Core Values
For years, the world has been loudly discussing the topic of reducing the negative impact of the industry (including the tourism industry) on the environment.
These considerations include technical methods of reducing CO2 emissions, introducing alternative energy sources, reducing waste and replacing hazardous waste with biodegradable ones.
Numerous theories, competitions, allegedly innovative products and certificates are created on this subject.
However, if we stop paying attention to slogans, trendy definitions and take a closer look at the actual ways we impact the environment, it is difficult to see any significant changes here.
The products supplied, supply chains, waste volumes and types and the criteria for tenders remain unchanged.
Sometimes they change for the worse, e.g. by specifying bitumen/synthetic materials in the standardization of interior furnishings.
Numerous panels and conferences on ecology or, as we prefer to say, sustainable development never end with any constructive conclusions or action plans.
If we link our today’s actions or their lack causing: mass extinction of species, weather catastrophes, the hunger crisis, global migrations and armed conflicts, then we should probably start the discussion on environmental protection or sustainable development (because today we prefer this term) from the fundamental values.
Ethics/Honesty
For many communities and companies, environmental protection has become a new field of competition, trendy PR encouraging the sale of allegedly new products and trade of certificates. It became primitive “Greenwashing” and not a goal in itself.
These practices are nothing else then tricks or plain marketing lies.
For example, in the floor coverings industry, there are no technologies that would enable the industrial separation of raw materials used for the production of floor coverings that are supplied to the market today.
When used in a product wool, polyamide, polypropylene, polyester are undetachable and it is impossible to separate them for reuse. But there are certificates confirming or suggesting so.
New certificates and companies specializing in granting them were created.
There are customers who consciously or not, contrary to the slogans they preach, give up their common sense and settle for a new trendy certificates and in the same time make the impact of their enterprises on the environment worse.
We teach our children the need to resign from the use of fossil resources, including petroleum-derived plastics, and the need to recycle them.
However, over the last 20 years, almost all hotel chains have given up with natural fiber products and standardized the use of polyamide, polypropylene, polyester and polyurethane products.
These products, on the other hand, are cheap to produce and purchase.
It is enough they will get an appropriate certificate and it makes us feel guilt free and to forget our common sense.
Common Sense
“Shining” (gold and platinum) certificates and bureaucracy have clouded our judgement on common sense and basic knowledge about the world and the environment.
They are the “fig leaf” to hide shameful attitudes.
How is it possible that carpet tiles made of bitumen (asphalt/lowest refined petroleum fraction), meet the criteria required for buildings with the highest ecological classification??
These are the products that most new office buildings in the world are equipped with.
Attention!
Products made of wool, cotton and jute (renewable raw materials) often do not meet these criteria!
Even if you don’t have specialist knowledge, why doesn’t common sense tell you that asphalt is less ecological than wool, jute and cotton?
The principle of segregation and decomposition of raw materials is widely known and diffused in schools and homes around the world.
Meanwhile, millions of square meters and tons of plastic floor coverings end up in mixed/unsorted waste with their new trendy certificates.
Over the next 500-800 years, they will undergo decomposition, harmful to human and animal health.
Why, as a parent, do you encourage your children to give up and segregate plastic, and as a manager, you use it on a gigantic scale and in a much worse form (no segregation possible)??
Let’s imagine for a moment that the technology to decompose the carpets exists (although it does not) and there is a manufacturer willing to make this gigantic operational and cost effort on their own.
According to the new certificates, this manufacturer should collect all its products after disassembly, transport them to processing sites, process them and transport them to re-use centres.
Apart from the economic absurd of such an action, the carbon footprint associated with additional transport and energy used to recycle would be more harmful to the environment than the currently practiced utilization.
Common sense is all you need here!
Education
There are already technological possibilities, the use of which would lead to significant effects in the field of environmental protection.
They are most often not implemented due to the insufficient level of knowledge of decision-makers or simple opportunism.
Sometimes it is difficult to convince them to implement them even if they do not generate additional costs or even reduce the negative impact on the environment and the cost of investment.
A good example of such actions is use of uncontrollable large numbers of colors in interior and carpet design.
It happens that in the design of one ship there are more than 400 colors and rarely less than 100 colors.
It happens that two or three design studios participate in designing for the same project. without consulting each other they use very similar colors, with differences imperceptible to most people, but different from the technological and production point of view.
Today’s carpet production technologies enable the production of 8 to 16 colours in a pattern.
The multiple of these values is the multiple of the production preparation processes, the consumption of raw materials, energy, water / sewage and labour. In consequence – greater environmental impact, production cost and investment cost for the buyer.
More opened mind on the technological knowledge of decision-makers and limiting the “ego” of designers could have a positive impact not only on the environment, but also significantly reduce investment costs.
Before the era of franchising, when hotels and the costs of their construction and maintenance depended on the hotel operator, chains had fixed color palettes for their facilities, e.g. 20 years ago, the Marriott chain had its own palette of 32 colors, which were used to create individual patterns for most hotels.
This solution was friendly to the environment, investment costs and had positive impact on the recognition of the style of a hotel brand on the global arena.
Regarding offices carpeting, in the case of choosing synthetic carpet tiles instead of natural fibres, we should always prefer to select a product made from 100% recycled raw material: recycled vinyl backing instead of bitumen backing, and recycled Econyl yarn or textile system.
Today, when investment and operating costs have been transferred to franchisees, no one seeks such cost-environmental optimization mainly due to the lack of know-how among investors (franchisees) but also franchisors.
The reason why the problem of not using the existing opportunities and solutions intensifies is the previously unprecedented rotation of the managerial staff of investors and the related loss of know-how.
It should be added that this phenomenon was noticeable even before the pandemic period.
(In 2018/2019, there was a change of 20 CEOs among shipowners, followed by lower-level professionals)
Cooperation
The perception of sustainable development as a competitive advantage limits the real possibilities of effective environmental protection and sustainable development.
After all, it is all about the sustainable development of societies and civilizations, not just individual enterprises.
The marketing competition of companies does not have to interfere with this idea, provided that sustainable development won’t be perceived as a new element of the marketing mix.
The cooperation of producers and investors should be supported by local government, national and international regulations.
This is not just about creating more rigorous regulations, but above all about incentives, e.g. creating special economic zones and targeted distribution of grants, for example, European Union grants.
The conditions for grants should enforce cooperation between the investor, designer, builder and manufacturer of materials.
Only through fair cooperation of all participants in the investment process can the goals of sustainable development be achieved.
Cooperation should concern the ruthless fight against “greenwashing” which distorts reality and is a basic barrier to sustainable development.
We often lack the courage to talk about it, even if it takes the most absurd forms.
One of the largest cement producers in Europe promotes a product that is allegedly produced in an emission-free manufacturing process. It supplies it to the market with the markings of well-known certificates. Investors buying this product enjoy the grants they receive for using “green” products and processes.
The sad truth is that this cement producer has acquired large forest/green areas in central Europe and gained “carbon neutrality” of its product due to the trading of emission permits and the alleged production of oxygen within the company’s real estate.
Courage
It takes a lot of courage for us to react to irregularities and negative attitudes.
Entrepreneurs, customers, buyers, employees, outside observers…
It takes courage to tell yourself the truth, even if it is difficult to accept it, as the content of this article.
It is possible that by being honest in this article, I will rock the boat and fall into disfavour of some colleagues from the industry that I so much care about.
Rules of the game
The success of sustainable development of industry and societies mainly depends on the education and attitudes of customers, regardless of the market segment.
The industry is a mirror image of the needs and principles followed by its customers.