Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has relaunched its Carbon Calculator tool that measures the carbon footprint within Dubai’s hospitality sector.
The tool has now been revamped to track real-time data for carbon emission sources, allowing hotels to identify and manage their energy consumption, according to state news agency WAM.
The Carbon Calculator was first introduced in January 2017 as a part of the Tourism Dirham Platform, and measures the carbon footprint of hotels across Dubai.
Every month, hotels are mandated to submit their consumption of nine carbon emission sources: electricity, water, district cooling, liquefied petroleum gas, landfill waste, recycled waste, petrol, diesel and refrigerants.
This information is collated and analysed to provide industry insights on the sector’s collective carbon footprint. In addition, by formulating a baseline, hotels can understand their comparative energy, water and waste consumption trends and identify cost-saving opportunities.
The data provided also helps hotels and resorts to manage their carbon footprint in line with the 19 Sustainability Requirements put in place to establish a baseline across hotels in Dubai. The 19 Sustainability Requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programmes for local communities.
“We are pleased to relaunch the Carbon Calculator as part of our ongoing commitment to support the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategy, and align with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. The upgraded platform also further aligns with the UAE’s commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly as the city ramps up preparations to host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) this year,” said Yousuf Lootah, acting CEO of Corporate Strategy and Performance sector, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.
