Suistanable development recognition program for the Quebec hotel industry

"Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Brundtland Report, 1987

World Commission on Environment and Development

Sustainable development

Sustainable development is not a static condition but rather an ongoing movement towards achieving a balance between three sectors: economic, environmental, social. In the long term, pursuit of this balance will ensure the continuation of our society and those various industries that compose it, such as the hotel industry.

Sustainable development and the hotel industry

As with any business, operating a hotel necessarily results in impacts on the environment, the community, and the economy within which it operates. Positive or negative, these impacts shape the organization and its operations.

The Association des hôteliers du Québec (AHQ)

The AHQ's mission is to support and develop a major industrial sector in Quebec. Within the framework of this mission, the AHQ recognizes that it has a responsibility regarding the promotion and implementation of sustainable development in Quebec hotels. The AHQ's motivation is not based on corporate interests, but rather on the recognition of a social responsibility.In April 2006, the Province of Quebec introduced a law on sustainable development.The Program initiated by the Association des hôteliers du Québec and developed by the Fondation québécoise en environnement, in conjunction with its financial partners, all pioneers in their respective sectors, has three objectives:

• Contribute to the decrease of the negative impacts caused by the Quebec hotel industry.
• Move Quebec hotels quickly towards the balance represented by sustainable development.
• Encourage employees, suppliers, and guests to participate in the sustainable development of the Quebec hotel industry.

The Program

The Quebec hotel industry's recognition program for sustainable development (Programme de reconnaissance en développement durable – PRDD) takes the form of a tool box that encompasses 140 actions divided into 10 activity sectors in the hotel milieu, with 24 objectives to be attained all related to the concept of sustainable development.

It is different from other programs because it is based on ongoing progressive training and includes customized telephone support and an audit. This formula makes it possible for hotel operators to take charge of their own progress towards sustainable development.

The PRDD advocates commitment as one of the ways to sustainable development. In fact, to remain in the program, participating hotel properties are not classified but must carry out new actions each year that correspond to an additional 6 points while maintaining those from previous years.