Japan's Tokyu Hotels' New Corporate-Social-Responsibility & Environmental Initiatives

[Marian Goldberg]

In recent months, Tokyo-based Tokyu Hotels chain (with some 50 properties, mostly in Japan but also Taiwan and Hawaii) has instituted a series of corporate social responsibility (CRS) and environmental initiatives as part of its proactive, ethical campaign promoting environmental issues and social responsibility to minimize its carbon footprint and impact on our biosphere. As sustainability policy, Tokyu Hotels has three aims: "earth-friendly hotels, town-friendly hotels, and people-friendly hotels." And while deeply recognizing the perspective of sustainable development goals (SDGs), Tokyu Hotels is contributing to the realization of a "sustainable society" through the hotel business. A list of specific CRS and SDG activities can be found here, but following are some examples:

Save the Earth with the "Green Coin"

Tokyu Hotels invites hotel guests to participate in the Green Coin program, which aims to lower damage to the global environment by decreasing the number of toothbrushes and razors used daily at its hotels. Guests can participate by returning a Green Coin to the front desk instead of using the amenities. Donations equivalent to the number of coins collected, re made throughout the year to two activities, the Children's Forest Program and the Tokyu Hotels Green Coin Forests in the Yamanashi Prefecture village of Tabayama.

The World's First "Hydrogen Hotel"

In the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area city of Kawasaki, only a ten-minute drive from Haneda Airport, the Kawasaki King Skyfront Tokyu REI Hotel hydrogen recycled from used plastic is used for electricity and hot water - about 30 percent of its energy use. Thus, in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of the Environment's "Regional Collaboration/Low-Cabon Hydrogen Demonstration Project," this property is contributing to the reduction of carbon dioside in the atmosphere as the "world's first hydrogen hotel," utilizing hydrogen to supply about 30% of its energy.

Eco-Friendly "Wooden Straw Project"

The company's flagship in the heart of Tokyo, the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, has eliminated all plastic straws at its restaurants and bars with the "Wooden Straw Project." Instead, they developed and produced drinking straws made from curling thinly sliced domestic timbers cut down in forest-thinning operations.

About Tokyu Hotels

Tokyu Hotels was founded in January 2001 as a hotel management company by Tokyu Group to expand its primary transportation enterprise and accompany its department stores, museums, and galleries. At present, they offer nearly 50 urban accommodation venues, comprising nearly 12,500 guestrooms. In April 2015, the hotels consolidated into three distinct brands: Tokyu Hotel (reliable, gracious service with dignified, warm hospitality), Excel Hotel Tokyu (satisfaction in both hospitality and style in convenient culturally centric location), Tokyu REI Hotel (a home-like space, with everyday relaxation on an intimate scale.)