These days, it is customary to think that saving energy requires new, expensive equipment and the implementation of time-consuming procedures. While it is possible to invest big dollars in green energy technology and complicated overhauls to protect the environment, we at Accor North America have found that shifting our focus toward the most vital resource of any business — our employees — saves just as much energy as other energy-saving strategies. This human element of energy-saving is what makes our company’s properties more cost-efficient and less harmful to the environment.

The Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands of Accor North America saved approximately $2.3 million in 2009, mainly through training our staff on basic conservation efforts. All it took was some general knowledge about how to capitalize on the energy-saving appliances already in place, where to implement low-cost solutions for further conservation and how to consistently measure the effectiveness of these tools and methods.

Equally as impressive, the Sofitel and Novotel group of Accor North America saved approximately $740,000 in 2009 through a strong emphasis on preventative maintenance and energy awareness. Sofitel Minneapolis, for example, started an energy awareness campaign in which staff gave out “speeding tickets” to one another if someone left the lights on in an empty conference room.

The packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) systems in our motels were already useful in curbing energy costs long before 2009. But we found that some of our properties’ maintenance and housekeeping staff were not aware of how to set the PTACs in a way to maximize efficiency. When PTACs and/or thermometers are set correctly, we can successfully save both energy and money. The important goal for motel managers is to perform daily checks on PTAC systems and to clearly communicate to housekeepers what temperature settings are necessary for optimal, low-energy performance.

Another highly-effective change at many of our properties was the addition of inexpensive devices such as faucet aerators and toilet flappers. The low-cost installation of aerators in sinks greatly reduces the water flow per minute, while toilet flappers regulate the amount of water in the cistern by preventing it from constantly refilling. The small initial cost of installation yielded profound results in overall water consumption and in our company’s bottom line. Routine check-ups on these devices further ensure that water, our most precious natural resource, is not wasted.

Once these new instruments and guidelines were in place, the next step was to regularly monitor the consumption savings and to report it directly to our operations teams. Not only is it necessary to know how much energy is being consumed to highlight where further savings can be made, it is rewarding and inspiring for our teams to see how their conservation efforts pay off from week to week, month to month, year to year. Our biggest savings at Accor North America stem from this goal-oriented approach with an emphasis on individual responsibility and incentive. By educating staff members on how to make small changes that go a long way and showing them their concrete contribution, everyone — company, employee, and environment — wins big.