The first-ever comprehensive survey of hotel sector power usage in New Zealand by Hotel Council Aotearoa (HCA) has revealed new data on energy usage, water usage and recycling.
Among the key findings from survey responses: 5-star hotels consumed more energy than 3-star properties on a per-room basis, Nelson/Marlborough has high water usage per room (grounds needing irrigation a factor), and Wellington appears to generate higher waste per room than other regions.
The Hotel Sector Energy Use Survey Results (Calendar Year 2023) is designed to help hotels respond to the emerging trend of people wanting their travel experiences to have positive environmental and social impacts. For the first time, New Zealand’s hotels can compare their own energy use, water use and recycling with other hotels in the same region or same service level category.
There is a broad shift towards sustainable travel, which has particular importance for younger people. Hotels with sustainable practices, from reducing single-use practices through to sourcing local products, can win competitive advantage. The EU has been consulting (February 3 to March 2, 2025) on new sustainability rules for hotels intended for 2026.
Last year, HCA’s annual operating survey (AOS) was expanded to include targeted questions on energy usage, water usage, and recycling. New survey questions were designed collaboratively by HCA and the Hotel Industry Sustainability Group, working with Fresh Info and the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA). 134 of New Zealand’s 360+ hotels participated in the survey, comprising some 53% of New Zealand’s hotel room supply.
The initiative was championed by the Hotel Industry Sustainability Group, which was formed by Kanika Jhunjhnuwala, Chief Sustainability Officer for Hind Management and Sudima Hotels, to enable hotels to participate in and collaborate on sustainability. This goal includes knowledge-sharing and raising the bar for ESG, and working towards climate emission reductions and on a plan for regenerative tourism. The Hotel Industry Sustainability Group is led by Ms Jhunjhnuwala along with Richard Hayman of Scenic Hotel Group.
HCA, the national industry association for hotels in New Zealand, represents 255 hotels comprising 27,350 rooms or 9.98 million available rooms per annum. The new questions in the AOS were introduced with a view to increasing hotels’ attention to their energy use as well as collating data in support of energy use benchmarks.
National benchmarks for carbon and energy, water use, and waste diversion will strengthen the hotel sector’s sustainability and improve competitiveness. Hotels and chains worldwide are aligning with industry benchmarks and best practices, including low carbon initiatives. The EU hotel sustainability consultation over February 2025 aims to standardise how hotels measure and report their environmental impact and hotels would be required to evidence their sustainability claims.
Understanding carbon footprints is increasingly critical for companies across the local and global economy as regenerative and climate-reporting pressures permeate supply chains.
The AOS for calendar year 2023 asked hotels to disclose 2023 annual amounts of electricity purchased from the grid, electricity generated onsite, natural gas, stationary diesel, LPG, coal, and consumption of other stationary fuels. In addition, hotels provided details of annual water usage, waste volume to landfill and waste diverted to landfill.
Among key findings in the Hotel Sector Energy Use Results:
- Emissions from stationary energy use (approx. 53% of the market): annual electricity purchased from the grid – 31%; annual natural gas use – 43%; annual LPG use – 24%; annual stationary diesel use – 2%; annual electricity generated onsite – 0%.
- Almost twice as much energy is consumed in 5-star properties on a per room basis than in 3-star, although luxurious properties had more onsite energy generation.
- Water usage on a per room basis was lowest for Central Park and Wellington hotels and highest by some measure in the Nelson/Marlborough region (likely related to the extensive grounds and lower key counts). It’s notable that Queenstown, also with high water usage per room, does not separately charge for water on a volumetric / usage basis (cost and/or metering arrangements for water in each region was not extensively surveyed).
- The proportion of total waste diverted from landfill varied considerably between regions. Wellington hotels appeared to generate more waste on a per room basis, and 5-star hotels generated more waste per room than lower tier properties.
- Notably, the South Island has no reticulated natural gas network; instead, many properties use bottled LPG.
“Tourism is our second largest export earner and visitors want to see evidence of our positioning as a green tourist destination. New Zealand needs to raise its climate and sustainability efforts around commitments and their verification,” said Kanika Jhunjhnuwala, Chief Sustainability Officer for Hind Management and Sudima Hotels.
“Hotels’ leadership role in this national challenge, which I am trying to orchestrate, involves placing ESG at the centre of business models, setting sustainability objectives and defining metrics to track. These survey results are a good first step for our hotels in understanding emissions and other environmental impacts and adapting their operations in order to do the right thing. Setting goals, measuring progress and being transparent means New Zealand businesses are holding themselves accountable and avoiding greenwashing.”
“It’s a well-known maxim that you can’t improve what you don’t measure”, said HCA Strategic Director, James Doolan. “The hotel industry has a long history of being data driven. We wanted to take the first steps to building a repository of real-world data on energy usage that hotels in Aotearoa can measure themselves against. Better information will lead to smarter capital investment and ultimately to faster decarbonisation.”
“One of our goals is to build on this great start and drive even higher levels of industry participation in the energy use survey, especially among smaller independent hotels,” Doolan continues. “Many hotels talk a good game on environmental sustainability, but we know that the next generation of travellers will demand real-world data and verification when businesses make claims around sustainability.”
HCA and the Hotel Industry Sustainability Group is using these results to increase participation in future energy use surveys. The next HCA Annual Operating Survey is scheduled for June 2025 covering the 2024 calendar year.
