The Heritance Ahungalla, described as Sri Lanka’s leading five-star resort, recently became the first hotel in the country to achieve ISO 50001 certification. The decision to implement the energy management standard was taken by owner Aitken Spence Hotel Management as a tool to reduce energy consumption, particularly in view of ever-increasing costs and energy supply limitations in Sri Lanka.
By implementing ISO 50001, the hotel is now able to effectively manage energy consumption without compromising guest comfort, and expects to meet current and future energy efficiency targets required by green house gas emissions reduction legislation.
ISO Focus+ asked Refhan Razeen, General Manager of the Heritance Ahungalla, to comment :
ISO Focus+ : What difference do you expect ISO 50001 implementation and certification to make to the hotel?
Refhan Razeen: We expect to reduce energy consumption by 8 % per occupied room compared to last year’s consumption.
ISO Focus+: Can you outline some of the energy saving measures and initiatives you are implementing to meet ISO 50001 requirements?
Refhan Razeen: We have a central air conditioning system divided into five hotel sections A to E. During low occupancy, rooms are allocated in such a way that air conditioning can be switched off section by section. For example, if there are only 59 rooms in occupancy at a given time, the front desk will make sure that those rooms are allocated to section A. Since the four other sections are not used, significant energy can be saved by the hotel for each day they remain unoccupied. However, if a guest requests a room in another section, we have no option but to switch power back on to that section since it is our duty to cater to customer needs first.
Additional energy saving incentives include :
- Replacing all incandescent light bulbs with energy saving bulbs
- Creating staff awareness
- Establishing energy efficient operating procedures for significant energy-consuming machines and equipment
- Reducing cold room opening hours
- Operating laundry machines only when fully loaded
- Operating kitchen pastry-mixer machines at off-peak hours only
- Implementing proper preventive maintenance schedules for all equipment
- Cleaning chiller condensers periodically
- Cleaning machine filters regularly.
ISO Focus+: Can you already comment on the benefits of implementation?
Refhan Razeen: By setting a target to reduce the energy bill by 8 %, the bottom line expenses will be reduced too. During November 2011 we achieved a considerable reduction in the energy bill. Reducing operating costs during low occupancy periods also helps the hotel immensely. By practicing energy saving thoroughly and conscientiously we not only save money, but also contribute to the national grid in a very positive way.
Also, by regular training and seminars on energy saving we have managed to educate our staff to a level where they are now conscious of energy consumption. Leaflets on energy saving methods, which can also be applied at home, have been distributed to every employee.
iso.org
By Ian Johnson, Philip Fullerton, Refhan Razeen & Maurice Ahern