LONDON, UK (ENS) - Nearly a third (29%) of 5,000 respondents to a new survey of European travelers would choose a known eco-friendly hotel if it was offered by an online booking system.
Research conducted by One Poll in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom in a poll commissioned this summer by Samsung Electronics Europe, shows both high interest in green accomodations and increasingly environmentally conscious behavior on the part of travelers.
Almost half (48%) of travelers surveyed said hotels should use more efficient electrical appliances, like flat screen energy efficient TVs.
Samsung, maker of flat panel televisions, has embarked on a new green management initiative and commissioned the survey as part of this process.
Pammi Mudhar, B2B sales and marketing director at Samsung Electronics Europe said, "Environmental awareness is on the rise and playing an increasingly significant role in the hotel booking process. Hoteliers can appeal to green consumers by responding to their expectations; putting in water-saving toilets, using sustainable energy or installing eco-friendly appliances like energy efficient flat screen TVs."
In the survey, nearly two thirds (65%) say all hotels should install low flow toilets designed to save water, while over half (54%) say sustainable energy sources, such as wind, solar or hydro-electric power, should be used.
This demand for green credentials is echoed by guests' behavior. Over three quarters of respondents (76%) are as conscious or more conscious of the impact they have on the environment when staying in hotels compared with their behavior at home, and take measures to reduce their environmental impact.
Of those surveyed, 88% switch off the lights when they leave their hotel room, 63% reuse towels more than once and 59% still switch electrical equipment off at the base (often without checking whether it has an energy saving mode).
Mudhar said, "We believe that state-of-the-art technology and eco-design go hand in hand. At Samsung we place a high priority on environmental performance – from phasing out target chemicals, to extending the durability of our products and improving recyclability."
"Not only can eco-friendly products save energy and improve a hotel's green credentials," he said, "they can also generate significant cost savings over the product lifecycle thanks to the reduction in energy consumed."
In July 2009, Samsung announced a new green management initiative that establishes a set of goals intended to make the Korean company a leading eco-friendly firm by 2013.
Focused on achieving low-carbon economic growth, the company laid out four core green management objectives.
The first is reducing greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing facilities by 50 percent and cutting total indirect greenhouse gas emissions from all products by 84 million tons over a five year period through 2013. For this measure, total greenhouse gas emissions are divided by annual revenue in order to provide a consistent measure of green manufacturing efficiency.
The second is ensuring 100 percent of Samsung's products are eco-friendly and exceed global eco-mark standards.
The third is investing 5.4 trillion Korean won in various eco-management initiatives, and the fourth is enhancing green partnerships with suppliers and partners.
By establishing these eco-friendly credentials, Samsung aims to supply its flat panel televisions to hoteliers eager to attract eco-conscious travelers.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.
Sunny Lewis
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