Vancouver has more sustainable hotels than any other city in the world

Feb 7 2022, 11:19 pm

Vancouver has the world’s largest proportion of environmentally friendly hotels that have clear practices on reducing waste, sourcing local produce, and reducing their energy consumption.

AĀ new analysisĀ by British data comparison firm Uswitch combed through the “eco-credentials” of thousands of hotels in the world’s 200 largest cities on hotel platform Booking.com.

There are 89 hotels in Vancouver, with 39 hotels or 44% deemed to be accommodations properties with sustainable operations. This percentage is higher than any other city in the world.

The Fairmont Waterfront hotel was a specific example of a Vancouver hotel with an eco-conscious way of operating, with its bee habitat of 250,000 honeybees on the fourth-floor rooftop. Event planners are also offered organic menus, disposable-free service, and carbon-neutral options, and the hotel recycles, donates, and composts as much as possible.

fairmont waterfront hotel bee hives

Bee hives on the rooftop of Fairmont Waterfront hotel in downtown Vancouver. (Fairmont Hotels)

In fact, Canadian cities dominate the top five in the global ranking.

Vancouver is followed by Stockholm, Sweden at 40.3% (87 out of 216 hotels), Toronto at 24.7%% (37 out of 150 hotels), Calgary at 23.5% (32 out of 136 hotels), and Edmonton at 22.6% (30 out of 133 hotels).

Montreal is ranked 39th, with 38 out of 309 hotels carrying out sustainable practices or 12.3%.

The ranking of the world’s top 50 cities for sustainable hotels did not include any cities in the United States, Australia, or Great Britain. Other than Canadian cities, other countries that were represented by a handful or more of their cities include India (10 cities) and South Africa (five cities).

Top cities with the most sustainable hotels

  1. Vancouver, Canada: 43.82% — 39 out of 89 hotels
  2. Stockholm, Sweden: 40.28% — 87 out of 216 hotels
  3. Toronto, Canada: 24.67% — 37 out of 150 hotels
  4. Calgary, Canada: 23.53% — 32 out of 136 hotels
  5. Edmonton, Canada: 22.56% — 30 out of 133 hotels
  6. Lahore, Pakistan: 21.33% — 32 out of 150 hotels
  7. Medellin, Colombia: 20.04% — 94 out of 469 hotels
  8. Bogota, Colombia: 19.6% — 147 out of 750 hotels
  9. Ekurhuleni, South Africa: 19.46% — 217 out of 1,115 hotels
  10. Johannesburg, South Africa: 19.21% — 132 out of 687 hotels

Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

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