Dino Michael Minoli

Solid waste generation and disposal is one of the most negative impacts of small hotels on the environment. Small hotels often pay little attention to their environmental responsibilities. This research builds upon an earlier work by the same authors considering solid waste management (SWM) issues in small Welsh hotels. It considers the Welsh Assembly Government's Green Dragon Environmental Standard (GDES) as an environmental management system developed specifically to target small and medium-sized enterprises and help them with aspects of environmental management, such as SWM. It explores SWM practices in green (i.e. GDES-accredited) and non-green small hotels and develops a best practice SWM model for them. Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate hoteliers’ attitudes and the barriers to implement sustainable SWM practices. The findings revealed that most non-GDES small hotels were highly reliant on landfill for the disposal of solid waste and felt negatively about the implementation of more sustainable SWM alternatives. In contrast, GDES small hotels used landfill as a last resort and targeted other waste hierarchy options in preference. The study develops a best practice model for policymakers (local authorities and UK central government) to influence and encourage better SWM practices in small hotels.

Golf is a major and expanding sport, leisure and tourism activity with significant environmental impacts. The impacts of golf and other sports facilities are increasingly addressed through Voluntary Environmental Programmes (VEPs). Since the late-1980s, VEPs have gained popularity because they theoretically overcome the weaknesses of environmental legislation, improve environmental performance beyond minimum legal compliance and confer competitive advantage. Yet their effectiveness is contested and they are only partially accepted. There is very limited research on the growing participation of golf and other sports in VEPs. Our international review paper outlines the environmental impacts of golf, analyses the strategic ‘green’ pressures affecting the sport, reviews the theory and practice of VEPs, and draws conclusions on this under-researched field.

Collectively, small hotels constitute a significant solid waste management (SWM) problem. Little research has focused on the SWM practices of small hotels. In the United Kingdom, much of the solid waste generated by small hotels goes to landfill. This study uses a constructionist approach to investigate SWM issues in small hotels in a local authority in Wales and examines the role of the public sector in helping small hotels manage their solid waste effectively. The results revealed that only a minority of small hotels were considering the adoption of sustainable SWM practices, either because hoteliers felt negatively about sustainable SWM alternatives or perceived challenges – an issue which necessitates government intervention. At the time of this study, the public sector provided only very modest services to enhance SWM practices. This study proposes a best practice model for the public sector to encourage small hotels to manage their solid waste effectively, in order to reduce or even eliminate waste for landfill. Local authorities' support is required to make waste management hierarchy options more accessible to small hotels and should incentivise better waste management through increasing the gap between the costs of landfill and recycling waste.

Landfill dominates Welsh solid waste management (SWM) strategies despite harmful impacts on the environment. Reducing solid waste for landfill...

Despite an increasing interest in reinsurance and environmental manage ment systems (EMSs) concerning pollution, little research has been conducted on the subject. This paper presents the findings from a survey of reinsurers' views on this issue. Reinsurers give EMSs a cursory consideration in their pollution risk assessments because they inadequately appraise pollution liability, have no explicit requirements regarding risk management and there is little evidence to show that they are effective at reducing environmental risks. Reinsurers' underwriting assessments and post-loss investigations are poorly developed concerning public liability insurance. Reinsurance and EMSs are currently weak methods to prevent and control pollution risks.

This paper explores the use of insurance and environmental management systems (EMSs) to prevent and control the risk of pollution. To assess this issue, a series of interviews with insurers was conducted to find out their opinions and attitudes on EMSs about insurance for pollution. The main scope of the research is composite insurance, public liability and EMSs, within the UK market. Insurers' believed that EMSs could theoretically help insureds and insurers, respectively, prevent and control, and assess and settle pollution. However, there is little evidence to support this assertion. Moreover, EMSs assess pollution incompletely from the insurers' point of view. Furthermore, insurers' initial assessment and post loss investigation of pollution are generally not well developed, and there is little knowledge about and poor recognition of EMSs. Economic, practical, legal and political issues hinder insurers' ability to respond positively to EMSs. Therefore, insurance and EMSs are insufficiently developed to play a lead role in lessening the risk of pollution.

Pollution can incur costly clean-up programmes, erode company profits, and undermine governmental policy towards sustainable economic development. Governments and insureds are inquiring about insurance and environmental management systems (EMSs) to help prevent, control, and compensate for the risk of pollution. There is little analysis on using these instruments in defence of the environment. This issue is explored in a workshop and survey questionnaire on EMSs and public liability insurance concerning pollution risks in the UK market. EMSs might provide risk and claims assessment information, reduce pollution risks in the long term, and lead to comparatively lower insurance premiums. Insurers' rating, assessment, investigation, statistical and education work with regard to pollution risks is in its infancy and there is little knowledge, poor recognition and low confidence in EMSs. Political, practical, economic and legal problems impede insurers' capacity to reply positively to pollution risks and EMSs. Failure to overcome these issues reduces the insurers' and insureds' ability to prevent and control the risk of pollution and lessen its aftermath of detrimental consequences.