By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter
Eco anything is hip these days, especially with global warming having serious implications in every corner of the world.
Is it any wonder then that environment specialists are focusing on the hospitality business as a target for reducing energy consumption and generally increasing awareness over the need to protect earth from harm?
Bernhard Brender will be the first to tell you of the important role that hotels stand to play in efforts to reduce emissions of carbon gases and other pollutants.
``We are very excited about the prospect of being the first hotel in Korea to be certified under the global eco-tourism program,'' said the German hotelier and general manager of the Grand Hilton Seoul in central Seoul.
Brender said his organization had been working with TUV Rheinland, the authority behind the eco-tourism program based in Germany, over the past few months to draft an initiative for cutting energy consumption and other means of reducing harmful emissions.
``It was by chance that I ran into Stephan Heuer and got to discussing the need and the possibility of turning the Grand Hilton into an eco-friendly hotel,'' Brender said in an interview with The Korea Times.
Heuer is CEO of TUV Rheinland Korea and has been assigned to the Korean market for the past five years.
But with the distinction of becoming the first certified eco-tourism hotel in Korea comes significant responsibility and Brender and his staff have their work cut out for them.
``Basically, there are specific and stringent standards to which we have to adhere to in terms of energy, water, chemical substances and general housekeeping in improving security, safety and service quality.
``This is an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the need for eco-tourism standards in Korea and we hope that the trend will pick up pace to a point where corporations will designate only certified eco-tourism hotels for accommodation during business travel,'' said Heuer.
Indeed, it is fitting that Grand Hilton has been selected as the first eco-tourism hotel in Korea since it is the only property in the hospitality industry which has a super-deluxe hotel, long-term residence suites (Grand Suites) and a separate convention center ― one of the largest in the country.
``Owing to the size and diversity of our operation, we are in a position to set an example of how we can contribute to the slowdown of global warming and help create a more viable environment for generations to come,'' said Brender.
This is quite appropriate since there are few people in Korea who know the hospitality business here than Brender who was first posted in Seoul at the Grande Sheraton Walkerhill in 1991.
``It is a matter of maximizing cost engineering and introducing effective training initiatives for the staff so that we can live up to the expectations of being Korea's first eco-tourism hotel,'' Brender said.