A New White Paper Explores How to Build Hotels More Sustainably | Architectural Digest

According to Bensley, building sustainable hotels is not only better for the environment, but can also increase a hotel’s profits over time. Unfortunately, there’s a common misconception that building green is inherently more expensive and a lack of knowledge about the effects of construction on climate change. “Most project owners don’t realize that the construction sector alone contributes to 23% of air pollution, 50% of the climatic change, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill waste worldwide,” Bensley says, adding, “They also don’t realize that they can make so much more money by building sustainably.”

In his white paper, which he has made free and available to download on his website, Bensley outlines the importance of building with a purpose beyond profit-making, which could be supporting the local community, championing environmental issues, providing guests with new experiences, or—ideally—all of the above. He encourages hotel owners to operate locally by planting a vegetable garden, for example, or sourcing food and other products locally, which reduces the carbon footprint of the hotel’s supply chain.