Dubai reintroduces Carbon Calculator...

The tool is now able to provide data for carbon emission sources in real time

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has announced the relaunch of its Carbon Calculator tool, which measures the carbon footprint of outlets within the emirate's hospitality sector.

The Carbon Calculator tool is part of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative that seeks to contribute to the industry's broader clean energy targets and help realise the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategy, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) 2030.

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.

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The resulting data is then used to provide valuable industry insights on the sector’s collective carbon footprint, which enables hotels to understand their energy, water and waste consumption.

Hotels and resorts can then leverage the information to implement initiatives to efficiently manage their carbon footprint. A total of 19 'Sustainability Requirements' have been established to set a baseline across hotels in Dubai and unify environmental practices.

The requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programmes for local communities.

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism acting CEO of Corporate Strategy and Performance, Yousuf Lootah said: “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.

"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.

"In addition to supporting hotels and resorts within the city’s tourism ecosystem, this initiative has a larger goal: creating a city that is the world’s most visited and the best place to live and work in, as envisaged by the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.”

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.

Since its inception in January 2017, Dubai Sustainable Tourism’s Carbon Calculator, part of the Tourism Dirham Platform, has been measuring the carbon footprint of hotels across Dubai.

For more information, visit www.dubaitourism.gov.ae/en