Environmental Initiatives at Hoshino Resorts

Aiming to be a "globally competitive hotel management company”, Hoshino Resorts is not only responsible for inspiring locals to engage in their nearby culture but also for the restoration and preservation of the natural landscapes surrounding our properties. 

Since 1993, we have been working with an environmental management company to run our resorts in sustainable ways to rescue the burden on our planet. This year, we have implemented two new initiatives, our toothbrush recycling and bottle-free programs with more projects coming up in the near future.

The team at Hoshino Resorts wants to show their customers beautiful natural landscapes, and provide them with rich experiences that they can’t get through commodities. That is why ever since 1993, Hoshino Resorts has been working on environmental management to run its resorts in a sustainable way that reduces the burden on the planet. This year, the company has begun two new initiatives.

1. Going plastic bottle-free to reduce plastic waste
Plastic water bottles are very useful for easily carrying around drinks, but they also produce a lot of waste.

It is said that a million plastic bottles are used around the world every minute (The Guardian June 28, 2017), so although eco-friendly alternatives like tumblers are becoming more popular, they are still far from being widespread.

From now on, Hoshino Resorts will no longer offer bottled mineral water, and will instead have water coolers in public spaces. Hoshino Resorts will also not only sell original tumblers, reducing the need for plastic bottles, but also educate people about the importance of doing this. This initiative will begin with RISONARE Nasu, which opened on November 1st, and is projected to expand to every resort under the RISONARE brand (Tomamu, Atami, and Yatsugatake) by the end of this year.

2. Ending toothbrush wasteOn October 1st, 2019, Hoshino Resorts began its toothbrush recycling program in the 30 resorts operated by the company within Japan. More than a million discarded toothbrushes are collected every year, which are then recycled to be used in other plastic products. Hoshino Resorts is currently the only company operating multiple resorts in Japan that recycles toothbrushes. The next step is to look at recycling these used toothbrushes into new toothbrushes.

3. Changing hotel amenities to pump bottles
We will eliminate individually packaged soaps (shampoo, conditioner, and body wash) at all 30 Japanese lodging facilities operated by Hoshino Resorts and switch to refillable pump bottles by the end of 2019.

We already use pump bottles at approximately 90% of our facilities, but our goal is to introduce them at all facilities. By using pump bottles instead of soap, we expect to reduce disposal of plastic containers by about 49 t/yr and soap by about 73 kl/yr in comparison with the use of individually packaged soaps.

Hoshino Resorts’ Environmental Initiatives: Three Indices

• EIMY

Short for Energy In My Yard, this is the philosophy of generating as much as possible of your energy needs yourself through natural sources. HOSHINOYA Karuizawa has introduced its own hydroelectric and geothermal generators, as well as generators using the heat of the hot springs, which together produce 70% of its total energy needs.

• Zero Emissions

An initiative to completely eliminate the burning or burying of waste created as a result of operating the hotels, and recycle 100% of what they use. It was thought to be difficult for a hotel to achieve zero emissions, but this goal was realized at HOSHINOYA Karuizawa in November 2011.

• Ecotourism

This is a style of tourism with the goal of preserving the local ecosystem, sharing its beauty with the visitors, and deepening their understanding of the area. Picchio, Hoshino Resorts’ group of ecotourism experts, supports people in their exciting encounters with wild animals and plants, offers nature tours so visitors can experience its beauty, and works to protect the Asian black bear so that humans and bears can live in harmony.

Environmental Management History

1914 Hoshino Onsen opened

1915 Began generating hydropower with a wooden water wheel

1992 CEO Yoshiharu Hoshino elucidates his vision of the “master resort manager,”

1111 and establishes three indices: Ordinary profit margin, customer satisfaction, and

1111 environmental management.

1999 Zero Committee founded to work towards achieving zero emissions

2003 Zero Committee won the Minister of the Environment Award at the Green 1111

1111 Purchasing Network’s 6th Green Purchasing Awards

2005 Won the Ministry of the Environment’s 1st Ecotourism Award

2011 Zero emissions achieved

2019 Hotel amenities switched to pump bottles, will stop using individually wrapped soap (projected to be

1111 achieved by end of the year), began the process of going plastic bottle-free. Toothbrush recycling

1111 initiatives started around the country.

Future Environmental Initiatives

Continuing on from the toothbrush initiative, this autumn HOSHINOYA will begin using LIMEX in the packaging of its makeup products, and also start more collection/recycling initiatives. Hoshino Resorts plans to keep expanding its activities to reduce plastic waste.

The team at Hoshino Resorts believes that rich natural environments are its resorts’ best assets.

Minimizing the burden on the planet will contribute to eliminating the stereotype of resorts destroying the environment, and increase the company’s competitiveness. Hoshino Resorts will continue to responsibly manage the environment in accordance with the characteristics of its resorts and the areas around them.

Hoshino Resorts
www.hoshinoresorts.com/en/