ABSTRACT

Hotels have been identified as a ‘resource-hungry’ sector that consumes a considerable amount of natural resources and generates large volumes of waste. This negative impact of the sector raises concerns for environmental sustainability. Green business practice has been identified as a subtle but significant medium in combating the adverse impacts of hotels on the environment. The quest to ascertain the availability of green management policies, practices and factors that influence the adoption and practice of green initiatives among star-graded hotels informed the focus of this study. With the qualitative research approach, four (4) star-graded hotels in the La-dadekotopon municipality in the Greater Accra Region were sampled. In-depth interviews with key informants from key regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and hotel managers were conducted. The study revealed that, though the low-grade hotels had some ‘reactive’ green initiatives, the high-grade hotels were more committed to environmental sustainability in terms of the availability of a written green management policy. Water management and rationing, energy efficiency and economy and waste generation and management were broad green initiatives employed by hotels in this study. However, high-grade hotels in this respect were again identified having a more robust green initiative such as in-room energy management systems and large liquid waste treatment plants than low-grade hotels. The study again identified cost savings and regulatory compliance as popular drivers influencing the adoption of green business initiatives in hotels. This study proposes the provision of infrastructure, support, and education for hotel owners and consumers on the need to embrace environmental sustainability in their operations.