566
Int. J. Business Excellence, Vol. 8, No. 5, 2015
Integrated waste management framework: a business case from hospitality industry DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2015.071278
Somnath Debnath Department of Management, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra – 835215, Ranchi, India Email:
[email protected] Abstract: Environment sustainability in tourism industry is an upcoming area of research that can benefit from integrated approach to waste management. Recent developments in waste management of hospitality sector have experimented with different methods, but less attention has been paid to integrate it as a strategic opportunity in the greening of services. Also, literature from the developing world have contributed with prescriptive and empirical studies on environmental performance of organisations, but limited on-the-ground kind of studies to explore the practical and contextual aspects of implementing waste management as a part of organisational process. This research article is based on a case study conducted in two co-located Ecotel® certified hotels in India and examines the role of waste management as a business strategy. The study has used inputs from extant literature and learning from the case study to propose integrated waste management framework as a business strategy and to shift it stand-alone backend practice, which can help the firms from hospitality sector develop waste management as a part of its competitive differentiator. Keywords: environmental management; waste management; hotel industry; integrated waste management system. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Debnath, S. (2015) ‘Integrated waste management framework: a business case from hospitality industry’, Int. J. Business Excellence, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp.566–583. Biographical notes: Somnath Debnath received his BSc with honours in Physics from the Calcutta University, India and MBA from Walden University, USA. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and associate member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in the field of management from Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, India. His research interests include management accounting, green accounting, and decision sciences. He has extensive service and consulting experience in the fields of cost management, process automations and ERP implementations.
1
Introduction
In recent years, there has been a growth in academic and professional interest concerning the environmental preservation of economic activities. The environmental performance of
Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Integrated waste management framework
567
industrial sector has been a focus of intense study in the last decade and this has resulted in improved visibility of waste, pollution, and end-of-life issues of products and services (Ayuso, 2007). Implementation of environment management system (EMS) has helped the organisations with environmentally conscious decision-making and eco-sensitive business processes (Stasiškienė and Juškaitė, 2007; Viere et al., 2007). However, the lack of policy instruments that would support improved waste management practices (Finnveden et al., 2012), shortage of skill espeacially within small and medium-sized enterprises (Hidalgo et al., 2008), and absence of organisational perspectives in understanding the factors of unsustainable waste practices (Tudor, 2011) have contributed to avoid implementation of efficient waste management practice within firms. So far as the tourism industry is concerned, it can support environmental sustainability by adopting sustainable measures, ensure production of private goods by ‘caring’ for the environment (Biondo, 2012) and develop differentiated services that would generate competitive edge as well as get the support of consumers (Brieu et al., 2013). However, the firms from this sector have not always been supportive of the sustainable practices. In spite of the fact that hospitality and tourism industry is a polluting one (Ball and Taleb, 2011; Rahman et al., 2012) and should consider environmental sustainability seriously, there has been dearth of research to understand the strategic support that is needed by the firms to evolve environmentally sustainable business models. In theory, waste management has been identified as one of the potent strategies that can play a significant role in ‘greening’ the hospitality services, yet the studies on implementation of these strategies established it as a supportive construct (Shamshiry et al., 2011). In addition, limited theoretical models are available to support development of waste management as part of the core strategy of organisations. This article proposes that for the environmental considerations of business to become its unique selling proposition (USP), it has to exist as part of the organisational value chain and imbibe waste management as inherent part of the processes. With the help of a case study conducted in two co-located Ecotel certified business hotels in Mumbai, India, this research article discovers the role of waste management as an integral part of business strategy in hospitality services. Accordingly, a generalised integrated waste management (IWM) framework is proposed in this paper along with the contextual and systemic challenges that could impede its successful adoption. The challenges in adopting IWM and findings from the case study are expected to open new forums for discussion on the applicability of IWM in service industries, in general, and hospitality sector, in particular. To achieve this objective, the rest of the paper is organised in the following manner: The next section covers review of literature on environmental consideration of hospitality industry, normative discourse on the advancements in waste management methodologies and review of its implementations in hotels. The third section covers the research process and case study. Thereafter, findings from the case study are presented, followed by analyses of the contextual challenges. The final section summarises findings of the study and suggestions for future research.
568
2
S. Debnath
Review of literature
2.1 Environmental considerations in hospitality industry The literature on environmental sustainability within hospitality industry has covered studies from different countries, sharing the context specific findings from different region including that of Thailand (Anuwichanont et al., 2011), Greek islands (Karatzoglou and Spilanis, 2010), Mauritius (Prayag at al., 2010), Ghana (Mensah, 2007), and others. Anuwichanont et al. (2011) points to the empirical evidence that supports the view that irrespective of environmental orientations, future travel intentions of customers are positively linked to the destination competitiveness and environmental concerns of the hotels. By adopting pro-environmental attitiude as a business case, tourism sector could support the development of positive externalities of eco-tourism and generate care for environment in tourist services (Biondo, 2012). Prayag et. al, (2010) views environmental sustainability as a serious agenda of action for the management of the hotels. However, tourism firms from underdeveloped countries are yet to develop seriousness in attitude towards environmental concerns of operations (Mensah, 2007). The review of literature evidences growing outlook of research to understand the environmental considerations within the hospitality industry that has been generated by carrying out investigations in the benchmarking opportunities of environmental performances (Ball and Taleb, 2011), energy saving measures that can be experimented in hotels (Chan et al., 2008), solid wastes management practices that can be adopted (Radwan et al., 2010), or competitive environment that exist for green lodging (Jackson, 2010; Lee at al., 2010). Other than that, the attitude of customers and pro-environmental strategies of hotel management have also been studied (Robinot and Giannelloni, 2009; Levy and Duverger, 2010), which has deepened overall understanding of the attitudes of hotel chains towards sustainability in Europe (Bohdanowicz and Martinac, 2003), the practices of management and attitudes of customers towards green hotels in India (Manaktola and Jauhari, 2007), and the green initiatives taken up by the lodging industry in USA (Liu and Sanhaji, 2010). The literature referred above supports the role of environment management in the greening of hospitality industry and the supply chain effects of eco-tourism, and emphasised the role of environmental considerations and its positive influence on the customers’ perceptions towards environmentally sensitive facilities. However, Hunt and Durham (2012) have challenged the growing commoditisation of sustainability certification in tourism sector and the de-link that exists between these certification programmes and on-the-ground realities that the tourists experience. Brieu et al. (2013) have studied the consumer attitude towards sustainable tourism to propose that tourism is benefitted by the environmental care and generates positive image of the facilities, even though it might lead to certain financial and performance related risks. This supports the view that sustainability outlook of hospitality industry cannot remain a fringe issue and the greening of hospitality business drives higher customer loyalty and social acceptance.
2.2 Waste management practices in hospitality industry The environmental impacts of hospitality services are different than that of other industry sectors and would need an innovative approach towards developing sustainable tourism
Integrated waste management framework
569
(Silvestrelli, 2013; Sridhar, 2011). Radwan et al. (2010) have discussed waste management practices in small hotels in UK and the role of Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 to institutionalise the services of authorised waste carriers. Improvising upon the traditional hierarchical model of waste management, the authors have proposed composting as an important method where biotic wastes from hotels would flow directly to the composting facility. A community level composting scheme could support the food wastes from hotels and effectively integrate it as part of solid waste management strategy of the region. Subsequent study on the same subject by Radwan et al. (2012) highlighted that in the absence of effective SWM policies, hotels would rely on landfilling as the only resort, whereas the facilities having effective SWM policies would consider it only as the last resort. On the other hand, Jackson (2010) has proposed green lodging as a way to improve the waste management strategies that would include conscious efforts of management to involve the core operational aspects in greening process. These aspects would include the use of water and energy, air conditioning system (HVAC), goods and services being consumed by the facility and associated hazardous effects, and awareness of employees to reduce waste in all the areas of business. Supporting the argument further, the study of empirical relationship of environmental strategies and its impacts on the performance in Spanish hotels suggests that the quality management system of a hotel can lead to the prevention of defects and waste (Claver-Cortés et al., 2007). In comparison, similar study from Egypt has found the need of effective legislation to support organisations with the much needed impetus to improve the waste generation levels (Ball and Taleb, 2011), whereas integrated waste management practices are recommended as a way to develop sustainable tourism in Langkawi Islands, Malaysia (Shamshiry et al., 2011). Comparing the voluntary approaches of hospitality industry towards sustainability, Ayuso (2007) supports the adoption of code of conduct, best environmental practices, environmental management system, and reward system. The overall performance of these frameworks can be measured by using environmental performance indicators that can link the environmental strategies of hotel to the management control. The measurement and monitoring of operational, environmental, and financial key performance indicators (KPIs) can be become the barometer for effective EMS, one that leads to efficient waste management system and service differentiator for ‘green’ customers (Chung and Parker, 2008). Similar sentiments are echoed by Saito (2013) towards the study of resource usage by the tourism sector in Hawaii to support the view that the availability of information on emissions and resource utilisation levels could help the tourism establishments in the region to improve efficiency and savings.
2.3 Waste management practices in India Municipal solid waste (MSW) service in India is the responsibility of municipal corporations of respective localities and has been characterised in literature as fragmented and labour intensive with poorly prioritised goals, operating with limited participation of private sector, and delivering (mostly) free-of-cost services to the citizens (Kumar et al., 2009; Nunan, 2000; Sharholy et al., 2008). In addition, lack of scientific approach in waste handling, recycling, and treatment facilities is evident (Agarwal et al., 2005; Saini et al., 2012). MSW services cover collection, transportation, and disposal of waste from commercial complexes, households and market areas. The regulations governing disposal
570
S. Debnath
of wastes from commercial and industrial establishments in India are covered under Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. So, commercial establishments (like hotels) and eateries (including restaurants) are dependent on the municipality for disposal of waste. This creates the dependency of waste management practices of commercial sectors on public infrastructure (Mahadevia and Wolfe, 2008). Due to these inevitabilities and the lack of infrastructure, role of waste management within the commercial establishments is limited to the collection and transfer of waste to municipal infrastructure and/or search for recycle options, wherever feasible. In the absence of much needed incentives to implement advanced waste management practices, service industries would not indulge in the adoption of elaborate waste management practices, unless these efforts could lead to significant competitive edge. From the contextual background, dependence on local administration for waste disposal and the lack of support through financial and infrastructural means can be viewed as impediments for Indian organisations to experiment with the new ideas on waste management. The reviewed literature suggests that waste management could be developed into a pro-environmental system, but for that to happen it cannot remain isolated as a backend business process that is limited to collecting and transferring of waste for disposal, without connecting to the overall process framework. It can be argued that for the waste management to contribute positively towards business thinking, it has to become a part of management strategy in developing an entire ecosystem and improve environmental effectiveness of processes. However, the author has failed to locate any such comprehensive model in literature that would provide strategic support to management within the hospitality industry. To sum up, findings from the review of literature indicate that the tourism industry generate considerable waste and emissions (Manaktola and Jauhari, 2007), and accordingly, a strong business case exists to integrate waste management within the startegic outlook of businesses that would support environmental considerations of the hotels. This article proposes IWM as a model to integrate waste management within the business processes in a way that is economically viable, environmentally effective and socially acceptable. The philosophy of such a model is based on the integration and interconnectivity of all the processes in a way so as to minimise waste along the value chain of the business and help firms achieve superior environmental stewardship. Literature on the solid waste management of municipalities has proposed IWM as a strategic outlook in managing its solid wastes (Marshall and Farahbaksh, 2013). This article explores its relevance within the hospitality industry with the help of a case study. Accordingly, the main objective of this research article is to understand the applicability of IWM in hospitality industry, assess its support to the environment management, and seek answers to the following research questions: a
What is the business relevance of adopting IWM for firms in the hospitality sector?
b
Whether IWM-based practices would support the environment management of the firms and improve its environmental performance?
c
How would such practices contribute to the competitive outlook of the firms and be model of business excellence?
Integrated waste management framework
3
571
Research design
3.1 Research method The study of waste management in a forward-looking organisation would overlap with the organisational practices and strategic vision of management, which cannot be studied from a distance. Also, empiricism would not contribute to understand the challenges of incorporating environmental considerations as part of the waste management along with the factors that would support its emergence as a successful business strategy. The review of literature supports the view that such a study would have to be studied within a contextual framework that would allow the natural setting to study the events in-depth, observe it for a longer duration, and understand the interplay of different variables (Darke et al., 1998). As a result, on-the-ground kind of study is necessitated to conceptualise a framework that is suitable for hospitality services to implement and could be expanded as part of practice. Young (1999) has established that field research is playing important roles in contemporary researches practices to understand the ground realities of institutional practices. The case study referred in here has used inductive approach to build the theory by converging the data and facts gathered from the site and supporting it with viable constructs from the literature. In order to retain objectivity, the findings are based on the observations of the study and abstracted to conceptualise the framework. Considering that fact that IWM framework within the hospitality sector is yet to find a place in research and practice, the study is largely exploratory and based on the constructive realism (pragmatic approach). A pragmatism approach takes middle ground between positivist and intepretivist ontology and accepts the objective reality of the events, but would need to be theorised through the construct(s) that is/are meaningful, repeatable, and of practical relevance (Christie et al., 2000). The generalisability of the research is maintained by confining the study within the area of interest (Lee and Lings, 2008), i.e., to develop contextual understanding of waste management capabilities of the firm and its assimilation as part of the organisational strategy.
3.2 Project site The study is carried out at two co-located hotels (five-star and three-star) in the western suburbs of Mumbai, India (CHS facilities, hereafter). The first part of the study covered onsite study to understand the organisational and operational structure of the facilities that resulted in 10–12 visits spread over a period of three months. Questions related to the working of the facilities and processes were covered through semi-structured and unstructured interviews with departmental contacts. Subsequently, operational data was gathered at quarterly intervals to cover the performance of the facilities, section of which is discussed here (April–December 2012). The CHS facilities are Ecotel certified units, which is a certification of environmental and social leadership in hotel/hospitality business (UNEP.org, 2012).
572
S. Debnath
3.3 Operational details The study mapped the processes of the hotel and collected data on stocks and flow resources and waste to understand the nature of environmental aspects. The outline of the service environment (gate-to-gate cycle) is detailed in the block diagram (Figure 1). Both the facilities are full service hotels and offer boarding/lodging facilities with boutique restaurant, bar, and lounge along with other standard facilities, including banquet arrangements and conference halls (Concepthospitality.com, Welcome to CHPL Hotel and Resorts). Guest service lifecycle includes the service offerings that would consume materials, water, energy resources and generate waste, while mitigation activities of the facility would reduce the environmental impacts. The dining facility of in-house restaurants is open to walk-in customers as well. Similarly, the banquet arrangements and conference halls are open for rentals to the business firms. Figure 1
4
Operational layout and integrated waste management (see online version for colours)
Results
IWM starts with the facility design and extends into the operational aspects of the organisation (following a top-down approach). The structural elements of facility design cover building, layout and fixtures, while operational elements cover processes and procedures that are designed to reduce or neutralise the negative aspects of operations. The CHS facilities have developed structural and operational ingredients that would support lesser consumption of resources (Table 1). A review of data from Table 1 reflects the considerations of reducing the consumption of resources that are embedded as part of the organisational structure (external as well as internal), operational framework and processes.
Integrated waste management framework Table 1
573
Organisational eco-friendly measures and positive impacts
Eco-friendly strategy details a
Façade – extended and protruded Roof top – three layer clay-brick (Coba bricks) Timer-based lighting system Cementation – Portland Pozzolana Cement (includes 15% flay ash content)
Direct sunlight
Reduced energy use
Low sunlight
Reduced energy use
Heat absorption
Reduced energy use
Power consumption
Reduced energy use
Pollution
Use of fly ash
Interiors: pro-environmental thinking Furniture – medium density fibre wood (MDF) Plumbing – aerators/flow restrictors Lighting – LED/PL lamps, T5 florescent tubes
Natural wood
Save trees
Excess water flow
Reduced water use
High energy
Reduced energy use
Recycles water
Reduces consumption
Four-bin practice – garbage segregation at source
Mixed-up garbage
100% garbage reuse
Guest amenities – all natural materials (cardboard hanger, jute bag and sleepers)
Plastic and synthetic materials
100% reusable
Vermicomposting – recycling bio-wastes
Externalities
Saleable Compost
Eco-nights – opt to have room temp. by +2 deg.
Increase in AC load
Reduced energy use
Eco-tents – opt not to change room linen daily
Linen load
Reduced water/energy
ETP – water treatment c
Contributes to
Structural: eco-friendly architectural highlights Building plan – north-east faced
b
Avoids
Operational and guest participation
4.1 Waste generation from kitchen stewardship The performance data shows that the CHS facilities generated average waste of 3.50 kg per guest night (including meal services) or 380 kg/day or 1.37 kg/cover (compared to 1–1.5 kg per guest night without boarding or 1 pound/cover or 8 ton waste/day, quoted in Ball and Taleb, 2011). Even after considering the fact that the restaurants are open for walk-in customers, the quantity of waste generated is less than that of international standards. In addition, 100% of the dry and garbage are reused, recycled, and/or composted.
4.2 Waste water generation from laundry and housekeeping services The water consumption averaged at 4 kl/guest night (including outsourced laundry services – computed at 6.5 gallon/pound of linen or 12 ltrs/kg of wash load, standard for efficient commercial laundries – assuming one par at 3.5 kg of linen) against reported standard of 24–40 gallons of water/guest night (Ball and Taleb, 2011) or 7,200 kl/month for tropical full service hotel (Kasim, 2009). The variation is an area of concern but only if outsourced laundry function is considered as an integral part and irrespective of the eco-tent facilities that invites the guests to participate in the programme of reusing room linen and has reduced water consumption by 8–10%.
574
S. Debnath
Table 2
Analysis of waste collection for CHS facilities Garbage (kg)
Month (2012)
Guest nights (nos.)
Food production (covers)
Wet
Dry
Total
Per cover
Per guest night
April
3,550
9,069
11,705
3,068
14,773
1.63
4.16
May
3,128
8,248
11,483
2,635
14,118
1.71
4.51
June
3,038
5,283
8,050
2,287
10,337
1.96
3.40
July
3,290
5,585
8,349
2,508
10,857
1.94
3.30
August
3,299
7,586
8,212
2,926
11,138
1.47
3.38
September
3,643
10,111
8,098
2,876
10,974
1.09
3.01
October
3,748
8,144
8,423
3,051
11,474
1.41
3.06
November
3,046
7,790
8,114
2,603
10,717
1.38
3.52
December
3,421
13,434
8,090
1,156
9,246
0.69
2.70
Total
30,811
75,250
80,524
23,111
103,635
1.38
3.36
--
2.44
2.61
0.75
3.36
--
--
Per guest night Table 3
Analysis of water consumption for CHS facilities Water consumption (kl)
Month (2012)
Guest nights (nos.)
Eco-tents (nos.)
Linen for wash (par)
Supply
Laundry (outsourced)
Total
April
3,550
251
43,555
4,156
7,170
11,326
May
3,128
198
51,949
5,140
8,507
13,647
June
3,038
222
35,045
5,899
5,775
11,674
July
3,290
274
39,003
6,356
6,416
12,772
August
3,299
286
54,359
4,906
8,916
13,822
September
3,643
281
45,280
5,632
7,443
13,075
October
3,848
420
57,461
4,344
9,428
13,772
November
3,594
357
47,311
4,041
7,761
11,802
December
3,421
271
52,360
8,956
8,597
17,553
Total
30,811
2,560
426,323
49,431
70,012
119,443
--
8%
13.837
1.604
2.272
3.877
Per guest night
4.3 Energy use and secondary emissions Due to the consumption of electricity that averaged around 103 units per guest night, waste in form of emissions is generated and averaged around 100 kg of CO2e (average) per guest night which is a laudable achievement, as compared to 13.5 tons of CO2e per night (Rahman et al., 2012), considering round-the-year humid weather of Mumbai. In addition, the eco-night programme allowed guests to opt for room temperature two degrees higher than the thermostat control which would have saved 4–6% of electricity
Integrated waste management framework
575
bill (at 1.6 units per hr per room). The savings indicate potential benefits of involving guests to be part of such endeavours. Table 4
Analysis of energy consumption for CHS facilities Guest nights (nos.)
Eco nights (nos.)
Energy consumption (kWh)
GHG (tCO2e)
April
3,550
211
347,783
341
May
3,128
188
353,394
346
June
3,038
36
332,496
326
July
3,290
52
352,577
346
Month (2012)
August
3,299
154
368,708
361
September
3,643
305
357,025
350
October
3,748
191
380,822
373
November
3,046
258
341,721
335
December
3,421
180
347,388
340
Total
30,811
1,575
3,181,914
3,118
--
5%
103.27
0.101
Per guest night
A summary of the quantitative performance explains that the facilities have been conservative in usage of resources like water, energy, and waste. Consequently, it has kept a tight control over environmental aspects like waste water, carbon footprint, and bio-waste. However, due to the careful planning, the bio-wastes and waste water do not generate any environmental impact (discussed later), which is dependent on the support from infrastructural arrangements and the vision of top of management. These imperatives contributed to develop a well-coordinated business unit, where the environmental performance could become a key business differentiator, as detailed in the next section.
5
Discussions
5.1 Integrated waste management at work Although Indian organisations are under no legal or statutory obligation to account for its environmental performance (Singh and Joshi, 2009), CHS facilities seized the early movers’ opportunity to embrace environmental stewardship and developed it as competitive differentiator within the hospitality industry. A progressive environmental outlook helped the facilities to gain prominence in environmental superiority as compared to other facilities in the region and provided opportunities to develop a business case for pro-environmental thinking in a country where environmental sensitivity and business interests are yet to converge to a common ideology (Sidhu, 2011). To cover all the aspects of waste management efficiently, CHS facilities built an infrastructure that can handle collection, flow, and subsequent treatment of the wastes in integrated manner and assimilated these as part of individual business process, as detailed hereafter:
576
S. Debnath
a
Solid wastes cycle: solid waste is segregated at source using four-bin theory. The four bins are colour coded and marked, to enable sorting of waste at source. Green bin is for reusable materials (e.g., paper, recyclable materials and clothes), white bin for recyclables (e.g., glass and plastic bottles, tins and newspaper), red one for non-recyclables (e.g., tetra packs, butter papers, oily plastics and toothpick sticks), and black bin for food wastes. While green materials are reused within the hotel, e.g., discarded linen is used for making uniforms, caps, pillow covers and dusters for maintenance activities and save expenditures on tissue paper and dusters, the recyclable materials are sold to recyclers. Non-recyclables are transferred to landfills, while food waste is used for composting. The kitchen stewardship manages the bin and weighs, stores and records waste before its transfer and disposal.
b
Waste water cycle: the waste water is transferred to the community effluent treatment plant and the treated water is recycled back into the hotel flush system. This recycled water is routed separately and is used for the purpose of flushing, cleaning, and gardening. The practical use of grey water recycling reduces the load of potable water consumption. The piping system of the facilities is laid down in a manner so that the recycled water can be stored separately and flown through the designated areas only. The water inlet pumps are equipped with variable water level controllers to control inflow of water based on the current level of the main water tank. This intelligence helps to save energy and optimises water inventory.
c
Reduction in energy use: the structural elements of the hotel support the facilities towards low energy consumption (e.g., use of double glazed glass, LEDs, spots and timer control). In addition, the HVAC is reinforced with glycol chiller technology, which uses mix of glycol in the chiller to minimise the peak load and reduces the temperature difference between the input and output fluid. This saves energy consumption and peak load demand (NSW, 2011). Other than that, guests are invited to participate in eco-night programme, which saves energy demand on HVAC. The heat from the air-conditioning system is not allowed to escape and re-routed to heat water by allowing the waster to pass through heated tubes. The hot water maintains the mean temperature of around 60°Celsius, saving the need of alternate energy sources for this purpose. Also, all exhaust fans (air circulators) and filler/feed pumps are equipped with timers to be operational as set.
d
Gate-to-cradle cycle of bio-wastes: the bio-waste collected from the bins is composted by using vermiculture within the in-house compositing facility, which has been developed, maintained, and run by the hotel management. The composting process involves cleaning and rinsing the waste so as to free it from acidic contents, and pulverising it into thin paste. The paste is mixed with the soil of the pit. Once the process cycle completes within seven to eight days, compost is separated and readied for sale. In addition to composting, food waste is also routed to animal farms like piggeries.
e
Employee trainings: HR facilitates training to sensitise employees with the importance of environment care towards running the facility. Training programmes are organised at regular intervals to ensure employee participation and sharing of ideas. The training programmes are scheduled round the year and encourage
Integrated waste management framework
577
employees to think outside-the-box. Also, the facilities involve employees in social causes like arranging workshops for school children and participating in cleanliness drives. These activities generate positive externalities and help the facilities towards the fulfilment of its social commitments. f
Use of green produce: CHS facilities source products that are green. This includes green toiletries for guest use, bio-chemicals for cleaning of the facility, room amenities that is free from plastic or any other synthetic material, MDF wood instead of natural wood, and glassware and jute that replaces plastics and paper.
g
Ecotel certification as external stimulant: Ecotel is one of the pro-environmental certification standards for hotels and promoted by the US-based environmental consulting firm, HVS International. Certification is provided under ECOTEL brand and awarded after completion of onsite audit procedures. Recertification and auditing procedures are carried out after every two years (Mann and Thadani, 2010). The certification criteria covers energy efficiency, waste management and recycling, water conservation, legislative compliance, and employee education (also called five-globes). HVS International works with the hotel management to provide hands-on technical services and information on environmental sensitive manufacturers and service providers (UNEP.org, 2012). The certification plays the role of binding agent or stimulant to help the facilities achieve control over consumption of resources and integrate waste chain as part of every process. The collaboration of the facilities with the certification agency creates a two-way channel to share expertise and discuss environmental impacts of new business practices and operational policies.
5.2 Generalisations and further scope Compared to the manufacturing industry, service industries generate intangible outputs and delivered to the customers as a bundle of experience. Waste on the other hand is tangible by-products of service creating activities. Since CHS facilities are operating with environment-friendly infrastructure and complementary operational processes, the performance of its waste management system cannot be viewed as an isolated outcome of its operational arrangements, a point crucial to propose the importance of integrated waste management framework. This is different from the causal chain of waste generation and its traceability that would generally limit the environmental considerations towards minimising the waste generation, kind of end-of-the-pipe solution. Based on findings from the case study and leveraging systems perspective, a generalised framework of IWM is proposed (Figure 2) by extending the solid waste management model of municipalities (Marshall and Farahbaksh, 2013), which is capable of instituting morphogenetic or second-order change in the organisations (Fraser, 2012) and help it imbibe environmental care as one of the primary focus of business, one that is not subservient of its economic performance.
578
S. Debnath
Figure 2
IWM system (see online version for colours)
The performance of CHS facilities can be viewed through IWM framework to present these generalisations: a
It requires upfront thinking by the management to steer the organisation towards environmental impacts and invest in the infrastructure necessary to institute and develop the practices that would reduce the consumption of resources and generation of aspects. Evidently, the internalisation transfers the cost of infrastructure development from operational expenditure (OPEX) to capital expenditure (CAPEX), offering benefits over a longer period of time. CAPEX-based strategies generate economic advantage and benefits through standardising of processes early in the life of the operations, whereas OPEX-based short-term waste management schemes would create spikes in operational structure and would force the organisation to alter its tariff structures to recover operational costs.
b
The externalities generated or saved by the organisations through internalisation offer services to society as part of its social commitment and generate tangible social and environmental outcomes, for which customers may not always be willing to pay extra. However, this would lower the environmental load and reduce externalities, which is helpful to improve customer loyalty and societal acceptance. CHS facilities reused and recycled its entire solid waste save for red garbage, recycled 100% waste water, composted its entire bio-waste, minimised its electricity consumption, and practiced use of green and natural products. This resulted in superior environmental stewardship and the ‘care for environment’ to become the default lingua franca of its business.
Integrated waste management framework c
579
As part of its social responsibilities, CHS facilities participate in local festivals and process floral waste through recycling and composting. The hotel management frequently interacts with school children from around the locality and undertakes workshops with other business facilities to impart practical tips on being environmentally-friendly (Mann and Thadani, 2010). These activities support the social commitments of CHS facilities, improve its social acceptance, and generate positive externalities by way of spreading knowledge and awareness, absorbing social costs by composting floral and bio-wastes, and allowing employees to be part of community activities (cleaning drives, school campaigns, community workshops, etc.)
Generally, waste management practices of an organisation are responsible for minimisation of wastes through collection, treatment, and disposal activities. Waste mitigation arrangements involve prevention, minimisation, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, composting, and disposal of waste in decreasing order of preference (Radwan et al., 2010). However, IWM approach starts with strategic design to prepare organisation towards improved utilisation of resources and prevention of waste. This would need the strategic route of investing in industry accredited certification, redesigning organisational processes, facilitating continuous training programmes to its employees, and auditing organisational practices to integrate waste management as part of its business approach. The flow of information on waste management helps the management to take suitable decisions and improve it further. The comprehensive efforts described above improve the embeddedness of environmental thinking within employees, processes, and services, and contribute towards developing it as a competitive differentiator of the business, thereby converting waste management into an inherent part of environmental thinking of organisational success.
6
Conclusions
The role of IWM as a part of business strategy within hospitality sector is not a well-researched area in literature. The review of literature suggests that the research in IWM practices are generally concentrated around the domains of public policies, solid waste management programmes of municipalities, and isolated studies of waste management practices in tourism sector. Within industrial organisations, waste management is mostly treated as a backend business function that deserves attention no more than running the errands that the firms produce. This article theorises that a unified organisational framework of IWM integrates waste management within the operational areas and seamlessly connects strategic decisions concerning it to the organisational value chain. This integration could become an innovative business strategy and could be supported by the presence of a binding agent (e.g., environmental certifications) and external stimulations (legal and societal considerations), and could produce eco-effective performance (environmental considerations with financial stability) (Figure 2). The case study demonstrates the feasibility of integrating environmental considerations as part of the organisational framework that could be strategised to seize early movers’ opportunity in newly industrialised economies. Even though such forward-looking business ideas are yet to become common place in developing economies, the study established the competitive edge that it has to offer to the interested
580
S. Debnath
firms. The environmental stewardship of an organisation holds the organisation liable towards its environmental performance and superior performance becomes the ultimate goal of strategic thinking. However, instead of using cost-benefit analysis of incremental dollar investment to measure incremental business gains, management can use IWM framework to steer organisations towards value-driven approach. Integrating environmental consideration as the primary focus of business incorporates environment embeddedness as an integral strategy of business and develops ‘care for environment’ as a structural component of its competitive differentiator. Advancing the argument further, IWM helps businesses to adopt waste management as part of its strategic thinking and repositions every process to minimise environmental and social externalities, thereby helping the firm to demonstrate highest level of environmental stewardship. On the negative side, even though IWM generates tangible savings in form of better utilisation of resources and reduced level of waste, cost implications of environmental certifications and infrastructural investments are open challenges to adapt such a framework. Still, firms can be encouraged to develop environmentally conscious behaviour through policy initiatives like tax rebates and interest credits. There is a window of opportunity for the policy makers to support the firms to adapt higher environmental standards by developing policy instruments like differential tax treatments, tax holidays, or any other mechanism that could act as catalyst. As an end note, the author would like to emphasise that this research paper is not a conclusive comment on effective integration of waste management system within the operational framework of business or develop pro-environmental business strategies for economic gains. Instead it is aimed at understanding the role and ingredients of integrating waste management as a part of business strategy. The findings of a single case study is not sufficient to generalise the benefits of adopting IWM framework within the hospitality industry, however the length of the study period and proximity to the ground realities formed part of the IWM framework proposed in this paper. Being first-of-its-kind of research in hotel industry, the author is hopeful that the subsequent research can further develop the ideas presented in this paper and test the boundaries of IWM framework. Such experiments will help to understand the environmental performance as part of business philosophy and its support to the financial performance. Research areas are also open to implement integrated waste management practices in other industries like media, entertainment, transportation, manufacturing etc. so as to develop contextual variations and bring richness of practice that would be beneficial to develop and view it holistically.
Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Mr. Daniel Chatterton and management representatives of the Concept Hospitality, Mumbai, for their support to the study. The author would also like to thank anonymous reviewers of IJBEX for their comments and suggestions, which improved the overall quality of the manuscript.
Integrated waste management framework
581
References Agarwal, A., Singhmar, A., Kulshrestha, M. and Mittal, A.K. (2005) ‘Municipal solid waste recycling and associated markets in Delhi, India’, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 44, pp.73–90, doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2004.09.007. Anuwichanont, J., Mechinda, P., Serirat, S., Lertwannawit, A. and Popaijit, N. (2011) ‘Environmental sustainability in the Thai hotel industry’, International Business and Economics Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 11, pp.91–100. Ayuso, S. (2007) ‘Comparing voluntary policy instruments for sustainable tourism: the experience of the Spanish hotel sector’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp.144–159, doi: 10.2167/jost617.0. Ball, S. and Taleb, M.A. (2011) ‘Benchmarking waste disposal in the Egyptian hotel industry’, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.1–18, doi: 10.1057/thr.2010.16. Biondo, A.E. (2012) ‘Tourism and sustainability: the positive externality’, Int. J. of Sustainable Economy, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.155–166. Bohdanowicz, P. and Martinac, I. (2003) ‘Attitude towards sustainability in chain hotels – results of a European survey’, The CIB 2003 International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Brisbane, Australia. Brieu, M., Durif, F., Roy, J. and Boivin, C. (2013) ‘What triggers consumers’ interest toward sustainable tourism?’, Int. J. of Sustainable Development, Vol. 16, Nos. 3–4 pp.322–334. Chan, W., Mak, L., Chen, Y., Wang, Y., Xie, H., Hou, G. and Li, D. (2008) ‘Energy saving and tourism sustainability: solar control window film in hotel rooms’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp.563–574, doi: 10.2167/jost803.0. Chung, L.H. and Parker, L.D. (2008) ‘Integrating hotel environmental strategies with management control: a structuration approach’, Business Strategy and Environment, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp.272–286, doi: 10.1002/bse.546. Christie, M.J., Rowe, P.A., Perry, C. and Chamard, J. (2000) ‘Implementation of realism in case study research methodology’, in Douglas, E. (Ed.): Proceedings of Entrepreneurial SMES – engines for growth in the millenium: International Council for Small Business. World Conference, 7–10 June, Brisbane. Claver-Cortés, E., Molina-Azorín, J.F., Pereira-Moliner, J. and López-Gamero, M.D. (2007) ‘Environmental strategies and their impact on hotel performance’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp.663–679, doi: 10.2167/jost640.0. Concepthospitality.com, Welcome to CHPL Hotel and Resorts [online] http://www.concepthospitality.com/consultant (accessed 10 August 2012). Darke, P., Shanks, G. and Broadbent, M. (1998) ‘Successfully completing case study research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism’, Information System Journal, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.273–289. Fraser, M. (2012) ‘“Fleshing out” an engagement with a social accounting technology’, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp.508–534, doi: 10.1108/09513571211209626. Finnveden, G., Bisaillon, M., Noring, M., Stenmarck, A, Sundberg, J., Sundqvist, J. and Tyskeng, S. (2012) ‘Developing and evaluating new policy instruments for sustainable waste management’, Int. J. of Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.19–31. Hidalgo, D., Irusta, R. and Fermoso, J. (2008) ‘Generation and management of industrial waste in small and medium sized enterprises’, Int. J. of Environmental Technology and Management, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.323–338. Hunt, C.A. and Durham, W.H. (2012) ‘Shrouded in a fetishistic mist: commoditisation of sustainability in tourism’, Int. J. of Tourism Anthropology, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp.330–347. Jackson, L.A. (2010) ‘Toward a framework for the components of green lodging’, Journal of Retail and Leisure Property, Vol. 9, pp.211–230, doi: 10.1057/rlp.2010.6.
582
S. Debnath
Karatzoglou, B. and Spilanis, I. (2010) ‘Sustainable tourism in Greek islands: the integration of activity-based environmental management with a destination environmental scorecard based on the adaptive resource management paradigm’, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp.26–38, doi: 10.1002/bse.627. Kasim, A. (2009) ‘Managerial attitudes towards environmental management among small and medium hotels in Kuala Lumpur’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 17, No. 6, pp.709–725, doi: 10.1080/09669580902928468. Kumar, S., Bhattacharyya, J., Vaidya, A., Chakrabarti, T., Devotta, S. and Akolkar, A.B. (2009) ‘Assessment of the status of municipal solid waste management in metro cities state capitals class I cities and class II towns in India: an insight’, Waste Management, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp.883–895, doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2008.04.011. Lee, J-S., Hsu, L-T., Han, H. and Kim, Y. (2010) ‘Understanding how consumers view green hotels: how a hotel’s green image can influence behavioural intentions’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 18, No. 7, pp.901–914, doi: 10.1080/09669581003777747. Lee, N. and Lings, I. (2008) Doing Business Research – A Guide to Theory and Practice, Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, India. Levy, S.E. and Duverger, P. (2010) ‘Consumer perceptions of sustainability in the lodging industry: examination of sustainable tourism criteria’, International CHRIE Conference-refereed Track 2010 [online] http://scholarworks.umass.edu/refereed/CHRIE_2010/Friday/31 (accessed 24 July 2012). Liu, P. and Sanhaji, Z. (2010) ‘Green initiatives in the U.S. lodging industry’, Cornell Real Estate Review, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp.64–77 [online] http://cip.cornell.edu/cpre.crer/1281129028 (accessed 24 July 2012). Mahadevia, D. and Wolfe, J.M. (2008) Solid Waste Management in Indian Cities: Status and Emerging Practices, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi. Manaktola, K. and Jauhari, V. (2007) ‘Exploring consumer attitude and behaviour towards green practices in the lodging industry in India’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 19, No. 5, pp.364–377, doi: 10.1108/09596110710757534. Mann, S.K. and Thadani, D. (2010) ECOTEL Version 2.0 – Reaching Out [online] http://www.hvs.com/article/4492/ecotelversion20reachingout/ (accessed 30 July 2012). Marshall, R.E. and Farahbaksh, K. (2013) ‘Systems approaches to integrated solid waste management in developing countries’, Waste Management, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp.988–1003, doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2012.12.023. Mensah, I. (2007) ‘Environmental management and sustainable tourism development: the case of hotels in Greater Accra Region (GAR) of Ghana’, Journal of Retail and Leisure Property, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp.15–22, doi: 10.1057/palgrave.rlp.5100039. Nunan, F. (2000) ‘Urban organic waste markets: responding to change in Hubli-Dharwad India’, Habitat International, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp.347–60. NSW (2011) Energy Saver Technology Report: Industrial Refrigeration and Chilled Glycol and Water Applications, [online] http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au (accessed 25 December 2012). Prayag, G., Dookhony-Ramphul, K. and Maryeven, M. (2010) ‘Hotel development and tourism impacts in Mauritius: hoteliers’perspectives on sustainable tourism’, Development Southern Africa, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp.697–712, doi: 10.1080/0376835X.2010.522832. Radwan, H.R., Jones, E. and Minoli, D. (2010) ‘Managing solid waste in small hotels’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp.175–190, doi: 10.1080/09669580903373946. Radwan, H.R., Jones, E. and Minoli, D. (2012) ‘Solid waste management in small hotels: a comparison of green and non-green small hotels in Wales’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp.533–550, doi: 10.1080/09669582.2011.621539. Rahman, I., Reynolds, D. and Svaren, S. (2012) ‘How ‘green’are North American hotels? An exploration of low-cost adoption practices’, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp.720–727, doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2011.09.008.
Integrated waste management framework
583
Robinot, E. and Giannelloni, J-L. (2009) ‘Attitude toward environmentally friendly hospitality management: a measurement scale’, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, English ed., Vol. 24, No. 2, pp.29–50. Saini, S., Rao, P. and Patil, Y. (2012) ‘City based analysis of MSW to energy generation in India calculation of state-wise potential and tariff comparison with EU’, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 37, pp.407–16, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.03.306. Saito, O. (2013) ‘Resource use andwaste generation by the tourism industry on the Big Island of Hawaii’, Journal of Indutrial Ecology, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp.578–589. Sidhu, B. (2011) ‘The Niyamgiri hills bauxite project – balancing resource extraction and environment protection’, Environmental Policy and Law, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp.166–171. Singh, G. and Joshi, M. (2009) ‘Environment management and disclosure practices of Indian companies’, International Journal of Business Research, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp.116–128. Silvestrelli, P. (2013) ‘Tourism development through heritage enhancement and hospitality innovation’, Int. J. of Globalisation and Small Business, Vol. 5, Nos. 1–2 pp.20–33. Shamshiry, E., Nadi, B., Mokhtar, M.B., Komoo, I., Hashim, H.S. and Yahaya, N. (2011) ‘Integrated models for solid waste management in tourism regions: Langkawi Islands, Malaysia’, Journal of Environmental and Public Health, Vol. 2011, pp.1–5, doi: 10.1155/2011/709549. Sharholy, M., Ahmad, K., Mahmood, G. and Trivedi, R.C. (2008) ‘Municipal solid waste management in Indian cities – a review’, Waste Management, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp.459–67, doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2007.02.008. Sridhar, K. (2011) ‘Implementing environmental sustainability in a leading Australian gaming and tourism organisation’, Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.313–328. Stasiškienė, Ž. and Juškaitė, R. (2007) ‘Optimization of the cardboard manufacturing process in accordance with environmental and economic factors’, Environmental Research, Engineering and Management, Vol. 2, No. 40, pp.70–79. Tudor, T.L. (2011) ‘The role of organisations in enhanced global environmental management: perspectives on climate change and waste management strategies’, Int. J. of Environment and Waste Management, Vol. 7, Nos. 3–4 pp.250–266. UNEP.org (2012) Trends in Hotel Certifications and Rating Programs: Guidelines for the Caribbean [online] http://www.cep.unep.org/about-cep/spaw/conservation-and-sustainableuse-of-marine-and-coastal-ecosystems/copy_of_sustainable-tourism (accessed 9 April 2013). Viere, T., Schaltegger, S. and von Enden, J. (2007) ‘Supply chain information in environmental management accounting – the case of a Vietnamese coffee exporter’, Issues in Social and Environmental Accounting, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp.296–310. Young, S.M. (1999) ‘Field research methods in management accounting’, Accounting Horizons, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp.76–84.
