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By Jan Warnken and Melanie Bradley

RESEARCH REPORT

ENERGY AUDITING AND ESTIMATING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSFOR AUSTRALIAS TOURIST ACCOMMODATION SECTORHOTELS, SELF-CONTAINED APARTMENT COMPLEXES,ECO-RESORTS AND CARAVAN PARKS IN QUEENSLAND


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RESEARCH REPORT SERIES

The primary aim of CRC Tourisms research report series is technology transfer. Thereports are targeted toward both industry and government users and tourismresearchers. The content of this technical report series primarily focuses onapplications, but may also advance research methodology and tourism theory. Thereport series titles relate to CRC Tourisms research program areas. All researchreports are peer reviewed by at least two external reviewers. For further informationon the report series, access the CRC website [www.crctourism.com.au].

EDITORS

Prof Chris Cooper University of Queensland Editor-in-ChiefProf Terry De Lacy CRC for Sustainable Tourism Chief ExecutiveProf Leo Jago CRC for Sustainable Tourism Director of Research

National Library of Australia Cataloguing in Publication Data

Warnken, Jan.Energy auditing and estimating greenhouse gas emissions for Australia's touristaccommodation sector : hotels, self-contained apartment complexes, eco-resorts andcaravan parks in Queensland.

Bibliography.ISBN 1 876685 82 4.

1. Tourism - Environmental aspects - Queensland. 2. Greenhouse gases -Queensland. 3. Electric power consumption - Queensland. I. Bradley, Melanie. II.Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism. III. Title.

338.4791943

2002 Copyright CRC for Sustainable Tourism Pty Ltd

All rights reserved. No parts of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem or transmitted in any form or by means of electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

Any enquiries should be directed to Brad Cox, Director of Communications or Trish

OConnor, Publications Manager to [email protected].

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe greatly appreciate the help and support offered by those businesses thatagreed to participate in this study. Most of all, we wish to acknowledge the kindassistance shown by staff who provided data, information and advice during thecourse of this project.


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Over the last century tourism has arguably become humanitys most

significant cultural pastime. Millions of people engage in tourism daily,in a variety of environments, in all parts of the world. The emergence oftourism as the worlds largest industry has led to calls for monitoring itsenvironmental performance. While some efforts have been made toundertake auditing for the transport and travel sector, few studies haveattempted to do so for the tourist accommodation sector. This report isbased on a study that addressed the lack of energy auditing for touristaccommodation. It highlights some of the factors that need to be takeninto account when calculating energy use and greenhouse gasemissions for different types of accommodation.

Data for this study were collected as a series of independent energyaudits for eleven (11) hotels, thirteen (13) self-contained apartmentcomplexes (SCACs), five (5) eco-resorts, and six (6) caravan parks, allsituated along the Queensland coast between the Cairns and GoldCoast regions. Efforts were made to collect figures for energyconsumption from all accommodation providers. Unfortunately,

complete data sets could not be obtained from each business due tovarying levels of in-house auditing. However, benchmark per capitafigures for electricity and total energy consumption could becalculated for most hotels and eco-resorts. With some limitations,benchmark per capita figures for electricity and total energyconsumption were estimated for caravan parks, and benchmark percapita figures for electricity consumption were estimated for SCACs.

Comparisons of electricity figures between the different types of

accommodation revealed that on average, per capita consumption ofelectricity was greatest for hotels and lowest for caravan parks.Similarly, comparisons of per capita total energy consumptionrevealed that the mean figure for hotels was greatest, followed by themean figures for eco-resorts and caravan parks.

Based on the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data, thisreport will highlight limitations and opportunities for energy auditing of

tourist accommodation. It will also identify three approaches and makerecommendations for calculating accurate estimates of greenhouse gasemissions for the entire tourist accommodation sector.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


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CONTENTS

1. Introduction .......................................................................... 1

1.1 Tourist accommodation and the need for energymanagement..................................................................1

1.2 Energy auditing: a tool for energy management.............21.3 Factors affecting energy consumption ............................4

1.3.1 Factors internal to tourist accommodation...........41.3.2 Factors external to tourist accommodation ..........6

1.4 Energy auditing for tourist accommodation....................71.5 Per capita measures for energy auditing.......................101.6 Research gaps in auditing energy consumption for

the tourist accommodation sector ................................11

2. Focus and Aims of Study ...................................................12

3. Methods ........................................................................ 143.1 Study scoping...............................................................14

3.1.1 Spatial scope .....................................................143.1.2 Subject scope ....................................................14

3.1.3 Temporal scope .................................................163.2 Business sampling and affiliation ..................................173.3 Data collection .............................................................18

3.3.1 Qualitative data .................................................193.3.2 Quantitative data...............................................19

3.4 Data analysis ................................................................223.4.1 Level A auditing environmental performance

of individual businesses .....................................233.4.2 Level B auditing environmental performance

comparisons between businesses ......................25

4. Results and Discussion .......................................................264.1 Level A auditing environmental

performance of individual businesses ...........................314.1.1 Examination of in-house environmental auditing

and the potential for conducting independentenvironmental auditing (Aim 1) .........................31

4.1.2 Discussion: in-house auditing and the potentialfor independent auditing (Aim 1) ......................37


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4.1.3 Investigation of factors affecting electricityand gas consumption (Aim 2)............................39

4.1.4 Discussion: factors affecting electricity and gas

consumption (Aim 2).........................................414.2 Level B Auditing environmental performancecomparisons between businesses .................................444.2.1 Calculating and comparing benchmark figures for

energy consumption within and betweenaccommodation types (Aim 3&4).......................44

4.2.2 Discussion: energy consumption comparisons hotels and eco-resorts (Aim 4)...........................46

4.2.3 Benchmark figures for self-contained

apartment complexes (SCACs) (Aim 3)...............474.2.4 Discussion: benchmark figures for SCACs ..........49

5. Conclusions and Recommendations .................................505.1 Level C auditing calculating energy use and

greenhouse gas emissions for industry sectors..............515.1.1 Calculating greenhouse gas emissions produced

by the tourist accommodation sector (Aim 5) ....515.2 Recommendations for calculating accurate estimates

of greenhouse gas emissions ........................................565.2.1 Energy consumption figures should be

collected over several years................................575.2.2 Sampling from accommodation sector should

include a wide cross-section of businesses.........575.2.3 Accommodation categories should be narrowly

defined..............................................................575.2.4 Figures for energy consumption should be

information in the public domain ......................585.2.5 Standardised auditing spreadsheets should be

developed for different types ofaccommodation ................................................58

5.3 Final conclusions ..........................................................60

REFERENCES............................................................................... 61


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APPENDICES1: Technical details and descriptive information for hotels .........652: Technical details and descriptive information for

self-contained apartment complexes .....................................703: Technical details and descriptive information for eco resorts ..744: Technical details and descriptive information for caravan

parks ....................................................................................76

AUTHORS ................................................................................... 77

LIST OF TABLES1: Independent energy auditing for tourist

accommodation ......................................................................92: Sources of data collection for eco-resorts ..............................223: Results of the data collection process ....................................274: Electricity consumption data..................................................295: Gas consumption data ..........................................................306: The extent of in-house energy auditing .................................317: Regression results factors affecting electricity and

gas consumption...................................................................408: Benchmark energy figures for hotels and eco-resorts.............449: Benchmark figures for self-contained apartment

complexes .............................................................................4710: Results summary for self-contained apartment

complexes .............................................................................48

LIST OF FIGURES1: Conceptual Model levels of environmental auditing

for tourist accommodation ......................................................4

2: SCACs the different payment arrangements forelectricity purchase and payment...........................................21

3: Electricity consumption data..................................................454: Gas consumption data ..........................................................45

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSABS Australian Bureau of Statisticsa/c air conditioning

AGO Australian Greenhouse OfficeANOVA Analysis of Varianceapts apartmentsbed/bedrm bedroomc/fans ceiling fansCP common propertyCRC Tourism Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable TourismEAA Ecotourism Association of Australiaelec electric/electricity

EPA Environmental Protection AgencyGC Gold CoastGCP Greenhouse Challenge ProgramGN guest nightsIH & RA International Hotel and Restaurant AssociationIHEI International Hotels Environment InitiativeISO International Organization for StandardizationLCA Life Cycle Analysisoccup occupancyRaind raindaysRH 3 relative humidity at 3pmRN room nightsSC Sunshine CoastSCACs self-contained apartment complexesTCA Tourism Council AustraliaTemp temperatureUK CEED United Kingdom Centre for Economic and Environmental

DevelopmentUN unit nightsUNEP United Nations Environment ProgramWTO World Tourism OrganizationWTTC World Travel and Tourism Council

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1.1 Tourist Accommodation and the Need for Energy

Management

Global warming is arguably one of the most serious environmentalproblems confronting our planet. The tourism industry is a majorcontributor to this problem as it consumes large amounts of energy.The contribution made by the travel sector is widely acknowledged(Mathieson and Wall, 1982; WTTC et al., 1995; UK CEED, 1998;Gssling, 2000) and efforts have been directed at reducing energy-

related environmental impacts, particularly from air travel (Janic,1999). However, another component of the tourism industry that usesconsiderable energy is the accommodation sector (IHEI, 1993; IHA etal., 1995; TCA and CRC Tourism, 1998). If this sector is to improve itsenvironmental performance and operate in a more sustainablemanner, it must implement effective energy management strategies.

The need for effective energy management strategies has beenrecognised by organisations, documents and agreements both

internal and external to the accommodation sector. Key documentsinclude Agenda 21, from the 1992 United Nations Conference onEnvironment and Development, and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to theUnited Nations Framework on Climate Change. Internationalorganisations that have encouraged energy management initiativesinclude the International Hotel Association, the International HotelsEnvironment Initiative and the World Travel and Tourism Council. At adomestic level, major organisations that have promoted energymanagement include the Australian Greenhouse Office (1999) andTourism Council Australia (TCA and CRC Tourism, 1998).

Effective energy management should not only incorporate ways todecrease energy consumption and improve energy efficiency, but alsomethods for measuring and monitoring energy consumption overtime. Measuring and monitoring of energy consumption is possibleusing energy auditing. Indeed, energy auditing is regarded as a keytool for improving the environmental performance of tourism

enterprises (Goodall, 1995).

1. INTRODUCTION


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1.2 Energy auditing: a tool for energy management

From environmental management literature (for example Buckley,

1991; Ding and Pigram, 1995; Goodall, 1995; Birkin, 1996; Diamantisand Westlake, 1997) it is possible to distinguish four major levels atwhich energy auditing can be undertaken:

1. Level A audits focus on the environmental performance ofindividual businesses. They measure levels of energy consumptionand resultant greenhouse gas emissions, in order to assess theeffectiveness of environmental management systems and theimpact of business operations in each case.

2. Level B audits draw environmental performance comparisonsbetween similar and/or different types of businesses within thesame industry sector. These comparisons are based uponinformation collected at Level A.

3. Level C audits calculate overall energy use and greenhouse gasoutput for entire industry sectors, and draw environmental

performance comparisons between different sectors.

4. Level D audits focus on individual products produced by businesses.They use a methodology known as Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) toidentify and evaluate the energy used by a product from cradleto grave. LCAs consider extraction and processing of rawmaterials; manufacturing, transportation and distribution of aproduct; product use and maintenance, as well as final disposal(Bhm and Walz, 1996)

Figure 1 provides a conceptual framework for this report that is basedon the first three levels of energy auditing. Level D auditing is notaddressed because its data requirements were beyond the scope ofthis study. Figure 1 shows that environmental performance at LevelsA and B subsequently determines the environmental performance ofthe accommodation sector at Level C. In turn, this environmentalperformance is reflected in sector-wide biospheric impacts, such as

greenhouse gas emissions.

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Incorporated within this figure are a number of variables that candirectly influence levels of energy consumption and environmentalperformance. With Level A auditing, important variables include

building size and location, services and facilities provided, occupancylevels and climatic factors such as temperature. At Level B, where theperformances of different businesses are compared, significantvariables include type of operation, for example hotels versus eco-resorts; and type-specific management systems, for instance, eco-accreditation schemes. For Level C auditing, which deals with entireindustry sectors, important variables include industry-relatedregulations such as licenses, legislative standards and qualityassurance schemes.

While each of these variables are listed for one level only, theirinfluence can extend beyond that particular aspect of energyauditing. For example, variables such as services and facilities candirectly influence energy consumption and energy auditing outcomesat Levels B and C, and climatic factors can affect energy performanceat all three levels.

Consideration of these variables is useful for understanding whyparticular levels and patterns of energy consumption occur. Indeed,previous studies have considered some of these factors whenconducting energy audits for tourist accommodation (UK CEED,1998; Deng and Burnett, 2000). Results from these studies will bedetailed in the section that follows.

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Figure 1: Conceptual Model levels of environmental auditingfor tourist accommodation

LEVEL A Individual Businesses Building (size, location, Environmentalage, condition) management system

Technical standards Climatic variables Size of business Occupancy levels Facilities & services Type of tourists Special events

LEVEL B Business Type

Type of operation Type-specific management systems

LEVEL C Accommodation Sector Industry-related regulations

Environmental performance (energy consumption)

Biospheric impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions)

1.3 Factors affecting energy consumption

1.3.1 Factors internal to tourist accommodation

Internal factors that may influence environmental performance includeyear of building construction; accommodation star rating; occupancylevels; total floor area; number of guest rooms; services and facilitiesprovided; and temperature control systems. Deng and Burnett (2000)have considered some of these factors in an energy performance studyof hotel buildings in Hong Kong. However they found that factors suchas hotel class, occupancy level, total floor area, hotel age, number ofguest rooms and number of restaurants, did not correlate with levelsof total energy use per unit of gross floor area.

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Deng and Burnett (2000) reasoned that these results may have beendue to limited sample size (n = 16), or because it is difficult to formobvious correlations using the considered factors. In addition, they

provided three reasons why occupancy levels did not appear todirectly influence hotel energy use. Firstly, hotel restaurants, which arelarge consumers of energy, are open to the general public as well asin-house guests. Secondly, unoccupied rooms are often air-conditioned to prevent odour build-up and discomfort. Thirdly, a hotelbuilding can actually be divided into two parts, guest floors and non-guest floors. Indeed, Deng and Burnett (2000) have suggested that ifenergy performance is evaluated separately for each part, arelationship will possibly be observed between occupancy levels and

energy use on the guest floors.

On the other hand, the United Kingdom Centre for Economic andEnvironmental Development (UK CEED), in its study of environmentalimpacts produced by tourist accommodation in St Lucia (UK CEED,1998), concluded that factors such as number of guest rooms and theprovision of extra facilities and services, were positively related to totallevels of energy consumption. However, this conclusion is based upondirect observation and inference from quantitative and qualitativedata. The UK CEED (1998) study did not involve any statistical analyses.

UK CEED (1998) also considered other internal factors whenreviewing the environmental performance of tourist accommodationin St Lucia. UK CEED (1998) suggested that larger resorts are in anadvantageous position to improve environmental performancebecause they often have well developed management systems,greater technical expertise, greater financial resources and more

opportunity to achieve economies of scale in comparison with smallerresorts. The attitudes and commitment demonstrated by staff andemployees towards environmental management, and theenvironmental awareness of guests, were also identified as significantfactors that could affect levels of resource consumption.

In addition, style, layout and orientation of buildings are other factorsthat should be considered when assessing environmental performance.In fact the Australian Greenhouse Office (1999), in its report ongreenhouse gas emissions from the commercial building sector, hasacknowledged that building shell performance largely dictates heating,

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cooling and illumination requirements. This report also states that onaverage, space cooling, ventilation and lighting account for 71% ofgreenhouse gas emissions within the commercial building sector.

1.3.2 Factors external to tourist accommodation

Climatic variables are external factors that are likely to influence theenvironmental performance of tourist accommodation enterprises.Deng and Burnett (2000), in their study of hotel buildings in HongKong, found that energy use patterns followed seasonal variations inoutdoor air temperature. They reasoned this was because use of airconditioning dominates total energy consumption and the operation

of air conditioning is related to climate. In addition, an in-houseenvironmental audit conducted by the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Coveon the Gold Coast, found that a decrease in site energy consumptionin 1999 was related to a decrease in mean wet bulb temperature(Crookston, pers. comm., 8/2/2001).

Other external factors that may influence energy consumption includegovernment policy, legislation and regulations at federal, state andlocal levels. In particular, the National Greenhouse Strategy andmicroeconomic reforms within the energy industry are likely to beimportant factors. The National Greenhouse Strategy is the federalgovernments response to global warming. It provides a framework foraddressing sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in all sectors of theeconomy (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997). This framework appliesto the tourist accommodation sector because its consumption ofenergy contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, many hotelsare taking part in the Greenhouse Challenge Program, undertaking

voluntary actions that will promote reductions in energy use.

Microeconomic reforms in the energy sector are also expected toaddress the issue of global warming (Commonwealth of Australia,1997). These reforms relate to energy market deregulation, where achange has occurred from a franchise market arrangement to acontestable market arrangement. This change has seen thedistribution and sale of electricity effectively separated, with anobjective of delivering lower electricity prices to the community(NECA, 2001).

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It is anticipated these microeconomic reforms will promote efficientcompetition in electricity supply, encouraging the use of cogenerationand renewable energy sources, as well as providing incentives for

investments in energy efficiency (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997).However, Diesendorf (1996) has argued that the net effect ofelectricity industry restructuring will be to increase electricity use andgreenhouse gas emissions. He believes consumers will focus onobtaining the cheapest per unit price for electricity, rather than onreducing their total electricity bill, and utilities will be primarilyconcerned with selling electricity rather than encouraging energyefficiency and the uptake of renewable energy sources. Indeed, oneAustralian hotel engineer has already observed that energy market

deregulation seems to have acted as a disincentive for energyconservation. This engineer found that hotels located in New SouthWales and Victoria, where deregulation is relatively advanced, paidless for energy and were less likely to use this input efficiently,compared with hotels located in other Australian states (Knox, pers.comm., 14/2/2001).

1.4 Energy auditing for tourist accommodation

Accommodation is a sector within the tourism industry for which it isrelatively easy to identify and quantify the resource units consumed bytourists. Potentially, this sector could undertake effective energyauditing at all four levels described in section 1.2. Indeed, since 1993,general guidelines for Level A auditing have been widely available(IHEI, 1993; Kirk, 1993; IHA et al., 1995; TCA and CRC Tourism,1998), and energy audits have been undertaken by accommodationproviders in order to realise both environmental and commercial

benefits. These latter benefits include cost savings from more efficientresource use and an improved corporate image, which can lead tosignificant marketing advantages (Goodall, 1995).

However, results from most in-house audits are not widely published.Those that are, usually present data for single case studies only andquite often, they simply refer to savings achieved through theimplementation of new environmental management strategies(IH&RA and UNEP, 1995; Anon., 1999; Short, 1999).

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There are a small number of independent energy audits that have beenpublished (see Table 1), yet few researchers have attempted audits on alarge scale. Studies published to date have also produced a fragmented

data collection, measuring energy consumption in a range of units.These units include yearly averaged kWh per guest night (UK CEED,1998), yearly averaged kWh/m2 floor area (Deng and Burnett, 2000)and kg of crude oil per day per tourist (Gssling, 2000).

These measurement discrepancies are understandable, given there areno standard methods or procedures for measuring specific resourceinputs. Only general guidelines for environmental auditing have beendeveloped, for example, the ISO 14000 series (Bhat, 1998). Yet

without standardised measures it is difficult to conduct Level Bauditing and draw meaningful comparisons between theperformance of similar or different types of accommodation. It is alsodifficult to effectively compare the performance of accommodationlocated at different destinations. In addition, Level C auditing, whichinvolves assessing impacts produced by entire industry sectors, isconsiderably hindered if resource use is not measured in alike units forall enterprises.

Furthermore, some independent auditing studies have measuredvariables in units that tend to divorce resource consumption andwaste production from human consumers. An example is yearlyaveraged kWh/m2 floor area, for electricity consumption (Deng andBurnett, 2000). Units like this can be difficult to conceptualise andcould seem irrelevant from the perspective of tourists andaccommodation providers alike.

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1.5 Per capita measures for energy auditing

A straightforward method for standardising audit data and relating

resource use directly to tourists is to measure energy consumption inper capita terms. Per capita measures have been successfullyemployed by the UK CEED, in its assessment of the environmentalimpacts produced by tourism in the Seychelles and St Lucia (UK CEED,1994; UK CEED, 1998). UK CEED has demonstrated that energyconsumption can be measured as yearly averaged kWh/guest night.

Per capita measures are particularly useful for Level C auditing (see Figure1). These measures can be summed across space and time and

integrated across similar or different types of accommodation. Theypermit the calculation of cumulative impacts and can be used toestimate and to understand the implications of energy use by an entireindustry sector (Goodall, 1995). For example, visitor statistics collated bythe Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 1997), can be used inconjunction with per capita measures to calculate energy consumed bya particular tourism sector at a given location over a given period of time.

Sector-wide calculations of energy consumption are valuable for

addressing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Indeed,the Australian government needs to identify industry sectors that aremajor emitters of greenhouse gases, so that it can encourage orenforce the adoption of measures that will reduce these emissions.This action is necessary if Australia is to meet the emission target it hasbeen set as a signatory to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on ClimateChange (Grubb et al., 1999).

Per capita measures also facilitate Level B auditing, allowingenvironmental performance comparisons to be drawn betweensimilar or different styles of accommodation. These comparisons canreveal if different technical standards or different managementschemes have a real effect on environmental performance. In turn,this can enable identification of industry weaknesses and strengths,and highlight examples of worst and best practice.

Environmental performance comparisons between different businesses

are likely to become increasingly important with a current growth in theenvironmental consciousness of tourists (Wight, 1993). Some are

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expressing a desire to be guided towards products and services thatcause least harm to the environment (Lawrence et al., 1997). Indeed,the ecotourism industry has grown rapidly over the last fifteen years

(Lawrence et al., 1997) in response to emerging green consumerism(Forsyth, 1997). Many businesses are now utilising the eco- prefix inorder to project an image that their enterprise is environmentallysustainable (Wight, 1993). However, given the lack of independentLevel A auditing for ecotourism accommodation, it is uncertain whetherwell-meaning terms like eco- actually translate into constructiveaction. In addition, no attempts have been made to undertake Level Bauditing, where the environmental performance of ecotourismaccommodation is compared with the environmental performance of

mainstream accommodation. This means there is little evidence tosuggest that ecotourism operations have better environmentalperformance records relative to their mainstream counterparts.

1.6 Research gaps in auditing energy consumption for thetourist accommodation sector

To date, independent energy audits have focused on hotels. This isevident in Table 1, which reviews independent studies that have beenconducted for tourist accommodation. While it is important toaddress the environmental impact of hotels, given they constitute asignificant component of tourist accommodation in Australia, thereare equally important accommodation types whose environmentalimpacts need to be addressed. For example, in coastal areas ofQueensland, self-contained apartment complexes make up a largeproportion of tourist accommodation (ABS, 1997), however therehave been few attempts to monitor their post-construction

environmental impacts. Furthermore, little attempt has been made toassess the energy-related impacts that arise from otheraccommodation types such as eco-resorts and caravan parks.

In addition, Table 1 reveals that environmental performancecomparisons within or between different types of accommodation arerare. However, such comparisons are important for investigating therelative effectiveness of different management structures andphilosophies, for example, ecotourism versus mainstream tourism.These comparisons can provide some indication as to whetherecotourism enterprises are operating in an environmentally soundmanner and justifying their use of the eco label.


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This report is based on a study that addressed the research gaps

identified above. Specifically, the study dealt with the lack ofindependent auditing conducted at levels A and B. It also identifiedissues associated with effective sector-wide level C auditing.

A series of environmental audits were conducted for touristaccommodation businesses located in the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coastand Cairns regions. These businesses could all be categorised asbelonging to one of four accommodation types. These types werenamely hotels, self-contained apartment complexes (SCACs), eco-resorts and caravan parks. The study sought to establish benchmarklevels for energy consumption and it attempted to measure thisvariable in per capita terms for all participating businesses, in order tostandardise the measurements.

More specifically, the aims were:

1. To examine the extent to which accommodation providers conduct

in-house environmental audits; and the potential for conductingindependent environmental audits.

2. To investigate factors that may influence electricity and gasconsumption by tourist accommodation in coastal Queensland.

3. To calculate benchmark figures for per capita electricity and totalenergy consumption, for four types of accommodation hotels,self-contained apartment complexes, eco-resorts and caravan

parks.

4. To compare energy consumption figures within and betweenaccommodation types.

5. To highlight issues associated with calculating accurate estimatesof greenhouse gas emissions produced by the touristaccommodation sector.

2. FOCUS AND AIMS OF STUDY


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From the outset it must be emphasised that this study was largelyexploratory. Indeed, it formed the first independent audit that hassought to benchmark resource consumption figures for different

types of tourist accommodation at three major tourism destinations inQueensland. As such, it was largely concerned with investigatingenvironmental auditing, data collection and data analysis techniques.It sought to detail opportunities and problems associated with theauditing of tourist accommodation, and to determine effective andappropriate methods for measuring energy consumption.

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The study consisted of four phases:

1. Study Scoping

2. Business Sampling And Affiliation

3. Data Collection

4. Data Analysis

3.1 Study scoping

3.1.1 Spatial scope

The spatial scope encompassed the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast andCairns regions. This scope was chosen for two main reasons. Firstly,these regions are highly popular holiday destinations. They have beenand still are subject to intensive development in the area of tourist

accommodation. Indeed, 73% of holiday flats, units and houses inQueensland, are located in these areas (ABS, 1997). Furthermore, theWet Tropics and south-east Queensland are considered to be majorareas of ecotourism establishment (Dowling and Charters, 2000).

The second reason for choosing these regions was associated with therapid growth of their local resident populations. Rapid populationgrowth means that significant pressure is being placed on water andenergy supplies and waste disposal systems. It suggests that

monitoring of resource use and sound environmental management isvital, if the needs of both locals and tourists are to be adequately metand if the environmental assets of these regions are to be protected.

3.1.2 Subject scope

The subject scope comprised three major independent variables:

accommodation type

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climatic factors

monthly occupancy figures

and three dependent variables:

electricity consumption

gas consumption

total energy consumption

The accommodation types were hotels, self-contained apartmentcomplexes (SCACs), eco-resorts and caravan parks. Hotels and SCACswere chosen because they constitute a major component ofmainstream tourist accommodation, accounting for a majorproportion of the bed capacities at the Gold Coast, the SunshineCoast and Cairns (ABS, 1997). Eco-resorts were selected to allow forenvironmental performance comparisons between eco-labelledaccommodation and mainstream accommodation, and to investigatewhether their use of the eco- label was supported by soundenvironmental performance. Caravan parks were studied in order tobenchmark the environmental performance of budgetaccommodation.

The climatic factors were mean monthly temperature and meanmonthly relative humidity readings at 3pm. They were chosen becauseit was thought that monthly fluctuations in energy consumption couldbe attributable to changes in these climatic variables.

Monthly occupancy figures were considered in order to investigatethe extent to which the presence of guests influences total monthlyresource consumption. They were measured in terms of guest nights,room nights, unit nights, site nights or cabin nights. Site nights andcabin nights were recorded at caravan parks and these wereamalgamated to produce a quasi room nights occupancy figure.

A positive relationship between occupancy and energy use wouldimply that base load energy demand does not constitute a largeproportion of total energy consumption, or that it can be controlled

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in line with the number of guests. On the other hand, if norelationship exists or if there is a negative relationship, this would tendto suggest a high level of base load energy consumption, regardless

of the number of guests. It may indicate limited scope for controllingtotal energy use and this would impede effective environmentalmanagement.

Despite the narrow focus on accommodation type, climatic factorsand occupancy levels, it is recognised that other factors may influencelevels of energy consumption. Indeed a number of factors that couldhave a direct influence were listed in Figure 1 and many werediscussed in section 1.3. However, some of these factors cannot be

easily defined, clearly categorised or readily measured. On the otherhand, accommodation type, total monthly occupancy levels andclimatic readings are definable and/or easily quantified, which allowsthem to be used in statistical analyses.

Electricity, gas and total energy were selected as the dependentvariables because they are vital inputs for the effective functioning oftourist accommodation. Furthermore, they constitute a majorproportion of the operating budgets of accommodation providers(Aulbach, 1988). It must be mentioned that the term total energywas not used in a strict sense, it simply referred to the sum of averagefigures for electricity and gas consumption. The narrow use of thisterm was deemed acceptable because other energy types were rarelyutilised by the sample of accommodation providers. In addition, theharnessing and use of alternative energy such as solar power does nothave a significant, detrimental impact upon the environment andaccordingly, was not of interest to this study.

3.1.3 Temporal scope

The temporal scope varied depending upon the data available fromparticipating businesses. Where possible, data was collected over afive year time span because tourist accommodation infrastructure andits associated components such as technological standards, servicesand facilities, management and general staff, are often subject tochange. In turn, these changes affect levels of resource consumption.Additionally, economic up-turns or downturns, or unusual climaticpatterns such as uncharacteristic wet or dry years, may also affect

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levels of resource consumption. Thus, it was considered important togather data for a number of years if possible, in order to account forfluctuations in energy use due to random changes in internal or

extraneous variables. Furthermore, the larger the sample of datacollected for each enterprise, the greater the power of statisticalanalyses and the greater the potential for detecting real effects.

3.2 Business sampling and affiliation

To ensure support from selected accommodation providers and toestablish a long-term working relationship, visits were made by theresearcher to a number of enterprises in the three study regions.

These visits allowed the researcher to meet with managerial,accounting, engineering and maintenance staff, to look over theaccommodation facilities, and to directly collect data. In addition,confidentiality agreements were signed between the researcher andindustry partners. These agreements ensured data security, stipulatingthat data would not be released unless it was amalgamated withother data and the name(s) of the owner(s) and property weredisguised.

Specific details of sampling for each accommodation type areprovided below. With this being an exploratory, benchmarking study,the sampling procedures were largely judgmental and criteriondirected.

HotelsHotels were selected to reflect different components associated withthis particular accommodation type. As a group they represented

various levels of services and facilities within this industry sector.Contact was made with managerial, accounting, engineering andmaintenance staff in order to gain access to data.

Self-contained apartment complexes (SCACs)SCACs were self-selecting as opposed to being selected. The internalmanagement structure of these complexes often resulted in legalconstraints that did not permit the release of data. Consequently, itwas a matter of securing the cooperation of any that were willing andable to assist, rather than choosing particular businesses.

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Initial contact was made with Body Corporate service providers whoare responsible for legal and financial management issues. BodyCorporate service providers who were willing to cooperate provided

contact details for resident managers of apartment complexes. Ifassistance was secured from managers, they either agreed to directlyprovide data, or they supplied contact details for individual apartmentowners. In the latter case, letters were sent to owners, seekingpermission to access data relating to their individual apartments.

Eco-resortsEco-resorts were selected if they had been awarded accreditation bythe Ecotourism Association of Australia, through its National

Ecotourism Accreditation Program (EAA, 1996). This method ofsampling allowed for effective selection of this particularaccommodation type. It escaped problems associated with definingthe ecotourism category and then attempting to determine ifbusinesses met the definition criteria.

In addition, ecotourism accommodation was selected on the basis ofsize. Size was an important consideration in order to ensurereasonable comparisons could be made with mainstreamaccommodation, which usually has large bed capacities.

Accordingly, ecotourism businesses were only contacted if they werea relatively large operation, that is, they could accommodate at leastforty people. Affiliation was established with managerial, accounting,engineering and maintenance staff.

Caravan parks

A management body was contacted for a group of typical tourismorientated caravan parks (tent sites, powered and unpowered vansites, and cabins). This method of selection was deemed necessarygiven resource constraints faced by the researcher. It allowed aconsiderable quantity of data to be collected with ease and within aminimal time frame.

3.3 Data collection

Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected for the study.Detailed descriptions of the data collections are provided below.

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3.3.1 Qualitative data

For each accommodation provider, an attempt was made to collect

the following descriptive information:

building location

year of construction

building style

building floor space measurements

number of storeys

number of rooms/apartments (number of bedrooms inapartments)

number of elevators

type of hot water system

general services/facilities provided (for example pool/spa,restaurant, laundry)

temperature control system

NRMA star rating

details of in-house environmental auditing

Qualitative information was collected from websites, brochures, andinterviews with managerial, engineering or maintenance staff. NRMAstar ratings were obtained from the 2000-2001 NRMAAccommodation Guide (AAA Tourism, 2000).

3.3.2 Quantitative data

Quantitative data were compiled in spreadsheet databases, withseparate databases created for each accommodation provider. These

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20

databases consisted of figures for climatic variables, occupancy rates,electricity consumption, gas consumption and total energyconsumption.

Climatic data were obtained from the Bureau of Meteorology. Figureswere recorded at the Cairns Aero, Maroochydore and CoolangattaAirport weather stations, thus reflecting weather conditions in each ofthe study regions. Figures for occupancy rates, electricity and gasconsumption were collected from accommodation providers.However, owing to different managerial structures, differentbookkeeping practices and different levels of in-house auditing, theform of this data and the methods employed for data collection

varied. Details of data collection for each accommodation type areprovided below.

HotelsGenerally, figures for electricity consumption, gas consumption andoccupancy rates were sourced from electronic accounting systems.Utility consumption figures were usually recorded by hotel engineersor maintenance managers, and occupancy rates were generallymaintained by the finance/accounting section.

Self-contained apartment complexesOccupancy rates were collected directly from building managers,while figures for electricity consumption were collected fromelectricity bills held by one of three possible sources. These threesources; namely Body Corporate service providers, individualapartment owners and resident building managers, are shown inFigure 2. This Figure illustrates different purchase and payment

arrangements that have become possible with the deregulation of theenergy market in Queensland.


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Figure 2: SCACs the different payment arrangements forelectricity purchase and payment

ELECTRICITY

Contestable consumption On tariff with local

market network provider

Body Corporate Service Provider Body Corporate Service Provider

manages common property accounts manages common property accounts

and accounts for individual apartments

Apartment Owners Resident Managers

manage their own manage apartment accounts

accounts on behalf of owners

Figure 2 shows that electricity can be purchased through either thecontestable consumption market or on a tariff basis via the localnetwork. In the case of the former, the Body Corporate serviceprovider makes bulk purchases of electricity on behalf of an entireself-contained apartment complex. Accordingly, they can directly

provide electricity consumption figures for both common propertyareas and individual units.

In the case of apartment complexes on tariff with the local networkprovider, only figures for common property consumption can becollected from the Body Corporate service provider. Details ofelectricity consumption in individual apartments have to be sourcedfrom either the apartment owners themselves or from residentbuilding managers, who sometimes take care of accounts on behalf

of apartment owners. In these two situations it is not always possibleto obtain resource consumption data for an entire apartmentcomplex, only for those apartments whose owners permit the releaseof figures.

Eco-resortsEcotourism accommodation has unique and varied operational set-ups. This meant that data availability and data provision differed from

one accommodation provider to the next. Table 2 shows the datasources for each ecotourism business in this study.

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22

Table 2: Sources of data collection for eco-resorts

DATA SOURCES

NAME OF OCCUPANCY FIGURES ELECTRICITY GAS CONSUMPTIONENTERPRISE CONSUMPTION FIGURES

FIGURES

Gold Coast Electronic system Electricity bills Gas bills

Eco-resort 1 accounts department accounts accounts

department department

Gold Coast Electronic system Electronic system

Eco-resort 2a engineering department engineering

department

Gold Coast Electronic system Electricity bills Gas bills

Eco-resort 3 ecotourism manager ecotourism ecotourism manager

manager

Cairns Recording system Manual bookkeeping Origin Energy

Eco-resort 1 unknown, data supplied maintenance staff Retail Ltd

by resort owner

Cairns Recording system Manual bookkeeping Origin Energy

Eco-resort 2 unknown, data supplied resort manager Retail Ltd

by resort owner

a Gas-fired power station generates the bulk of energy for this resort. Energy consumption figureswere provided in terms of kWh of electricity consumption.

Caravan parksFigures for occupancy rates, electricity consumption and gasconsumption were obtained from an electronic record-keepingsystem. They were recorded and maintained by the AdministrationOfficer responsible for the group of caravan parks.

3.4 Data analysis

The three levels of environmental auditing provide a framework fordetailing the qualitative and quantitative analyses that wereundertaken for this study.


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3.4.1 Level A auditing environmental performance ofindividual businesses

Qualitative analysis

Examination of in-house environmental auditing (Aim 1)Involved examining whether businesses collected resourceconsumption data, the type of data collected, the units ofmeasurement, the methods of record keeping and the people ordepartments that were responsible for data collection.

Quantitative analyses

Investigation of factors affecting electricity, gas and total energyconsumption (Aim 2)Linear regression was used to determine if and to what extent totalmonthly occupancy levels and/or climatic factors, (mean monthlytemperature and mean monthly relative humidity readings at 3pm),affected levels of total monthly resource consumption. Wherepossible, linear regression models were run for individual enterprises,for each dependent variable electricity, gas and total energyconsumption. In general, regression analyses could only be conductedfor those enterprises that supplied monthly figures. However, GoldCoast SCAC 5 supplied quarterly figures for a number of years andthese figures allowed regression analyses to be undertaken.

The number of independent factors included in each regression modeldepended upon the amount of data collected for individualenterprises. Where sample sizes were small and all factors could not

be considered, those deemed most relevant according to the type ofenterprise and its location, were selected for analysis.

Calculation of benchmark figures for electricity and total energyconsumption (Aim 3)Average annual figures were calculated for consumption of electricity(kWh) and total energy (MJ) for individual accommodation providers.These figures were calculated in per guest night (GN), per room night(RN) and per unit night (UN) terms. The resource consumption perguest night figures indicated resource consumption per capita. Thesewere calculated for all eco-resorts and hotels. However, for hotels that

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only provided occupancy figures in terms of room nights, a conversionfactor of 0.51 was used to convert resource consumption per roomnight into resource consumption per guest night. This conversion

factor was based on the average ratio of per guest night to per roomnight resource consumption, which was calculated for hotels thatprovided occupancy figures in both forms.

Electricity consumption per unit night figures was calculated forSCACs because these enterprises did not record occupancy in termsof guest nights. However, an estimation of electricity consumption perguest night was achieved by determining the number of bedrooms inthe units and using the conservative assumption of one guest per

room.

Figures for electricity consumption per guest night and total energyconsumption per guest night were also arrived at for caravan parks,after adjusting raw data. Occupancy figures for site nights and cabinnights were firstly converted into guest nights using conservativeassumptions of four guests per cabin and two guests per site. Theseseparate figures were then added together to obtain a total guestnights figure for each caravan park.

Generally, average energy consumption figures for all accommodationproviders were based upon the most recent twelve months for whichdata were provided. In a few instances, a complete twelve-monthdata set was unavailable, so average figures had to be calculated fromwhatever information was supplied.

In order to calculate these figures, adjustments often had to be made

to the raw energy data so that it corresponded directly with calendarmonths or was measured in consistent units. For instance, accountsissued by local electricity providers covered unique monthly orquarterly periods for each business. These periods varied dependingupon individual payment arrangements with the energy providers,and the date when an application was made for connection to theelectricity grid. The adjustments involved calculating average dailyvalues and then adding or subtracting these from initial totals, toestablish representative estimates for monthly or quarterly electricityconsumption. This standardisation process allowed for effective

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resource consumption comparisons between differentaccommodation providers.

The following equation provided the basis for monthly or quarterlydata adjustment:

Ei = (/da x daysi a) + (/db x daysi b)

where Ei = electricity consumption in month i/quarter i/da = average daily electricity consumption during period adaysi a = number of month i/quarter i days that fall in period a/db = average daily electricity consumption during period b

daysi b = number of month i/quarter i days that fall in period b

Where gas was purchased in bulk and gas consumption was notmetered by an enterprise, it was impossible to determine whenparticular quantities of gas were used. This meant that all bulkquantities purchased during a period (for example, one year) wereadded together, and a total figure was calculated for gas use. Inaddition, gas consumption was often measured in different units bydifferent enterprises. Where necessary, these measures wereconverted to MJ. Electricity figures on the other hand, were generallymeasured in terms of kWh. However, for one ecotourism business,kWh of electricity consumption had to be calculated using an averagediesel consumption rate of 5000L/week and a specific fuelconsumption rate of 3.65 kWh per litre of diesel. All kWh figures wereconverted into MJ when calculating figures for total energyconsumption.

3.4.2 Level B auditing environmental performancecomparisons between businesses

Quantitative analysis

Comparing benchmark figures for energy consumption within andbetween accommodation types (Aim 4)The analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique was used to comparebenchmark figures for resource consumption within and betweenaccommodation types.

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26

In this section results will be presented for Level A and Level B

auditing. For the sake of coherency, these results will be described inline with the study aims and a discussion will be incorporated withineach results sub-section.

Firstly however, it should be noted that in conducting environmentalaudits for this study, a number of difficulties were encountered thataffected the quantity and quality of collected data. Generally, thebiggest challenge was securing the approval and assistance ofrelevant people in order to gain access to required information. Table3 shows the number of enterprises contacted, the number of positiveresponses, and the number of responses that produced data suitablefor analysis.

Initially, contact was made with eighteen hotels, one hundred and sixpeople connected with SCACs, sixteen eco-resorts and a managerialbody for a group of caravan parks. This lead to the collection ofsuitable data for eleven hotels, thirteen SCACs and five eco-resorts, or

61, 12 and 31 percent respectively. From the single caravan parkscontact, data were obtained for six different accommodationproviders.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


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Table 3: Results of the data collection process

ACCOMMODATION NO. NO. POSITIVE NO. RESPONSES THAT

TYPE CONTACTED RESPONSES YIELDED SUITABLE DATAHotels 18 11 11

SCACs Body Corporates 18 5 5

Resident Managers 23 11 9a

Unit owners 65 29 11b

Total 13c

Eco-resorts 16 9 5d

Caravan parks 1 1 6e

a Contact details provided by managers for unit owners did not produce data in all cases.b Some unit owners could not supply figures for a twelve-month period, others provided energyconsumption figures in dollar terms rather than kWh.c This figure represents the total number of buildings that provided energy consumption data in aform that was suitable for analysis.d Four businesses excluded due to small accommodation capacity.e Contact with one administration officer yielded data for six different caravan parks.

The quantity and quality of data varied both within and between the

three accommodation types. The resource consumption figurescollated for each enterprise are shown in Tables 4 and 5. The shadedareas correspond to the time periods for which data were obtainedand the white areas signify that data were unavailable or not provided.Alternating colour shades denote data intervals within a time period.For instance, Table 4 shows that data were collated for Gold CoastHotel 1 for the time period 1995-2000. For this period, both per guestnight and per room night electricity consumption were calculated on amonthly basis. On the other hand, Table 4 shows that limited data

were available for Cairns Hotel 4. Per room night electricityconsumption could only be calculated for eight months in 2000.

These tables reveal a number of principle inconsistencies with thebaseline data:

Figures for electricity consumption were more readily availablethan figures for gas.

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It was not possible to collect data for the same time period fromevery single enterprise. Some enterprises provided data for anumber of years, others only provided data for a twelve-month

period or less.

Calculated figures corresponded with annual, monthly, quarterlyor four monthly intervals.

Data were relatively easier to collect from hotels, compared withother types of accommodation.

Per capita resource consumption figures could not be easily

calculated for every enterprise. SCACs generally providedoccupancy figures in terms of unit nights, three hotels providedoccupancy figures in terms of room nights only, while caravanparks provided occupancy figures in terms of site nights and cabinnights and these had to be amalgamated for the calculation ofroom nights.

These observations will be explained below.

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Table 4: Electricity consumption data


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Table 5: Gas consumption data

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4.1 Level A auditing environmental performance ofindividual businesses

4.1.1 Examination of in-house environmental auditing andthe potential for conducting independentenvironmental auditing (Aim 1)

These results relate to the first aim of this study, stated in section 3.0.Table 6 summarises in-house environmental auditing undertaken byindividual accommodation providers. SCACs are not listed in thistable, as these enterprises did not formally measure utilityconsumption. In-house auditing results will be explained in detail for

each accommodation type, along with the implications forindependent environmental auditing.

Table 6: The extent of in-house energy auditing

NAME OF NATURE OF ENERGY AUDITING

ENTERPRISE ELEC GAS COMMENTS

GC Hotel 1 Y Y Standardised spreadsheets. Energy audit undertaken in

2000 by Ergon Energy.GC Hotel 2 Y Y Participant in GCPa.

GC Hotel 3 Y n.a.b

GC Hotel 4 Y n.a.b

SC Hotel 1 Y Y Standardised spreadsheets. Complete energy audit

undertaken. Participant in GCP.

SC Hotel 2 Y Y

SC Hotel 3c

Y Y Standardised spreadsheets. Participant in Green

Hoteliers competition. Participant in GCP.Cairns Hotel 1 Y Y

Cairns Hotel 2 Y Y Standardised spreadsheets. Complete energy audit

undertaken. Participant in GCP.

Cairns Hotel 3 Y Y Parent hotel chain conducts an internal audit every

12 months. Participant in GCP.

Cairns Hotel 4 y y Records incomplete.

GC Eco 1 y y Eco-efficiency assessment undertaken in conjunction

with EPAd

. Independent environmental audit by Universityof Queensland, Gatton in 1999 unpublished.

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32

NAME OF NATURE OF ENERGY AUDITING

ENTERPRISE ELEC GAS COMMENTS

GC Eco 2 Y Y Centralised electronic Advanced Energy System

continually monitors energy consumption throughout theresort.

GC Eco 3 y y Independent environmental audits by University of

Queensland, Gatton in 1995 & 1998 unpublished.

Cairns Eco 1 y y Records incomplete.

Cairns Eco 2 y y Records incomplete.

GC Caravans 1-6e Y Y Independent energy audits undertaken by Energex and

Northpower.

Y electronic record-keeping, y manual record-keepinga Greenhouse Challenge Programb Figures are probably recorded but they were not provided.c Utility consumption recorded on a four monthly basis. All other enterprises recorded utilityconsumption on a monthly basis.d Environmental Protection Agency, Queenslande Central administrator looks after all of these caravan parks.

HotelsGenerally, the hotels that agreed to participate were found to

maintain accurate records for energy consumption. Electricityconsumption was recorded in terms of kWh and gas consumptionwas recorded in terms of L (compressed gas), m3, Mcal or MJ. Thesedata usually accounted for all aspects of hotel operations. Engineeringor maintenance departments recorded these figures and in all but onecase, they related to monthly intervals. Sunshine Coast Hotel 3provided four monthly figures only. In some cases, hotel engineersand maintenance managers directly provided figures for energy

consumption. In other cases, permission to release information had tobe sought from senior hotel management. However, even afterpermission was granted, there was often considerable delay beforedata were provided to the researcher.

As shown in Table 6, ten of the eleven hotels kept electronic ratherthan manual records for energy consumption. Electronic recordkeeping meant that energy figures could be supplied with relativeease, provided spreadsheets were kept up-to-date. Four of the eleven

hotels used standardised electronic record keeping, developed andimplemented by their parent hotel chains. With hotels that did not


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use standardised record keeping, discrepancies were sometimesfound in their energy records, particularly if there was a change inengineering or maintenance staff. These discrepancies arose when

new staff members modified previous record keeping procedures.

The occupancy data provided by hotels were variable. Occupancyfigures were usually maintained by business management oraccounting departments, separate from the engineering andmaintenance department. These figures were recorded as roomnights or guest nights per month. In six cases, monthly figures forboth room nights and guest nights were provided. In five cases, hotelsprovided one or the other.

In most instances, hotel engineers included occupancy figures on thespreadsheets that contained their utility data. However, occupancyfigures for Sunshine Coast Hotel 2 were collected from its accountsdepartment. With Cairns Hotel 4, it was only possible to calculate anaverage annual occupancy figure, as senior management deemedoccupancy statistics to be confidential information. In the case ofGold Coast Hotel 4, separate record keeping meant occupancy andutility figures covered different periods. Electricity figures usuallycovered between 28-35 days, while occupancy figures covered eithera 25 or 35 day period. Consequently, adjustments had to be made tothe raw data so that it covered identical monthly periods and allowedthe calculation of per capita values (see section 3.4.1 for details of thedata adjustment process).

Substantial data were collected for the Gold Coast hotels owing to apilot study that initiated data collection in 1997. However, Gold Coast

Hotel 4 did not grant access to further data for the present study. Thecurrent General Manager believed the owner would not permit therelease of additional energy and occupancy figures.

Self-contained apartment complexes (SCACs)Auditing energy consumption for SCACs was relatively complicated.This was due to the considerable number of people that hold someform of managerial influence over each complex. These people rangefrom members of the Body Corporate Committee, to residentmanagers and individual apartment owners.

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None of the managerial levels formally recorded figures for energyconsumption but figures for electricity consumption, measured inkWh, could be obtained from electricity bills. Methods of data

collection, the quantity of data collected and the time periods coveredby the collected data, differed from one SCAC to the next. In mostinstances it was only possible to obtain figures for twelve months. Thiswas due to difficulties and inconvenience associated with locatingearlier records.

Gold Coast SCACs 3 and 4 purchased their electricity through thecontestable consumption market. As explained in section 3.3.2, thismeant that electricity figures could be collected from the Body

Corporate service provider for both buildings in their entirety, that is,for all apartments plus all common property areas. The other SCACson the Gold Coast purchased electricity through the retail arm of theirlocal electricity provider. For these buildings, figures for consumptionin individual apartments and figures for common propertyconsumption had to be collected separately.

For Gold Coast SCACs 1 and 2, common property figures could notbe obtained and limited data were collected for individualapartments. Two apartment owners from Gold Coast SCAC 1 andtwo apartment owners from Gold Coast SCAC 2 permitted access totheir electricity bills. For Gold Coast SCACs 6, 7, 8 and 9, onlycommon property figures could be collected. These figures weresupplied by the Body Corporate service provider. On the other hand,considerable data were collected for Gold Coast SCAC 5 owing to apilot study that initiated data collection in 1997. In fact, electricityconsumption figures were obtained for common property areas and

also for forty-four to forty-eight apartments, the exact numberdepending upon the time period. These apartments constitutedbetween 68-73% of the complex.

With Sunshine Coast SCAC 1, four apartment owners providedelectricity figures. In addition, figures for common property electricityconsumption were supplied by the Body Corporate service provider. Inthe case of Sunshine Coast SCAC 2, electricity figures were collectedfor three apartments only.

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With Cairns SCAC 1 it was not possible to collect electricityconsumption figures for individual units. However, figures forcommon property consumption were obtained from the Body

Corporate service provider. Figures for Cairns SCAC 2 covered all unitsand common property areas. These were supplied by the BodyCorporate service provider who had a bulk purchase arrangementwith the local electricity distributor.

In terms of occupancy figures, the ease with which data could beobtained depended upon the management and size of each complex.With the larger SCACs, occupancy records were kept electronicallyand computer print-outs could be supplied. These print-outs displayed

monthly occupancy figures in terms of unit nights. For smallercomplexes, occupancy was recorded manually and monthly totals ofunit nights had to be collated by the researcher.

There are other findings worth noting in relation to data collection forSCACs. In a few cases it was found that a change in managementbrought a change in book-keeping practices and generally, previousmanagers did not leave behind occupancy records for their period ofmanagement. Cairns SCAC 1 could only provide an average annualoccupancy figure, owing to a computer malfunction that had wipedmonthly records. With Gold Coast SCAC 4, a staff membercommented that official occupancy records were not very accurate.This is because their two bedroom apartments could be separatedand let out as single bedroom apartments. When this occurred,occupancy in each single bedroom apartment was not alwaysaccounted for separately. In addition, the manager of Sunshine CoastSCAC 2 mentioned that when apartment owners were staying in their

own premises, their occupancy was not recorded. A lack of recordingwould obviously lead to an underestimation of unit nights.

Another important point is that for Gold Coast SCACs 3 and 4, whereelectricity figures were collected for the entire complex, per unit nightconsumption figures may not have truly reflected resource use bytourists. A number of permanent residents occupy units in eachcomplex and it was not possible to effectively separate their electricityconsumption from that of guests.

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Eco-resortsIt was found that all of the ecotourism operators monitored monthlyenergy consumption, although in varying forms and with differing

attention to detail. Engineering or maintenance departmentsgenerally recorded these figures either electronically or manually. GoldCoast Eco-resort 1 is connected to the mains power grid andpurchases gas on a bulk basis. This enterprise consulted its energy billsto provide figures for kWh of electricity consumption and L ofcompressed gas purchased in bulk. The operation components thatcontributed to these figures were its lodge and campsiteaccommodation, food and beverage services, water and sewagetreatment facilities.

Gold Coast Eco-resort 2 generates its own electricity using five gas-powered generators. It provided energy consumption figures frompowerhouse records. These figures were measured in kWh andcovered the entire resort, including the power consumed inaccommodation units, food and beverage operations, and by waterand sewage treatment plants.

Like Gold Coast Eco-resort 1, Gold Coast Eco-resort 3 is connected tothe mains power grid and purchases gas in bulk. Figures for electricityconsumption, measured in kWh, and figures for compressed gas,measured in L, were obtained from its energy bills. These figuresrelated to power consumed in cabin and campsite accommodation,food and beverage services, and also by water and sewage treatmentoperations.

Cairns Eco-resort 1 has its own power station with electricity

generated by three diesel generators. Maintenance staff recordedfigures for electricity consumption in terms of kWh and litres of dieselconsumed. However, few kWh figures were provided for this study. Asexplained in section 3.4.1, this meant that energy calculations had tobe based on an average weekly figure for diesel consumption thatwas quoted by a staff member. In addition, this enterprise purchasesgas in bulk, however consumption figures for this utility were notprovided.

Cairns Eco-resort 2 also has its own power station, equipped with twodiesel generators. Details of monthly electricity consumption,

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measured in terms of kWh, were obtained from powerhouse records.Figures for bulk gas consumption were not provided. For both Cairnsoperations, utility figures covered accommodation, food and

beverage services, equipment for water collection and treatment, andsewage treatment.

All of the ecotourism enterprises provided occupancy figures in termsof guest nights per month. Gold Coast Eco-resort 3 and Cairns Eco-resorts 1 and 2 also accommodate staff on-site. However, no attemptswere made to calculate separate figures for guest and staff energyconsumption, for two reasons. Firstly, guests and staff are likely toconsume energy at different rates. Thus, it is not practical to

distinguish between their different levels of resource use, given asingle total for energy consumption. Secondly, energy consumptionby staff can be considered an extension of energy consumption byguests. Quite simply, staff are part of the basic accommodationinfrastructure and would not be present if it were not for the guests.

Caravan parksA central administrative body was responsible for overseeing theoperation of all caravan parks included in this study. For each park,monthly figures for energy consumption and occupancy rates during2000 were obtained from the central administrator. Electricity wasmeasured in terms of kWh, gas was measured in terms of MJ and asmentioned above, occupancy was measured in terms of cabin nightsand site nights. These figures were recorded in electronicspreadsheets, which allowed them to be collected with relative ease.

4.1.2 Discussion: in-house auditing and the potential for

independent auditing (Aim 1)

Effective in-house energy auditing was undertaken by most hotelsand by the administrator for the group of caravan parks. Eco-resortsmonitored their energy consumption to some degree but SCACs didnot undertake any auditing or data collation. The extent of in-houseauditing seemed to depend upon factors such as managerialstructure, managerial philosophy and size of operation.

Hotels often have central and well-ordered managerial structures thatencourage monitoring of all operational aspects, including

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environmental performance. Monitoring of energy consumption ispossibly undertaken for two main reasons. Firstly, energyconsumption accounts for a sizeable proportion of hotel operating

budgets. Large hotels are likely to seek efficient patterns of energyuse, in order to reduce their input costs and achieve high economicreturns. Indeed, engineering and maintenance departments are oftenseeking ways to reduce hotel energy consumption while maintainingexpected levels of service for their guests. It is important for thesedepartments to keep accurate records so they can analyseconsumption trends over time, particularly after the installation ofnew fittings and equipment that are geared towards energyconservation. Secondly, hotels often have prominent brand names

and associated reputations to uphold. In order to maintain theirposition in the competitive tourist accommodation market, it isimportant they are seen to be doing the right thing, operating witha corporate conscience that demonstrates a sense of environmentaland social responsibility.

Indeed, a sense of environmental and social responsibility issomething that should be inherent to the operation of eco-resorts.This sense of responsibility was reflected in the management of theGold Coast eco-resorts, who operated under philosophies that placedemphasis on monitoring and reducing the environmental impacts oftheir operations. On the other hand, the managerial philosophiesbehind the Cairns eco-resorts seemed to be concerned withpromoting and providing a nature-based accommodation experience,rather than monitoring operational impacts. Discussions withmanagement at these resorts suggested that the monitoring ofresource consumption was primarily connected with minimising

operating costs and promoting economic efficiency, rather thanenvironmental concerns.

The diffuse managerial structure of SCACs worked strongly againstthe application of in-house auditing. This managerial structureprovides many different parties with a stake in the complexes, fromindividual apartment owners, to resident managers and the BodyCorporate. It is unlikely that all of these parties will share the sameinterest in improving environmental performance, which means it isdifficult to achieve co-ordinated environmental management action,particularly auditing of operations.

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At the other end of the scale, the surveyed Gold Coast caravan parkshad a top-down managerial structure with data collated by a centraladministrative body. All of these parks operate under the name of

the local city council, which means it is important they are runefficiently and effectively. Like hotels that operate under a prominentbrand name, these businesses must be seen doing the right thing,striving to implement and achieve best practice. It is importantthey have accurate records on hand so their operations can be easilyaccounted for.

Certainly, if businesses undertake effective in-house auditing, thenindependent Level A and Level B auditing can become a relatively

straightforward process, providing permission is secured for view orrelease of relevant data. For this particular study, it was relatively easyto obtain energy consumption figures for hotels, caravan parks andeco-resorts, but obtaining this information for SCACs was difficult.Considering occupancy figures, these could be collected in terms ofguest nights for most hotels and eco-resorts, however it was notpossible to collect guest night occupancy figures for SCACs or caravanparks. Indeed, the occupancy figures provided by some SCACs werelikely to be unreliable. This suggests that occupancy figures collatedby the Australian Bureau of Statistics may not be entirely accurate,given this government department relies on individual enterprises tosupply raw data.

4.1.3 Investigation of factors affecting electricity and gasconsumption (Aim 2)

Despite inconsistencies with the collection of energy and occupancy

data, it was still possible to address the second aim of this study (referto section 2.0). However, as described in section 3.4.1, adjustmentshad to be made to the raw data before this became feasible. Table 7shows results of regression analyses conducted for individualenterprises. Examining these results, it was found that monthlyoccupancy levels (Occup) had a significant effect on monthlyelectricity consumption in 9 out of 23 analyses, while mean monthlyrelative humidity at 3pm (RH 3) was not a significant factor in any ofthe regression models. On the other hand, mean monthlytemperature (Temp) had a significant effect on monthly electricityconsumption in 9 out of 10 analyses. This last result strongly indicates,

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even without additional data and further testing, that changes intemperature will affect per capita electricity consumption. In addition,it can be noted that a positive relationship was found between

temperature and electricity consumption for air-conditionedaccommodation, while a negative relationship was found betweentemperature and electricity consumption for accommodation withoutair conditioning.

Table 7: Regression results factors affecting electricity andgas consumption

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The regression results for gas revealed significant relationshipsbetween monthly gas consumption and monthly occupancy levels in9 out of 11 analyses. Mean monthly temperature was also found to

have a significant effect in 3 out of 5 analyses, with the relationshipbetween temperature and gas always negative. Mean monthlyrelative humidity however, was not found to be a significant factoraffecting monthly consumption of gas.

Results from the regression analyses will be discussed below inrelation to each accommodation type. It is acknowledged that thisdiscussion may not be completely comprehensive, given it is basedupon limited technical and descriptive information collected from the

accommodation providers. Unfortunately time and other resourceconstraints prevented the collection of extensive technical details fromeach business. In addition, some businesses provided more extensiveinformation compared with others.

4.1.4 Discussion: factors affecting electricity and gasconsumption (Aim 2)

HotelsGenerally, significant positive relationships were found betweenoccupancy and energy consumption for hotels that were relativelycompact in design. Such hotels included Gold Coast Hotel 2, GoldCoast Hotel 4 and Cairns Hotel 3 (see Table 7). With these buildings,it is likely that guest rooms account for a large proportion of totalenergy use, while cooling and ventilation requirements in generalareas are comparatively low. Thus, changes in energy consumption inline with the number of guests are likely to be evident.

Hotels that had a gas hot water system showed positive relationshipsbetween occupancy levels and gas consumption (for example, GoldCoast Hotel 2, Sunshine Coast Hotel 1, Cairns Hotel 2, Cairns Hotel3). It is likely that with a rise in the number of guests there will be arise in the consumption of hot water in guest rooms, kitchens andlaundries, and correspondingly, a rise in consumption of gas. Similarly,the negative relationships observed between temperature and gasconsumption can also be explained by the installation of gas hotwater systems. As temperatures rise there is likely to be less demandfor hot showers and hence, less consumption of gas.

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The positive relationships found between temperature and electricityconsumption can possibly be explained by the use of air conditioningsystems. In hotel buildings, these systems generally account for a large

proportion of electricity use and correspondingly, total energy use. It ishighly likely that the use of air conditioning systems will increase withwarmer weather and so too, will the consumption of energy.

All the results detailed above are in line with technical informationand experience that was revealed during discussions with engineeringand maintenance staff. This suggests the collected data producedreasonable results, despite the fact that it was considerably amendedin order to allow analyses to be undertaken.

Self-contained apartment complexes (SCACs)For Gold Coast SCAC 3, a positive relationship was not foundbetween occupancy levels and electricity consumption. This complexcontains approximately 45 holiday units and 91 permanent residentunits and although permanent residents were factored intooccupancy calculations, these residents are likely to consumeresources at a lesser rate relative to holidaymakers. Thus, a clearrelationship between occupancy levels and resource consumption isunlikely to emerge. Furthermore, it was assumed that the occupancyrate for permanent resident units was always 100%. However, thismay not always be the case, particularly if owners only reside in theirunits during holiday periods.

For Gold Coast SCAC 5 there were five types of regression analyses.Electricity figures for units were collected separately from electricityfigures for common property, which allowed these areas to be

analysed independently. In addition, individual analyses wereconducted for different types of units, to determine if there were anyeffects particular to unit type. All units included in the analyses werein the holiday-letting market.

With Gold Coast SCAC 5, two and three bedroom units without airconditioning and two bedroom units with air conditioning, revealedpositive relationships between occupancy levels and electricityconsumption. These relationships can be expected because the unitswere metered individually, with hot water and air conditioning (whereinstalled) generated separately for each unit, according to the

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presence and demands of guests. On the other hand, commonproperty electricity consumption failed to show a positive relationshipwith occupancy. This is understandable, given that common property

areas are maintained regardless of occupancy levels.

The results for regression models with temperature and electricityconsumption were generally self-evident. For three bedroom unitswithout air conditioning, no relationship was observed. For twobedroom units with air conditioning, there was a significant positiverelationship. Interestingly, for two bedroom units without airconditioning, a significant negative relationship was observed.Perhaps this is because during warm weather periods, holiday-makers

use less hot water when showering, which means the water in boilersneeds to be reheated less frequently.

Considering the overall regression model that accounted for all unittypes in Gold Coast SCAC 5, there was a positive relationship betweenelectricity consumption and occupancy, and a negative relationshipbetween mean temperature and occupancy. Understandably, thesegeneral results are the same as those obtained for the most commontype of unit two bedrooms, no air conditioning.

Eco-resortsFor resorts that offered cabin and campground accommodation, GoldCoast Eco-resort 1 and Gold Coast Eco-resort 3, no relationship wasobserved between electricity consumption and occupancy levels.Presumably, campground guests will consume less energy than cabinguests and this will mean that total levels of electricity use aredependent on the number of guests staying in each type of

accommodation, rather than the total number of guests per se.Indeed, a review of 12 months of occupancy figures for Gold CoastEco-resort 1, showed that campground guest numbers exceededlodge guest numbers during 5 of these months. This relatively highand varying proportion of campground guests is likely to explain theabsence of a clear relationship between resource consumption andoccupancy levels.

On the other hand, for Gold Coast Eco-resort 2, a significant positiverelationship was found between occupancy levels and electricityconsumption. This relationship can possibly be explained by the

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