Why Net-Zero? Although there is no hard and fast rule, hotels currently experience soft refurbishments around every five to seven years. The renovation cycle is typically much shorter for F&B (Food & Beverage) spaces, alongside continuously changing customer needs.
and in the US this figure is around 21 million3, this fact alone demonstrates the need for change. At the same time as designers we must consider the constitution of man made materials, if natural whether they are sourced sustainably, and the ultimate distance that they are transported over in order to reduce the project’s carbon footprint.
This regular cycle of change means that we must look at how items can be reused, or recycled, and avoid throwing them into a landfill. When refurbishing a hospitality space that has not been designed with the whole life cycle of materials and FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Fittings) in mind, it becomes more of a challenge to repurpose items. For example, in the UK alone around 7.5 million mattresses are thrown into landfills each year,
Research by Nature Climate Change in 2018 shows that tourism is responsible for 8% annual GHG emissions4. However, the industry plays an important role in the economy, accounting for 1 in 10 jobs in the UK5. So we must encourage sustainable development in order to ensure that the sector growth does not increase carbon emissions.
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