M Hotel, a leading 4 stars hotel in Singapore, part of the Millennium and Copthorne group, has embarked on a comprehensive Green Campaign in every effort towards conserving Earth’s precious resources. The campaign is targeting specifically at energy conservation and awareness.
The hotel explains below its policy:
In an extensive energy audit, M Hotel has identified various areas to improve on its energy efficiency, which include public areas comprising its hotel lobby, guest rooms and corridors, meeting rooms as well as back-of-the-house premises in all kitchens and offices.
Since early this year, M Hotel has reviewed and implemented several conservation measures, mainly involving the control of all heating and air-conditioning systems, usage of low wattage, high efficiency lighting and close monitoring of the daily operations of all machinery and equipment. The hotel also recognises the importance of setting measurable standards and guidelines without compromising on guest satisfaction and employee safety.
At the hotel lobby, timers are installed to switch off the ceiling lights from 12am till 6am every day. The timers are also fixed at other public areas including guest room corridors and the gym on The Waterfloor to switch off half of their lights from 12am till 7am daily. When cleaning rooms, all chambermaids are urged to make use of natural light whenever possible, and to maintain air-conditioning thermostats at 22.5 degree celsius in unoccupied rooms. In addition, M Hotel is planning to replace the halogen lights in all its 413 guest rooms with the energy-saving LED (Light Emittance Diode) light bulbs.
At the Banquet Suite on level 10, a lower wattage new service light has been installed to reduce energy consumption. The hotel’s banqueting employees have also been informed to be prudent with the amount of lighting used whilst setting up events and also, to switch off all lights and air-conditioning at the end of all functions.
Over at the Kitchen, all electrical and gas equipment is switched off when not in use. Water heaters are also turned off when dishwashers are inactive for more than 15 minutes. To minimise energy consumption, kitchen staff will only operate dishwashers at full load. Overheating and simultaneous start-up of all electrical equipment are also avoided to maximise energy efficiency.
Within staff premises, all office lights and air-conditioning are switched off during meal periods and at the end of the day, likewise the lights in all storerooms and pantries when not occupied. Big-item machinery including printers and copiers are set on standby mode whenever they are not in use. All staff are also urged to refrain from printing documents unless necessary, and to utilise both sides of the paper. Moreover, M Hotel encourages waste reduction and recycling of all papers, plastic and glass bottles with the placement of recycling bins at its garbage centre.
The achievement of long term results of energy conservation requires the collective commitment of the M Hotel team. The guidelines are highlighted during staff orientation and regular briefings to reiterate its importance, and constantly reviewed to ensure their effectiveness.