The publication China CSR.com is reporting that China will try to build 10,000 green hotels by 2012.
Di Jiankai, the director of the Trade Service Division of China’s Ministry of Commerce, disclosed the plan to the Chinese media. Of the 10,000 hotels, 1,000 will be created in 2009, 2,000 in 2010, 3,000 in 2011 and 4,000 in 2012.
When compared to their predecessors in China, these green hotels are expected to reduce water consumption by 20%, cut electricity consumption by 20% and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 45,000 tons over four years.
According to China CSR.com, Han Ming, a director of the China Hotel Association, told a recent conference that a national green hotel working commission has been established by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the State-owned Assets Supervision, the Administration Commission of the State Council, the National Standards Commission and the China Hotel Association.
Reuters reports that Han Ming said from now on five-leaf [top-ranked] green hotels will be reviewed by a national appraisal department, and hotels designated with a four-leaf rating or less will be accredited by provincial level departments.
An example of a proposed green hotel is shown in our illustration which is planned for Songjiang, near Shanghai. The design for the proposed hotel is a 400-bed resort will be located in a 100-meter-deep quarry located in the province, which will contain restaurants, cafes, sport facilities, and even underwater public areas and guestrooms. Water will play an important part in the design, featured in many areas around the hotel. Waterfalls, underwater aquariums and green areas will be integrated into the design to match the existing face of the quarry. This has not happened as of yet and the project may have stalled indefinitely.
And such brave efforts may not appear to be enough for the green fringe-dwellers.
Green Lodging News in an editorial said: "What the article fails to bring up is the net impact these 10,000 new hotels will have on the environment in China.
Ten thousand new buildings are going to require a lot of energy, a lot of water, and they certainly will generate a lot of waste. How many new power plants will have to be built to generate the electricity for these new buildings? How many of those plants will be fueled by dirty coal?”