Ascott will be participating in World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Earth Hour 2013 on 23 March 2013 for the fifth year. All the participating serviced residences of Ascott China will be turning off the lights from 8:30pm for 10 hours and will organize various activities for this event. The sustainability initiatives engage residents and employees to enjoy a green and healthy “Ascott Lifestyle”. The Earth Hour national event is also a part of “Go Green @ Ascott” global practice.
This year, all operating properties in China will reiterate its support for Earth Hour, by turning off their façade lights and non-essential lighting for extended hours throughout the night, beginning from 8.30pm (local time) on 23 March 2013. Meanwhile, each city will organize a series of health and sustainability activities for residents. For example, 9 properties in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Xi’an will host “Turning Waste into Treasure” resources recycling activities.
Another 6 properties in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Suzhou will play Green themed movies. The residents of Citadines Central Xi’an will immerse themselves in interesting shadow plays during the night. These activities provide a green lifestyle to all the residents.
Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascott’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for North Asia, said: “Ascott strives to become the world’s leading green serviced residence company and promotes a healthy and green Ascott Lifestyle. In the past five years, Ascott China has saved over 10,000 kilowatt hours during the Earth Hour national events. We encourage our long-stay residents to play a part through waste sorting and offering them the option to reduce the frequency of housekeeping where they will be rewarded with plants or a reduction on service charge. We also engage our staff to use soft copies or double-sided printing, to switch off computers when they are out of office and to adjust the temperature of the air conditioner to conserve energy.”
In March 2012, Ascott has launched its global sustainability drive ‘Go Green @ Ascott’ and targets to reduce water and energy consumption by 15% by 2015, using 2008 as the base year. According to statistics, Ascott had achieved its target of 15% savings in water consumption by 2012. The 447,000 cubic metres of water saved can fill about 180 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Ascott also recorded savings of 8% in energy consumption compared with 2008. The 17,000 megawatt hours of energy saved can power some 3,000 average households for a year.
As the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operator in the world with more than 200 properties in more than 20 countries, Ascott has achieved the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications for 106 serviced residences across 15 countries in Asia Pacific and Europe. ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 are globally recognised standards for environmental management, and occupational health and safety management of businesses respectively. The certifications were awarded to Ascott by an internationally established certification organisation, TÜV SÜD.
To reduce pollution caused by construction and operation, Ascott insists on incorporating green materials and facilities for both development and renovation projects.
In China, Citadines Gaoxin Xi’an, Citadines Zhuankou Wuhan, and Somerset Heping Shenyang attained the Singapore BCA Green Mark certificates with their green designs.
In 2012, Ascott China also achieved the Green Model Award at the 2012 China Economy Summit for excellent practice in green operation.
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Ascott will be participating in World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Earth Hour 2013 on 23 March 2013 for the fifth year. All the participating serviced residences of Ascott China will be turning off the lights from 8:30pm for 10 hours and will organize various activities for this event. The sustainability initiatives engage residents and employees to enjoy a green and healthy “Ascott Lifestyle”. The Earth Hour national event is also a part of “Go Green @ Ascott” global practice.
