A scheme to promote energy efficiency in hotels has been launched by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to give recognition to energy efficient hotels and promote energy efficiency by the better use of resources.
At the launch of the Energy Smart Hotel Label scheme, four hotels - The Regent, Shangri-la, Intercontinental and Changi Village - made it to the inaugural list.
Noting that recognition given to the four hotels, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources who was at the launch said, "I’m sure we will be able to get more on board, because they will be able to see there are really direct, tangible benefits that can be reaped with not very significant investments really, and the payback period because of the improvement in technology is getting shorter."
Studies conducted in Singapore and other parts of the world have identified hotels as one of the more energy-intensive buildings in a city.
And having acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in April 2006, the NEA’s Chief Executive Officer Lee Yuen Hee pointed out that Singapore’s commitment to combat climate change will require support from all sectors, especially the energy and carbon-intensive ones such as the hotel industry.
Speaking at the launch of the Energy Smart Hotel Label scheme, Mr Lee stressed that energy efficiency is important to maintain Singapore’s competitiveness.
"The productive use of energy, which is what energy efficiency is about, is one additional tool that Singapore businesses can make use of to stay ahead of global competition," added Mr Lee.
Hotels currently account for almost two percent of Singapore’s total greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to electricity consumption. In the next few years, the emissions are likely to rise with higher hotel occupancy rates and the addition of more hotel rooms.