Understanding carbon emission mitigation in the New Zealand accommodation industry

152 Pages·2017·2.57 MB·English

Understanding  carbon  emission  mitigation  in  the  New  Zealand  accommodation  industry:  
A  mixed  methods  study  

Amber  Knowsley  

A  thesis  submitted  to  
Auckland  University  of  Technology  
in  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  
of  
Master  of  International  Hospitality  Management  (MIHM)  

2016  
Faculty  of  Culture  and  Society  
School  of  Hospitality  and  Tourism
TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  
LIST  OF  APPENDICES  ................................................................................................................  iv  
LIST  OF  FIGURES  ........................................................................................................................  v  
LIST  OF  TABLES  .........................................................................................................................  vi  
LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS  .........................................................................................................  vii  
ATTESTATION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  ............................................................................................  viii  
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  .............................................................................................................  ix  
ABSTRACT………  .........................................................................................................................  x  
1.   INTRODUCTION  ..................................................................................................................  1  
1.1.   Statement  of  problem  ....................................................................................................  1  
1.2.   Background  to  the  study  ...............................................................................................  1  
1.3.   Purpose  of  the  study  .....................................................................................................  3  
1.4.   Overview  of  the  methodology  ........................................................................................  3  
1.5.   Significance  to  the  field  .................................................................................................  4  
1.6.   Structure  of  the  study  ....................................................................................................  4  
2.   LITERATURE  REVIEW  ........................................................................................................  6  
2.1.   A  brief  history  and  key  concepts  of  climate  change  ......................................................  6  
2.2.   Tourism,  accommodation  and  climate  change  ............................................................  11  
2.3.   Summary  of  literature  review  ......................................................................................  30  
3.   METHODOLOGY  ...............................................................................................................  32  
3.1.   Research  paradigms  ...................................................................................................  32  
3.2.   Rationale  for  pragmatism  ............................................................................................  33  
3.3.   Research  design  and  rationale:  mixed  methods  research  ..........................................  34  
3.4.   Phase  One:  survey  questionnaire  development  .........................................................  38  
3.5.   Phase  Two:  case  study  research  instrument  and  design  ............................................  44  
3.6.   Ethics  approval  and  risks  ............................................................................................  48  
3.7.   Summary  of  methods  and  methodology  .....................................................................  48  
4.   RESULTS:  PHASE  ONE  ....................................................................................................  50  
4.1.   Survey  population  and  characteristics  ........................................................................  50  
4.2.   Objective  One:  To  identify  emission  mitigation  initiatives  being  implemented  by  the  
New  Zealand  accommodation  industry  .......................................................................  53  
4.3.   Objective  Two:  To  identify  if  luxury  accommodation  establishments  implement  more  
emission  mitigation  initiatives  than  mid-­range  or  budget  establishments  ...................  59  
4.4.   Objective  Three:  To  identify  if  establishments  with  a  Qualmark™  Enviro  award  
implement  more  mitigation  initiatives  than  those  without  ............................................  60  
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4.5.   Objective  Four:  To  identify  the  motivations  of  the  New  Zealand  accommodation  
industry  for  implementing  mitigation  initiatives  ............................................................  61  
4.6.   Summary  of  results  .....................................................................................................  64  
5.   RESULTS:  PHASE  TWO  ...................................................................................................  66  
5.1.   A  brief  history  of  the  Sudima  Hotel  Auckland  Airport  ..................................................  66  
5.2.   Emission  mitigation  at  the  hotel  ..................................................................................  70  
5.3.   Corporate  motivations  for  creating  a  carbon  neutral  organisation  ..............................  75  
5.4.   Summary  of  the  case  study  .........................................................................................  76  
6.   DISCUSSION:  PHASE  ONE  AND  TWO  ............................................................................  78  
6.1.   Objective  One:  To  identify  emission  mitigation  initiatives  being  implemented  by  the  
New  Zealand  accommodation  industry  .......................................................................  78  
6.2.   Objective  Two:  To  identify  if  luxury  properties  implement  more  emission  mitigation  
initiatives  than  mid-­range  or  budget  establishments  ...................................................  85  
6.3.   Objective  Three:  To  identify  if  establishments  with  a  Qualmark™  Enviro  award  
implement  more  mitigation  initiatives  than  those  without  ............................................  88  
6.4.   Objective  Four:  To  identify  the  motivations  of  the  New  Zealand  accommodation  
industry  for  implementing  mitigation  initiatives  ............................................................  90  
6.5.   Objective  Five:  To  provide  a  holistic  investigation  of  emission  mitigation  initiatives,  
environmental  certification  and  corporate  motivations  at  New  Zealand’s  only  carbon  
neutral  certified  hotel  ...................................................................................................  92  
6.6.   Summary  of  discussion  and  implications  ....................................................................  93  
7.   CONCLUSIONS  .................................................................................................................  96  
7.1.   Summary  of  key  findings  .............................................................................................  96  
7.2.   Critical  reflection  of  the  study  results  ..........................................................................  98  
7.3.   Critical  reflection  on  methods  and  limitations  ............................................................  101  
7.4.   Recommendations  ....................................................................................................  103  
7.5.   Concluding  thoughts  .................................................................................................  103  
8.   REFERENCES  .................................................................................................................  105  
9.   APPENDICES  ..................................................................................................................  121  

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LIST  OF  APPENDICES  

Appendix  A  Carbon  Footprint  Survey  .......................................................................................  121  
Appendix  B  Semi  structured  questions  for  accommodation  establishment  ..............................  129  
Appendix  C  Emission  mitigation  initiatives  undertaken  per  category  in  the    New  Zealand  
accommodation  industry  ......................................................................................  131  
Appendix  D  Cross  tabulations  of  twelve  additional  emission  mitigation  initiatives  undertaken        
by  categories  in  the  survey  ..................................................................................  132  
Appendix  E  Cross  tabulation  of  accommodation  clusters  and  the  Big  Five  initiatives  .............  133  
Appendix  F  Survey  respondents’  reasons  given  for  not  recycling  ............................................  134  
Appendix  G  Cross  tabulations  of  Qualmark  Enviro  holders  and  non  Qualmark  Enviro                  
holders  and  the  Big  Five  emission  mitigation  initiatives  .......................................  135  
Appendix  H  Motivations  for  not  wanting  to  lower  carbon  emissions  ........................................  136  
Appendix  I  Email  for  survey  participants  ..................................................................................  137  
Appendix  J  Participant  Information  Sheet  for  interview  ............................................................  138  
Appendix  K  Consent  form  for  interviewee  ................................................................................  140  
Appendix  L  Ethics  approval  from  AUTEC  ................................................................................  141  

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LIST  OF  FIGURES  

Figure  2.1  View  of  a  hotel  swimming  pool  during  Cyclone  Evan  (2012)  on  Fiji's  popular  tourist  
destination,  Denarau  Island.  Picture:  Brendan  O'Farrell  (Barrett,  2012)  ..................  13  
Figure  2.2  Mild  conditions  left  ski  slopes  almost  bare  at  Tegelberg,  in  Schwangau,  Germany          
in  the  Winter  of  December  2015  (Picture:  Alamy  Live  News  (‘Alamy’,  2016))  
(Kitching,  2015)  ........................................................................................................  13  
Figure  2.3  Campers’  tents  under  water  at  Cook's  Beach,  North  Island,  New  Zealand  in  2013  
(Photo:  Matt  Corbett).  ...............................................................................................  14  
Figure  2.4  Between  2009  (left)  and  2016  (right)  in  Clifton  on  the  Hawke's  Bay,  New  Zealand,          
a  campground  lost  sites  and  roads  were  damaged  due  to  coastal  erosion          
(Mitchell,  2016).  ........................................................................................................  15  
Figure  2.5  A  Qualmark  Enviro  Award  logo  (bronze)  (‘Qualmark’,  2016)  ....................................  24  
Figure  2.6  New  Zealand  Energy  Star  label  ................................................................................  27  
Figure  3.1  Survey  items  adapted  from  Knowles,  MacMillian,  Palmer,  Grabowski  &  Hashimoto  
(1999)  .......................................................................................................................  38  
Figure  3.2  Additional  mitigation  initiatives  that  the  accommodation  industry  may  undertake  ....  40  
Figure  3.3  Clusters  of  accommodation  categories  in  the  study  ..................................................  40  
Figure  3.4  Categories  of  accommodation  on  the  Tourism  New  Zealand  website  surveyed  in        
the  study  ...................................................................................................................  42  
Figure  4.1  Overall  result  of  the  Big  Five  emission  mitigation  initiatives  in  the  New  Zealand  
accommodation  industry  ...........................................................................................  55  
Figure  4.2  Percentage  of  establishments  interested  in  lowering  their  carbon  emissions  ...........  57  
Figure  4.3  Ranked  averages  of  Big  Five  emission  mitigation  initiatives  by  category  in  the  New  
Zealand  accommodation  industry  .............................................................................  58  
Figure  4.4  Motivations  reported  for  not  partaking  in  a  recycling  initiative  ...................................  62  
Figure  5.1  CarboNZero  certification  and  annual  process  (carboNZero,  2016)  ..........................  67  

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LIST  OF  TABLES  

Table  2.1  Becken  et  al’s.,  (2001)  mean  energy  efficiencies  for  various  New  Zealand  
accommodation  categories  .........................................................................................  17  
Table  2.2  Qualmark  Enviro  awards  key  action  areas  to  achieve  certification                                
(‘Qualmark’,  2016)  .......................................................................................................  25  
Table  4.1  Frequency  of  respondent  categories  in  the  survey  ....................................................  51  
Table  4.2  Frequency  analysis  of  respondents’  roles  ..................................................................  52  
Table  4.3  Frequency  analysis  of  the  decision  makers  at  their  establishment  ............................  52  
Table  4.4  Rankings  of  accommodation  clusters  for  the  Big  Five  mitigation  initiatives  ...............  59  
Table  5.1  Emissions  as  tonnes  of  carbon  dioxide  equivalents  (t  CO e)  for  the  period  January  
2
2013  to  December  2013  ..............................................................................................  69  
Table  6.1  Comparison  of  Qualmark  Enviro  award  holders  and  non-­award  holders  survey  
responses  ....................................................................................................................  88  
Table  7.1  Summary  of  key  findings  ............................................................................................  96  

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LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS  

AA         Automobile  Association  
AUT         Auckland  University  of  Technology  
AUTEC       Auckland  University  of  Technology  Ethics  Committee  
CGC         Consumer  Generated  Content  
CO         carbon  dioxide  
2
CRI         Crown  Research  Institute  
COP21       21st  Climate  Conference  Paris  
EECA         Energy  Efficiency  and  Conservation  Authority  
GHG         Greenhouse  gas  
IPCC         Intergovernmental  Panel  of  Climate  Change    
ISO         International  Organisation  for  Standardisation  
LEDs         Light  Emitting  Diodes  
MfE       New  Zealand  Ministry  for  the  Environment  
NZETS         New  Zealand  Emissions  Trading  Scheme  
ORP       Oxidisation-­Reduction  Potential    
SMTEs        Small  to  Medium  Tourism  Enterprises    
SPSS         Statistical  Package  for  Social  Sciences  
TIANZ         Tourism  Industry  Aotearoa  New  Zealand    
UNEP         United  Nations  Environment  Programme    
UNFCCC         United  Framework  Convention  for  Climate  Change    
UNWTO         United  Nations  World  Tourism  Organisation  
VCUs       Verified  Carbon  Units  
YHA         Youth  Hostel  Association    
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ATTESTATION  OF  AUTHORSHIP  
I  hereby  declare  that  this  submission  is  my  own  work  and  that,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  
belief,  it  contains  no  material  previously  published  or  written  by  another  person  (except  where  
explicitly  defined  in  the  acknowledgements),  nor  material  which  to  a  substantial  extent  has  been  
submitted  for  the  award  of  any  other  degree  or  diploma  of  a  university  or  other  institution  of  higher  
learning.    

Amber  Knowsley  

Signed:  

October  2016  
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  

The  completion  of  this  study  would  not  have  been  possible  without  the  assistance  provided  by  the  
following  people.  This  is  to  acknowledge  and  thank  them  for  their  valuable  support  and  assistance.    

My  sincerest  thanks  to  my  supervisors,  Associate  Professor  Tomas  Pernecky,  for  going  out  of  
your  way  to  support  me  during  this  study,  and  Associate  Professor  Jill  Poulston,  for  your  
exceptional  eye  for  detail  and  down-­to-­earth  humour.  You  were  to  both  so  patient  with  me  while  I  
completed  this  study,  and  I  will  always  be  grateful  to  you  both.    

I  would  also  like  to  acknowledge  and  thank  the  following  people  who  made  my  study  possible:  

All  the  respondents  from  the  New  Zealand  accommodation  industry  who  took  the  time  and  made  
the  effort  to  complete  my  survey;;  Mr  Riza  Suryo,  the  Hotel  Manager  at  Sudima  Hotel  Auckland  
Airport,  who  was  so  gracious  with  his  time  and  knowledge;;  Sue  Farrell  and  the  staff  at  the  Sudima  
Hotel  who  looked  after  me  so  well  during  my  stay  there;;  Mr  Stewart  McKenzie  the  Senior  Advisor  
at   Enviro-­Mark   for   his   time   and   information   about   CarbonZero;;   Lyn   Lavery   at   Academic  
Consulting  for  your  statistical  insights  and  patience  explaining  SPSS  to  me;;  Lenna  Millar  at  Audio  
Transcribing  Services;;  Esther  Puru  at  Printsprint  at  AUT;;  Margaret  Linzell-­Jones  at  AUT;;  Susan  
Shoemark  my  AUT  buddy  and  formatting  saviour;;  Nick  Marsh  my  IT  wizard  and  academic  
sounding  board;;  Warren  Goodsir  and  Claire  Li  for  everything  over  the  years;;  the  AUT  Ethics  
Committee  for  granting  approval  for  the  research  ethics,  and  thankyou  to  all  my  friends  and  
colleagues  -­  for  listening  to  me  talk  about  doing  my  thesis  for  so  long.  

Extra  special  thanks  to  my  family,  Ben  Tanfield,  Erik  and  Heidi,  Mum/Sue,  Dad/Trevor  and  Fleur  
Knowsley  (especially  for  your  eagle  eyes!)  -­  for  not  letting  me  give  up,  and  supporting  me  in  so  
many  ways  throughout  this  academic  journey.  Thankyou  -­  you  have  my  everlasting  my  love  and  
gratitude.  
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ABSTRACT  

The  accommodation  sector  is  a  key  source  of  greenhouse  gas  emissions  within  tourism,  and  
therefore   there   is   a   need   to   understand   emission   mitigation   in   the   sector.   As   there   is   a  
geoscientific   consensus   that   excessive   emissions   are   responsible   for   climate   change,  
international  efforts  towards  a  low  carbon  economy  need  to  be  realised.  The  2015  Paris  Climate  
Agreement  will  facilitate  efforts  by  all  parties  to  mitigate  carbon,  with  New  Zealand's  current  target  
to  reduce  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  30  per  cent  below  2005  levels  by  2030.  It  is  suggested  
that  due  to  its  high  energy  use,  the  accommodation  sector  has  excellent  potential  to  lower  its  
emissions.  Previous  research  in  New  Zealand  on  the  accommodation  industry  has  not  focused  
specifically  on  the  mitigation  initiatives  being  undertaken,  nor  the  motivations  for  doing  so.  
Therefore,  the  primary  aim  of  this  study  is  to  examine  the  extent  to  which  carbon  emission  
mitigation   initiatives   in   the   New   Zealand   accommodation   industry   are   currently   being  
implemented.    

A  mixed  methods  research  design,  with  two  sequential  phases,  was  adopted  for  this  study.  Phase  
One  consisted  of  a  national  online  survey,  gathering  information  on  the  accommodation  industry’s  
emission  mitigation  initiatives  and  motivations  for  implementing  them.  Phase  Two  undertook  a  
case   study   which   holistically   investigated   emission   mitigation   initiatives,   environmental  
certification  and  corporate  motivations  at  New  Zealand’s  only  carbon  neutral  certified  hotel.  
Statistical  analysis  of  566  survey  responses  reveals  that  recycling  is  the  most  implemented  
initiative   throughout   the   industry,   with   almost   all   properties   undertaking   this   initiative.  
Accommodation  categories  in  the  luxury  cluster  implement  more  emission  mitigation  measures  
than   either   mid-­range   or   budget   cluster   properties.   Accommodation   providers   that   hold   a  
Qualmark™  Enviro  award  are  more  likely  to  implement  LED  lighting,  have  a  ‘Switch  Off’  policy  
and  provide  a  towel  reuse  option,  however,  they  are  equally  as  likely  as  those  who  do  not  hold  
the  award  to  recycle  and  select  Energy  Star  appliances.  In  addition,  analysis  shows  that  some  
establishments  who  hold  this  award  do  not  actually  implement  some  of  the  initiatives  studied.  
Corporate  motivations  for  implementing  initiatives  indicate  that  ‘ecological  responsiveness’  is  
behind  recycling;;  however,  the  other  four  main  initiatives  are  reported  to  be  undertaken  due  to  
‘competitiveness’.  The  case  study  reveals  specific  details  of  environmental  sustainability  and  
mitigation   initiatives   at   New   Zealand’s   only   certified   carbon   neutral   accommodation  
establishment.  This  provides  a  role  model  establishment  for  other  accommodation  providers  to  
emulate  in  a  move  towards  a  lower  carbon  operation.  However,  it  is  also  suggested  that  there  
were  still  opportunities  for  the  organisation  to  further  lower  its  emissions,  and  capitalise  on  its  
carbon  neutral  status  through  marketing  and  advertising.  

Implications  of  this  study  showed  that  there  is  potential  for  the  New  Zealand  accommodation  
sector  to  become  a  role  model  of  environmental  sustainability  and  emission  mitigation  behaviour,  
as  the  majority  of  respondents  were  interested  in  lowering  their  carbon  emissions  further,  as  well  
as  currently  undertaking  initiatives  to  do  so.  The  results  should  be  of  interest  to  carbon  mitigation  
x