Column by Viral Desai, Environmentalist & Ecopreneur
Sustainability is limited to a fashion statement or an academic discussion by a certain class, but sustainability is the need of our hour and sustainability is not the need of just one geographical area or one continent, but the need of the entire globe. At such a time, we will be able to achieve all sustainable goals only if efforts are made for sustainability globally. Also, for developing countries and underdeveloped countries, hunger, employment and health are such big issues that sustainability in these countries seems to be a matter of another planet. But there are some models in our own world, which models are not only unique, but have also become inspiration and guides for the entire world in the direction of sustainability. One such guiding name is Singapore’s Parkroyal Collection Pickering Hotel which has modeled hospitality with sustainability to the whole world. The model is providing 360 degree sustainability along with world class hospitality facilities.
The Parkroyal Collection Pickering Hotel in Singapore is also among the fifty tallest influential buildings in the world and is an iconic landmark of South Asia. This spacious hotel is designed on the theme ‘Hotel in a Garden’ and the theme of environmental protection has been at the centre of every aspect of the hotel. If we look at the features of Parkroyal Collection Pickering Hotel, in this high-rise hotel, an urban garden has been prepared with about fifty plus for air purification. The green foliage covers more than 200 percent of hotel’s land, an area of 15000 square meters. Sunlight and natural light ventilation are prioritized throughout the hotel for energy savings, which has led to an emphasis on plant species ranging from vines or large-leaved shrubs to shade trees. All these trees are oxygen bombers, but equally important they are supporting biodiversity and ecosystem. This greenery in the hotel absorbs heat from the atmosphere and improves the air quality immensely hence creating its own positive ecosystem. Interestingly, all this greenery has also been maintained using sophisticated methods, including auto-irrigation and fertigation systems, so there is no wastage of water or electricity.
If there’s one thing Parkroyal Collection Pickering has done well, it’s the hotel’s own green energy generation model. The hotel has installed 262 high-performance glass solar panels on its roof, due to which the hotel itself generates 350 kilowatts of clean energy. One figure even says that Parkroyal Collection Pickering generates as much energy daily as what is required for eighteen Singaporean households! They generate 65,000 kwh of renewable energy in an year. To top it all off, the hotel uses high-quality glass throughout their buildings, thereby eliminating the harmful uv rays and heat of the day and allowing adequate light to flow into the corners of the hotel. Photosensors have also been placed in the hotel to maintain light. Fluorescent lamps, Led’s and T5 have been used throughout the hotel, so that energy is not wasted unnecessarily.
Now let’s talk about the rooms of Parkroyal Collection Pickering, all the facilities of the guests staying at Parkroyal have been made keeping sustainability and environmental protection in mind. All the rooms here are designed in such a way that natural air and light come in. 3M water filter dispensers are kept in the room as an alternative to single use plastic. This in turn becomes a significant sustainable alternative to the production of every year requirement of 3,60,000 plastic bottles and the carbon generated as they are produced and destroyed. For their bathtub, sink and flooring they have used recycled granite. Low-flow water management has been done so that guests cannot waste water even as a mistake. Due to which, in the shower, where normally 27 liters of water would be flowing in one minute in one direction in Parkroyal hotel only 9 liters of water is flowing… thus saving enormous quantities of water.
In terms of food too, meatfree, eco-friendly dishes and drinks have been given top priority here. Paper napkins and single-use plastic straws have also been removed from the guest’s plate and replaced with potato starch straws and biodegradable napkins.They grow their own herbs at edible garden on its wellness floor. A lot of food preparations in the restaurants mostly use green vegetables and herbs grown on the hotel’s various floors and terraces, to avoid the carbon emissions caused during transportation of vegetables.
Apart from this, rain water harvesting has also been done in a very amazing way in Parkroyal Collection Pickering and millions of liters of water are pumped into the ground every year. In short, the hotel has left no stone unturned to reduce carbon emissions or achieve sustainability goals. It is true that these efforts of the hotel are unique and the energy and environment world appreciates it, but this model also has to be appreciated because this model also forced the world to think towards a new trend. Ultimately tourism or hospitality are such exclusive things that if these sectors are influenced from the point of view of sustainability then these sectors will not only do energy saving or environmental protection. But with this initiative, many people will be influenced and inspired in the direction of environmental protection at the same place.
In this way Parkroyal Collection Pickering Hotel should also be called the Global Brand Ambassador of Sustainability. Because tourists from all over the world come here and when those tourists stay here, they do not just fly or travel and experience nature loving experience, but along with the journey, they also carry a message about the importance of sustainability and the need for it in the world. And then inspired of prioritizing sustainability in one’s country, in one’s home and ultimately in one’s life. So is this only exclusive tourism? Or is this just a passionate hospitality? This is tourism or hospitality with incredible sustainability. And hospitality with sustainability may be an understatement. For Parkroyal, the term can be used, ‘Hospitality with Global Responsibility.’ Kudos to Parkroyal.