ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the hotel industry, which, arguably, can be seen as being at the cutting edge of sustainability measuring. It offers a theoretical background. The chapter examines industry-wide standardization initiatives and shows how particular hotel companies cope with the challenge by means of environmental performance assessment tools. It utilizes an example of Hilton's LightStay tool to provide insights into practical applications. Subsequently, the chapter discusses the future of sustainability measurement. Most of the hotel-commissioned tools undergo continued development to support the growing reporting needs of the evolving sustainability strategy. Hilton's LightStay is an example of such evolution. It started as a simple digital monitoring instrument of energy consumption and costs, and through a number of iterations developed into a comprehensive platform for measuring and reporting the environmental and, crucially, social performance of all hotels within Hilton brands. The latest version of LightStay (2015) is equipped with a function that can forecast future energy and water usage levels.
