Sudima Christchurch Airport has achieved carboNZero certification.
Having measured its greenhouse gas emissions, committed to managing and reducing emissions, and neutralised any remaining unavoidable emissions, Sudima Christchurch Airport is the second carboNZero certified hotel in the country.
Sister property Sudima Auckland Airport became carboNZero certified in 2013 and has subsequently reduced its LPG use by 67%, Natural Gas by 14% and they have reduced waste by 24%.
The savings are equivalent to eight times the average household emissions per year, 70 times the average electricity use of one home per year and 19 times the average emissions of one vehicle per year.
Sudima Auckland Airport hotel manager Riza A. Suryo says the philosophy of the owners, management and staff sees that reducing emissions is the right thing to do. The certification and acknowledgement they have received is an added bonus.
Suryo says, “The staff will be pleased. We have a committee which puts forward ideas about how we can be more sustainable. One such idea came from the chefs for an organic herb garden. We now have our own organic herb garden at the back.
“The owners must also be acknowledged for setting out on this goal from the beginning when they built the hotel. Everything about the design and build is geared towards being as sustainable as possible,” he said.
Sudima Auckland Airport has also recently installed two electrical vehicle charging bays for hotel guests.
“Car rental companies and corporate companies are already shifting towards electric vehicle fleets, so it’s important that we get ahead of the curve from both a sustainable and competitive perspective,” said Suryo.
To achieve its carbon neutral status, Sudima Auckland Airport measured all goods and products from more than 20 suppliers over a six-month period, including assessing natural gas and electricity usage, the quantities and disposal of waste and tracking air and car travel by hotel staff.
Once emissions were determined, the equivalent carbon credits were purchased by the hotel, along with which came the requirement to change practices and features where necessary to reduce and mitigate its emissions year-on-year.
The group intends to achieve certification for its other properties, in Hamilton and Rotorua.
Enviro-Mark Solutions, a subsidiary of Landcare Research, owns and manages the carbonNZero certification programme, which is internationally accredited in accordance with the ISO standard for reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals.