Using The Environmental Adjective

When taking Amtrak to Reno, Nevada, so I could give the presentation again, I connected with several people. When it came out what I was talking about I was reminded that adjectives are inadequate words to convey our actions and intentions. Communication needs more description than what adjectives alone can provide. Being environmentally sensitive meant different things to each of the people I was talking about. It meant being vegetarian, reducing waste, recycling, and not using Styrofoam to the group I was talking to.

One person said his approach to being environmentally sensitive, which is very difficult when traveling -- especially on the train -- was to be a vegetarian. He tries to eat only locally grown, organic vegetables. But on his recent trip to Morocco he found he found he needed to eat a wide array of foods to survive. And he doubted they were organic.

Another person had a "tin cup" so he wouldn't have to use disposable cups. He hated the plastic plates and cups the train was using, not to mention the paper hot cups. The stewards seemed a bit put out when we asked them to fill our cups rather than use their plastic cups.

The guy who thought the train was great because it didn't use Styrofoam was yet another interesting reaction to my talk focus. He didn't mind the paper or plastic consumption in the dining car.

Then there was the man who thought the lack of recycling the train system seemed to use was disgraceful. Paper table cloths and napkins; plastic plates, bowls and cups; paper hot cups with plastic lids; individual service jam, honey and syrup were all thrown away. We never saw any recycling effort.

What does "environmental" mean to you? Is it a towel and sheet reuse program? Locally grown foods? Recycling or energy conservation? We all have our own ideas of what it takes to be environmentally sensitive and active. You should be specific about what you do to be environmental so you don't disappoint people.

I'm hard core though that I think it takes all of these things as well as reducing water consumption and waste, using natural fibers, avoiding harsh chemicals, generating your own clean energy and buying what you can't generate, providing transportation in hybrid or electric vehicles, and educating staff and guests alike about what specific actions your hospitality venue takes, and why.

It's no longer enough to say you are a green hotel or restaurant, that your golf course or ski area is environmentally sensitive, or that your spa or health club is environmentally friendly. The public is cynical about hotel linen reuse programs, seeing them merely as cost saving measures or green washing. You can help reduce that cynicism by telling people visiting your website exactly what green actions you take. Avoid pretty sounding fluffy descriptions of your thoughts and actions, be specific as you enumerate your green plan.

I've told B&B innkeepers for twenty years to avoid adjectives as they describe the guest experience at their property so they don't establish expectations in their guests that are then shattered when the innkeepers meaning and the guest's understanding don't mesh. It's taken me a few years of promoting greening the hospitality industry for me to realize that avoiding adjectives when describing your environmental actions is just as important as avoiding them when describing your hotel's benefits. My train trip was another reminder of that lesson.

Specific terminology will help further your reputation as an environmentally sound hospitality business and help reduce guest frustration at you not being the green business they thought you were. That's an ECOnomically Sound approach to business.