Langham Place Addresses Thermal Pollution Issue in Hong Kong

Hong Kong may not be the first place you think of when looking for a sustainability story, but it’s in big cities where the largest gains can often be made.

Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong is a five-star modern, streamlined building rising 42 storeys from Hong Kong’s vibrant heart, blending trendy sophistication with contemporary chic to create an oasis of calm.

Operating in a city that appears crafted from neon, the hotel is an inspiring example of how sustainability can be achieved in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner; even when the odds of making a difference appear to be stacked against you.

Hong Kong’s concrete jungle of high-density high rise development has created a unique environmental challenge. Called Thermal Pollution, heat is trapped by the concrete structures and released is into the atmosphere at night.

This, and the lack of airflow between buildings, has contributed to the creation of heat islands . Daily ambient air temperatures have been mapped at 5 degrees Celsius higher than in lower density areas, and at night the warming effect is also evident.

As humans, our natural response to excess heat is to crank up the air conditioning even further. This however creates a multiplier effect, contributing to the original problem.

Langham Place is one of more than a thousand hotels using an Australian-developed sustainability solution. The EarthCheck Program provides a framework for businesses to increase operational efficiencies, maximise the benefit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and minimise environmental impacts.

“In our market, sustainable business practices are becoming increasingly important,” says the hotel’s General Manager Shaun Campbell. “We are continually seeking out the most environmentally-friendly ways to operate and use EarthCheck to stay abreast of international standards of best practice.”

EarthCheck’s science-based approach is considered at the forefront of sustainability management systems. It should be, when you consider it was developed by the world’s largest not-for-profit research centre into sustainable tourism – the Australian Government-funded Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre. The Program also leverages some $260 million worth of academic research and contains more than a decade of industry benchmarking data.

In December 2009, Langham Place underwent EarthCheck Benchmarking to compare their performance against 8 indicators. The results showed that they exceeded Best Practice levels in the five indicators of Energy Consumption, Potable Water Consumption, Waste Recycling, Community Commitment and Pesticide Products.

The next step for the hotel will be certification and for this they will be independently audited to provide credibility.

“The newly emerging carbon economy has helped create an impetus for change,” explained Stewart Moore, CEO of EarthCheck. “The bottom line is now a triple one and this requires holistic consideration of social, environmental and economic impacts. There is a desire to look for ways to operate in a more sustainable manner, but also a risk of becoming caught up in the green wash of supposed “eco” claims.”

For Langham Place, implementing the EarthCheck Program has resulted in resource consumption decreases of 6% for energy and 11% for water.