Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has achieved its world-first milestone in sustainable and responsible tourism management, through its eight-year collaboration with EarthCheck. The Taj Group’s 50 individual hotels, ranging from Rambagh Palace, Jaipur to Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, London, have been awarded EarthCheck Gold Certification, with data revealing an average 28.6 per cent reduction in energy, water and waste and USD$ 6,107,585 in savings for the group.

Stewart Moore, founder and CEO, EarthCheck, said that Taj is the first hotel group in the world to have 50 hotels achieve Gold Certification in the same year, having completed a minimum of five years of continuous benchmarking through EarthCheck Certified. Moore commented, “Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has confirmed its position as a true worldwide leader in responsible tourism, and a genuine source of inspiration to the international tourism community.”

“We believe what’s good for the planet can also be good for business, and we are thrilled to release such positive data-based evidence of cost and resource savings for these Taj Group hotels as we award certification,” he added.

Rakhee Lalvani, associate vice president – public relations, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, said, “The Taj EARTH sustainability programme, which is accredited by the globally recognised certification for environmental excellence in the hospitality industry – EarthCheck – is an initiative which reiterates the company’s conscious efforts towards sustainability and is aligned with the Tata ethos of keeping communities at the heart of doing business. Taj is committed to environmental sustainability through efficient management of all its assets and resources and we constantly work towards closely integrating our operations with product design and development coupled with responsible sourcing.”

The group has several on-ground green initiatives that enables them to function in tandem with the environment. Over the years, the group has implemented innovative changes that now collectively make a significant impact on sustainability.

Since 2008, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces enrolled in EarthCheck Certified and have achieved the following milestone saving achievements:

  • 558 million megajoules of energy; an 11.9 per cent reduction, equivalent to 172,232 typical four person Indian households for a year
  • 1.8 billion litres of water; a 24.8 per cent reduction, equivalent to 719 Olympic sized swimming pools
  • 11.4 million litres of waste; a 49.3 per cent reduction, equivalent to 344 20ft standard cargo containers.

Combined, these resource savings equate to USD$ 6,107,585. Initiatives undertaken by individual hotels to manage and reduce their environmental footprints range from a 2.1 MW wind turbine generator which supplies 70 per cent of the annual electricity requirements at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, to a 117 sq m ‘Green Living Wall’ which insulates, absorbs noise and pollution and increases energy efficiency at Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences in London. Currently, 77 Taj Group hotels are enrolled in EarthCheck Certified and 50 are Gold Certified.