Sustainability in hospitality has, in recent years, turned from a hot topic into a norm of the trade. “Awareness of sustainability is growing globally,” notes Mazen Abilmona, general manager of Pullman Singapore Hill Street. “Everybody’s putting in effort to make it a greener world.”

Against this backdrop, the crux for hotels today is to perfect their green initiatives and find more effective ways to manage their environmental impact.

As a young property, sustainability has been baked into Pullman Singapore Hill Street “from day one”, says Abilmona. The groundwork for eco-friendly features was laid in the early stages, so by the time the hotel opened its doors, it already had “solar panels, a smart irrigation system and filtered water in the rooms”, among others.

This goes beyond the big-ticket moves, too. Other touches the hotel has incorporated into its operations include wooden keycards, replacing the regular plastic versions.

Pullman Singapore Hill Street was, therefore, able to receive Green Globe certification “in record time”, the general manager adds. Green Globe is the leading body for the certification of sustainable operation and management in the travel and tourism industries.

Here’s a breakdown of the various initiatives that Pullman Singapore Hill Street has put in place to play its part in mitigating climate change.

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All around

Green cascading gardens can be seen around the building. These are watered using a smart irrigation system, which tunes itself to provide just the right amount of water at the right time.

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Solar panels have been installed to help Pullman Singapore Hill Street generate some of its own electricity. Though Abilmona notes that the capacity isn’t quite sufficient to power heavy machinery, it’s enough to light up the corridors around the hotel.

In the rooms

Sensors in each room allow for smart appliance tuning to maximise energy efficiency while retaining comfort. For instance, when a guest leaves, the lights are automatically turned off. 

In the bathrooms, meanwhile, are full-sized, refillable bathroom amenities, which replace material-intensive miniature bottles.

Water filters, which provide clean drinking water, also reduce the need for single-use plastic in every room. Abilmona notes that the hotel has glass bottles for guests looking to carry around some water while on the go.

Reducing food waste

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Speaking of single-use plastic, Abilmona notes that Pullman Singapore Hill Street doesn’t have any such products, including in its kitchen. “Even when the chefs use cling film to cover the food — that film is biodegradable,” he points out.

The hotel has implemented a food waste mitigation system in partnership with homegrown startup Lumitics. “It calculates how much food is thrown away every day,” says Abilmona, “so the chefs know if they need to order more or less of certain ingredients.”

Instead of a full brunch buffet, Pullman Singapore Hill Street offers a semi-buffet, where some items are prepared a la minute. This furthers the hotel’s efforts towards reducing food waste, he explains. “No matter how busy you are, when you have a buffet, you’re going to end up throwing food away … So we decided to control every element of our food.” 

Any food remaining at the end of each service is assessed by chefs for hygiene and suitability before being sent on to another partner that distributes meals to those in need. 

 

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