Local hotels are providing more and more charging facilities for electric vehicles, some of which are already available for public use, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to 2021, Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man said yesterday.
Tam made the remarks during this year’s Macao Green Hotel Award ceremony held at the DSPA’s headquarters, with the participation of MGTO Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong and representatives from local hotels.
Tam said that among those charging facilities for e-vehicles in the hotels, 30 percent are for e-motorcycles, so as to promote the use of battery-operated vehicles in the city.
According to Tam, 27 hotels have received the “Macao Green Hotel Award” this year, with 54 hotels having received this award during the past 16 years.
Each award is valid for three years, and those that get the award assume the responsibility to invest in more environmentally-friendly devices in their hotels, so as to fully support the nation’s climate goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
In order to reduce carbon emissions, some award-winning hotels have installed solar hot water systems on their rooftops to replace some of the fossil fuel used, while others have introduced more natural light into their indoor spaces to reduce electricity consumption, according to Tam.
In terms of waste treatment, Tam underlined, all award-winning hotels have implemented the recycling of waste paper, plastic bottles, aluminium cans and used batteries, with a cumulative total of 64,000 tonnes in the past year, equivalent to the weight of 16,000 minibuses, while the cumulative amount of waste paper collected was over 19,400 tonnes, equivalent to 329,800 trees.
In addition, Tam added, the cumulative amount of food waste collected in the past year by the 54 award-winning hotels exceeded 9,700 tonnes, equivalent to the weight of 2,425 minibuses.
Organised by the DSPA and collaborated by the Macao Tourism Office (MGTO), the Macao Green Hotel Award was launched in 2007 with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of environmental management in Macau’s hotel industry and commend those hotels that have adopted environmental-friendly measures.
Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Director Raymond Tam Vai Man (centre, front) and representatives from local hotels pose on the sidelines of yesterday’s Macao Green Hotel Award ceremony at the DSPA headquarters. – Photo by DSPA
