Each Oberoi Hotel has a Green Team that comprises the Heads of Departments. The team conceptualises and implements innovative ideas to conserve energy and protect the environment. Environmental awareness is a regular part of The Group’s training for all employees. To celebrate the birth anniversary of the late Founder Chairman of The Oberoi Group, Shri Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, employees in each hotel plant saplings each year and nurture them until they grow fully.
The Group’s hotels assist authorities in afforestation drives. About 2,000 trees were planted in the past year.
Energy efficiency and conservation are an important feature of our hotels. The air-conditioning systems use heat recovery wheels, thermal storage vessels and heat pumps wherever possible, thereby reducing energy consumption and peak load requirement.
Hotels built are equipped with a computerised Building Management System for automated remote control of equipment, thus minimising idle running.
Gardening and horticulture are an essential feature of every Oberoi Hotel. The use of natural fertilisers and treated waste from Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and bio-pesticides has also been adopted. Our properties are built without disturbing nature and its landscape. This eliminates the need to cut trees or fill up rain-fed ponds.
The Oberoi Group has undertaken waste management programmes that save material, resources, energy and money. Waste is separated and disposed of suitably. Wet garbage is refrigerated to delay spoilage and sent to piggeries, while dry garbage such as aluminium, paper and plastic are segregated and sold for recycling. Garbage incinerators are also used when needed and have reduced our garbage output by 98% . All printed stationery, after being screened and processed, is reused as note pads, facsimile printouts and posters for internal use.
Wet scrubbers have been installed in the generator and boiler exhaust systems to reduce the emission levels of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. Our hotels use Vapour Absorption Chillers because these do not cause ozone depletion. Interior air quality in the hotels is regularly monitored and maintained at an optimum level. The Oberoi, New Delhi has state of the art air filtration systems that guarantee clean air on par with global best standards.
Our hotels use cloth bags for newspapers and laundry. Plastic covers for room tumblers have also been taken out of service. Business kits and greeting cards are made of recycled paper. Soaps are recycled and given to charity. All cleaning agents and washing detergents are bio-degradable. Bathroom amenities provided to guests are made of natural, botanical extracts and Indian herbs.
Our hotels have sophisticated and efficient systems for the management of water resources. Several hotels have installed rainwater harvesting systems. Water for potable use is filtered and sanitised. Most hotels have a sophisticated Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The extensive gardens and lawns are irrigated using the treated effluent from the STPs through automatic sprinklers and drip methods. This water is also used in cooling towers.
Many Oberoi Hotels have infra-red sensors on taps and urinals, and low water consumption cisterns to help conserve water. Area-wise metering of water consumption is undertaken to determine areas of high usage and initiate further conservation methods. State-of-the-art machines have been installed in the hotels’ laundries and kitchens to reduce water consumption.
