Dubai: Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has relaunched the Carbon Calculator tool that measures the carbon footprint within Dubai’s hospitality sector, it said on Sunday. The tool has now been revamped to track real-time data for carbon emission sources, allowing hotels to identify and effectively manage their energy consumption.
The improvements are part of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative that seeks to contribute to the broader clean energy targets and support the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategy. The initiative also supports the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, to consolidate Dubai’s status as one of the top three global cities and enhance its position as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations.
Carbon Calculator
Dubai Sustainable Tourism’s Carbon Calculator measures the carbon footprint of hotels across Dubai. On a monthly basis, hotels are mandated to submit their consumption of nine carbon emission sources, including: electricity, water, district cooling, liquefied petroleum gas, landfill waste, recycled waste, petrol, diesel and refrigerants.
This information is aggregated and analysed to provide insights on the sector’s collective carbon footprint. The data provided helps hotels and resorts implement initiatives to efficiently manage their carbon footprint in line with the 19 Sustainability Requirements put in place to establish a baseline across hotels in Dubai.
“As DET continually strives to further enhance its services to stakeholders and partners, the revamped carbon calculator will provide hotels with a user-friendly experience and enable hotels to make informed decisions,” said Yousuf Lootah, Acting CEO of Corporate Strategy and Performance sector, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. “By keeping track of their energy consumption, the data provides a baseline for DET to develop strategies for the sector so that hotels and resorts can effectively manage impact, improve the efficiency of managing carbon resources and identify potential saving opportunities.”
‘Dubai Sustainable Tourism’ course
In addition to relaunching the Carbon Calculator, the Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) have upgraded the ‘Dubai Sustainable Tourism’ course available on DCT’s learning platform - Dubai Way. The course offers a broad range of educational and awareness programmes for people employed in tourist-facing roles across the tourism ecosystem.
The newly relaunched module includes educational segments focused on the Carbon Calculator, water and energy saving, how to establish a ‘Green Team’ and implement green procurement strategies. The course reflects the power of education in driving sustainable tourism and encouraging the implementation of environmental practices, while empowering participants with the knowledge to successfully implement ESG principles across the travel and hospitality sectors, thus creating a network of sustainability champions.
