How do my Green key performance indicators compare to other businesses?

 A question a lot of us cannot help but ask ourselves – how do I compare to others?

It is no different when it comes to a business; in fact, the competition gets steeper.

As we work with more and more hospitality businesses to get them started on their Green Journey, this same question continues to get asked from our students:

How do my Green key performance indicators compare to other businesses?

Personally, I am delighted that people ask this question because it means that not only they have calculated their own Green KPIs, but also it demonstrates their desire to do better, to be in line with good practice standards and data.

Our advice at the Fifty Shades Greener office is always the same –

DO NOT COMPARE YOUR DATA TO ANYONE ELSE.

At least for the moment!

When you start your business’s Green Journey, there is no value in comparing your status to others. The only thing you need to do, is benchmark against yourself. This means you have one solitary goal, and that is to reduce your own Green KPIs month by month, year by year.

Data comparison can often be a good thing to set good practice standards and to have a guideline of what your goal should be. However, if we compare our efforts to those that may have been already running a Green Programme for much longer than us, you might fall into the “despair box”. Their figures might seem so unattainable to you, that instead of motivating you they will do the exact opposite.  

So rule number one: Do not compare yourself to other.

We must also remember that when it comes to Green KPIs, what is considered good practice figures for one, does not mean they are for all. Businesses run many different types of operations, for example, Hotels might;

• Have only one restaurant OR several food outlets.
• Have spa or leisure centre OR both!
• Host many weddings over the year or concentrate on corporate business only.

All these different types of activities mean that Green KPIs will vary a lot from one business to another. For example, if you compare a corporate business Hotel with a Hotel where their main market is weddings, you will discover that the wedding focused Hotel produces a lot more food waste than the corporate Hotel. This is not a criticism it is a fact. Or if you were to compare the energy use of a Hotel with a spa, against the energy use of a Hotel without a spa, the figures will also be completely different.

To conclude, if you are starting your Green Journey with or without us, always keep in mind that your main objective, is to reduce your impact on the environment and your carbon emissions through actively reducing your Green KPIs. Without comparing yourselves to anyone else.