Enterprise: Auckland hotel strikes gold

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Through a single-minded dedication to reducing its impact, an Auckland hotel is paving the way for responsible hospitality businesses.

The Langham hotel is the first 'Accommodation Business - Hotel' in the Pacific region including Australia, to achieve the EarthCheck Gold certification.

To gain EarthCheck Gold, The Langham has had to report its environmental footprint and adhere to an internationally recognised standard of best practice.

Each year leading up to certification, The Langham submitted 12 months of operational data to EarthCheck to be benchmarked against industry best practice.

A number of key indicators were measured; including energy and water consumption, total waste production and community commitment.

"Achieving EarthCheck Gold Certification is not an easy task," explains EarthCheck CEO Stewart Moore.

"There are no short cuts, no ways to buy your way in; it's a matter of being able to prove the integrity of an organisation's operational practices year-in and year-out, and then be willing to have everything verified by an independent, third party auditor. By taking a scientific approach to measuring the effectiveness of their sustainability practices, The Langham was able to identify where they were out-performing others and where room for improvement remained."

Jeffrey van Vorsselen, managing director of The Langham thanked his environmental champions at the hotel, Colin McCaughan and Adrian McInroy, and his 'Green Team' who have supported their endeavours.

"The Langham began its sustainability journey back in 2006 so it is very pleasing to be recognised as a business that is taking environmental and social responsibility very seriously.

The achievement is also a first for the Langham Hospitality Group internationally so it is exciting for Auckland and New Zealand to be leading the way."

EarthCheck is one of the world's largest certifiers of sustainable travel and tourism operators; with more than 1300 clients in over 70 countries.

EarthCheck complies with the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 14064 range of standards for greenhouse gas accounting. It is also aligned with the GRI and NABERS programs and is both T-Qual and GSTC accredited.