sites your guests like to visit by: creating opportunities for your guests to visit these projects; providing rooms and catering for meetings and other functions of local conservation initiatives and/or in-kind prizes for lotteries and other fundraising activities; assisting with informal technical advice on marketing and product development to help them set up revenue-generating tours; offering training sessions on business skills, management and accounting systems, and tourism and hospitality; providing direct financial support or suggesting possible funding sources.
Action Page Rating You offer learning opportunities to your guests, such as: information about the partnerships your hotel supports, and about the partners that you are working with; the option to visit projects your hotel is supporting; opportunities to make donations to projects; volunteer opportunities to participate in activities linked to projects with your partners or those your hotel supports. ACTIVITIES AND EXCURSIONS OFFERED AT THE TOUR DESK You ensure that any activities that are provided by your hotel are wellmanaged in terms of protection of biodiversity, comply with relevant local, national and international standards, and are conducted by fully trained staff who are able to monitor the impacts of tourist activities. You have appointed and trained Biodiversity Information Focal Points among your staff to provide first-hand information to your clients. You offer your guests up-to-date information on opportunities for wildlife watching and visits to conservation projects, protected areas, nature reserves, or areas of high biodiversity value. You ask staff for their ideas on improving existing activities, or possible new activities that you could offer. You work with local tour agencies and operators to offer tours and activities that are well-managed in terms of protection of biodiversity, comply with relevant local, national and international standards, and are conducted by fully trained staff. You encourage small enterprises to increase their benefit from tourism and sustainable use of biodiversity, by building local businesses to develop sustainable production/harvesting of biological resources that you use in your hotel and/or provide tours for your guests. You support tours developed and managed by community organisations and local enterprises. You use qualified guides from local communities, and help provide them with any training and/or equipment they may need. You work with destination management organisations and local authorities to ensure that regulations for wildlife watching and nature-based tourism are disseminated by all hotels and other service providers in the destination. You work with organisations offering nature-based activities to avoid overcrowding and overuse of sites. 51 51
Action Page Rating You offer learning opportunities to your guests by: providing information about local natural resources and their value, and about the damage to natural resources that can be caused by diving, snorkelling and other recreational activities; recommending responsible providers of recreational activities, and providing guidelines for responsible behavior; providing information on environmentally sustainable behaviour that can allow guests to minimise their adverse impacts on natural environments and wildlife; producing cards illustrating best practices in recreational activities; developing ad hoc interpretation programs that will help your clients better understand the value of local biodiversity. You ensure trained guides are available to help guests appreciate local biodiversity, and require that guests be accompanied by guides in sensitive areas. 51 51