Hotel Sustainability Audit

Process Street's Hotel Sustainability Audit outlines specific criteria and performance indicators which act to construct a sustainable business.

This Hotel Sustainability Audit is made up of four sections:

• Section A: Demonstrate Effective Sustainable Management 
• Section B: Maximize Social and Economic Benefits to the Local Community and Minimize Negative Impacts 
• Section C: Maximize Benefits to Cultural Heritage and Minimize Negative Impacts 
• Section D: Maximize Benefits to the Environment and Minimize Negative Impacts

Process Street's Hotel Sustainability Audit has been designed to adhere to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Criteria for Tourism Industry version 3, December 2016. The outlined criteria, in each of these four sections, design a minimum standard for Hotel businesses to achieve sustainability.

Defined as the 'capacity to endure, to maintain a process or situation over time', sustainability as a discipline can be incorporated into a business strategy, to ensure prolonged business success in a changing climate.

In addition, global data shows that over 60% of millennial consumers are opting for greener alternatives. Ensuring that business sustainability is achieved must, therefore, be a priority.

This audit provides a structured, quick and straightforward way for any hotel business to internally assess the sustainability of their operations. Areas for improvement and areas of success are automatically reported on at the end of this audit.

We recommend continual assessment of your hotel's sustainability, therefore running this audit at least once every financial year.

Process Street's 'Hotel Sustainability Audit' has been specifically designed to aid you in building an environmentally, people friendly, and sustainable hotel business. 

At the beginning of this audit, you will be presented with a set of specialized questions that are designed to determine a hotel's level of sustainability compliance. These questions are given as sub checklists. For each sub checklist, you will also be presented with the option to leave notes and record your conclusions.

On completion of the audit, all of your answers will automatically compile to produce a final sustainability report.

The audit also provides a tutorial on how to export the end report into Google Documents via an automation process. This automation will run each time this audit is complete, saving you both time and effort. 

In this Hotel Sustainability Audit, you will be presented with the following form fields, for which you are required to populate with your own specific data. More information for each form field type is provided via linkage to our help pages:

• Subtasks 
• Dropdown
• Short Text 
• Date
• Email
• Email Widget

Let's start by recording the hotel details, your details and the details of your supervisor or manager.

Audit reviewer details

At the end of this Hotel Sustainability Audit, the audit results will require review and approval by the relevant personnel. Use the form fields below to enter the audit reviewer's information.

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

For any Sustainability Management System, a clear environmental policy is needed. The Sustainability Management System will then integrate sustainable practices with an organization's internal procedures to meet this policy. Both environmental and social risks are considered in a Sustainable Management System via a Plan-Do-Check-Act principle.

Check off each task from the subtasks below on their completion. You can then state whether A1 Sustainability Management System task as a whole has been obtained or not by selecting 'Pass' or 'Fail' from the dropdown menu provided. 

Any notes added will be summarised in a final report at the end of this audit. If you have no notes to add, please state 'no notes necessary'. This step is important when producing the final report.

Please see the International Standards Organisation (ISO 14000) and the European Union (EU) Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) to consider the standards set for an effective Sustainability Management System.

Have a look at the different sustainability models that help to explain what a sustainable business will look like. The image above represents the '3-nested-dependencies-model'. This model infers a co-dependence between the environment, society and the economy.

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

A7.1 Compliance 

A7.2 Impact and Integrity 

A7.3 Sustainable Practices and Materials 

A7.4 Access For All

A7 Building And Infrastructure Summary

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

D1.1 Environmentally Preferable Purchasing 

D1.2 Efficient Purchasing 

D1.3 Energy Conservation 

D1.4 Water Conservation

D1 Conserving Resources Summary 

'The organization has implemented a long-term sustainability management system that is suitable to its size and scope, addresses environmental, social, cultural, economic, quality, human rights, health, safety, risk, and crisis management issues and drives continuous improvement.'

D2.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

D2.2 Transport

D2.3 Wastewater

D2.4 Solid Waste 

D2 Reducing Pollution Summary

D3.1 Biodiversity Conservation 

D3.2 Invasive Species 

D3.3 Visits To Natural Sites 

D3.4 Wildlife Interactions 

D3.5 Animal Welfare 

D3.6 Wildlife Harvesting and Trade 

D3 Conserving biodiversity, ecosystems and landscapes Summary

This is the end of the Hotel Sustainability Audit. Your attainment details for each step along with any notes made have been compiled into a final report, accessible in the 'your report' task.

You are presented with the option to create an automation process to export the final report generated as a google document. This is a conditional step. If you chose 'Yes' from the dropdown menu, you will be presented with instructions on how to create this automation using Zapier.

Please enter the date that this audit has been completed on, and the name of who this audit was reviewed by.

You can summarise whether the hotel passed the sustainability audit as a whole. You can also add summary notes. 

You are then presented with the option to send this summary to any relevant stakeholders using our email widget. This is a conditional step. If you select 'Yes' then the option of sending this email is provided.

Your hotel sustainability report has been created from the notes added in each task and the attainment details.

The final report requires review and approval for the completion of this Hotel Sustainability Audit.

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Section A: Demonstrate Effective Sustainable Management 

A1: Sustainability Management System 

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A2 Legal Compliance

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A3 Reporting and Communication 

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A4 Staff Engagement

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A5 Customer Experience 

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A6 Accurate Promotion 

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A7 Building and Infrastructure 

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A8 Land Water and Property Rights 

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A9 Information and Interpretation 

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A10 Destination Engagement 

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Section B: Maximize Social and Economic Benefits to the Local Community

B1 Community Support 

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B2 Local Employment

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B3 Local Purchasing 

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B4 Local Entrepreneurs 

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B5 Exploitation and Harassment 

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B6 Equal Opportunity 

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B7 Decent Work 

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B8 Community Services 

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B9 Local Livelihoods 

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Section C: Maximize Benefits to Cultural Heritage and Minimize Negative Impacts 

C1 Cultural Interactions

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C2 Protecting Cultural Heritage 

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C3 Presenting Cultural Heritage 

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C4 Artefacts

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Section D: Maximize Benefits to the Environment and Minimize Impact

D1 Conserving Resources

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D2 Reducing Pollution 

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D3 Conserving Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Landscapes 

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{{form.D3.5_Animal_welfare_attainment}}

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Below Process Street has outlined how you can send your audit report from Process Street to Google Documents using the application Zapier. 

Create a free account with Zapier here

• Global Sustainability Tourism Council - GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels 
• Straus Group - The Importance of Sustainability 
• The Global Web Index - The Rise of Green Consumerism: What do Brands Need to Know?
• Green Hotelier - Finance and Sustainable Tourism 
• About Time - Top 7: Worlds Most Sustainable Hotels 
• European Commission - Eco-Management and Audit Scheme 
• Certified Quality Sytems - ISO 14001 Certification 
• Info Entrepreneurs - How to write an environmental policy 
• Harford Business.com - Seven Management Benefits of Using Checklists 
• Process Street - The Best Workflow Management Software 
• Sustainability Advantage - 2 Sustainability Models
• Image from Sunray, re-sized
• Image from Max Pixel, re-sized
• Image from vait_mcright, re-sized
• Image from geralt, re-sized
• Image from sonnydelrosario, re-sized
• Image from Sasint, re-sized
• Image from Pedro_Teixeira, re-sized
• Image from Free-Photos, re-sized

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• Tenant Onboarding Checklist
• Tenant Move-Out Checklist for Landlords
• Tenant Eviction Checklist
• Landlord Screening Checklist
• Landlord Onboarding Checklist
• Landlord Offboarding Checklist
• Apartment Building Maintenance Checklist
• Maintenance Log Setup Checklist
• House Cleaning Checklist
• Pre-Listing House Cleaning Checklist
• Home Staging Guide
• Real Estate Listing Checklist
• House Viewing Checklist
• Real Estate Sales Process
• Home Inspection Checklist
• End of Tenancy Cleaning Service Guide
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• Electrical Inspection Checklist: Residential Rough Inspection General
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• Fire Inspection Checklist
• Roof Inspection Report Template
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• Lease Renewal Checklist
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• Tenant Move-In Process
• Tenant Move-Out Process
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• Deep Cleaning Checklist
• Hotel Safety Inspection Checklist
• Hotel Check In Procedure Template
• Training Hotel Employees Template
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• Hotel Check Out Procedure Template