The business case for cleaner production in African hotels

Financed by the International Finance Corporation, a cleaner production audit of four hotels in Mali and Burkina Faso revealed that energy and water savings could increase the hotels' net profit by about 50%.

Electricity in West Africa is often expensive, from two to three times the price in Europe, and so is clean water. The Cleaner Technologies team of the IFC saw a real potential for electricity and water savings in the hotels of the Chaîne Azalai Hôtels, a Malian client company of IFC with three hotels in Bamako, Mali and one in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

IFC provided the company with $25,000 in technical assistance to undertake an energy and water use review of the four hotels.

In May 2006, the consultant firm hired for that purpose submitted its audit. The results are striking: with proper technology, each of the four hotels could save up to 23% in energy and water use, and the company as a whole could increase its net profit by about 50%. The necessary investments in new equipment would be paid off in a year and a half from cost savings.

In the Grand Hôtel in Bamako, for example, the audit shows that investments in cleaner technology such as room keys that switch air-conditioning and lights off when guests leave the rooms, efficient light bulbs and a solar water heating system could significantly reduce the hotel's electricity bill.

IFC is keen to present cleaner production opportunities to its clients because benefits are two-fold: first, investment in cleaner production can improve companies' profitability and creditworthiness; second, cleaner production has important environmental benefits. Companies benefit financially while improving their brand image and the environment wins too.

This is the first cleaner production initiative of this type for both Mali and Burkina Faso. Given the company's leading position in the Malian tourism market, if it chooses to go ahead with the implementation of the cleaner production investments, this could play a catalytic role and lead to rapid replication by other players in the region's tourism sector.