Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has extended the deadline for implementation of their sustainability requirements.
Titled the “19 Sustainability Requirements and Carbon Calculator”, the requirements look at how a hotel performs across a number of metrics, while the Carbon Calculator looks at a hotel’s carbon footprint in a month.
The department announced that the deadline for these practices has been moved forward by 12 months. In a statement, DTCM said the decision will not only help hotels finalise their compliance, but also give them time to focus on recovery amid the pandemic.
The 19 Sustainability Requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programmes for local communities.
Yousuf Lootah, executive director, Tourism Development & Investments, DTCM, said: “The 19 Sustainable Requirements have been launched in an effort to transform Dubai into a leading sustainable tourism destination. The regulated guidelines will help promote energy conservation and encourage sustainable practices across the local tourism inventory. Following the grace period, these guidelines will be enforced through a structured monitoring process and reporting mechanism to ascertain the outcome and quantify what more is required to reach the agreed targets.”
The Carbon Calculator meanwhile looks at a hotel’s electricity, district cooling, water, waste, fuel for transportation, fuel for generators, fire extinguishers, and liquefied petroleum gas, aggregating the information to produce a collective carbon footprint for the hospitality sector as a whole, month by month.
