Eliminating the Carbon Emissions in Hotels Due to Energy Use in the Island of Crete, Greece. A PESTEL Analysis

Hotels require energy for meeting their energy demand in heat, cooling and electricity. They mainly utilize fossil fuels and grid electricity while the use of sustainable energies is rather limited. The island of Crete, Greece is a well-known and popular global tourism destination hosting more than six million tourists every year. The elimination of carbon emissions due to energy use in hotel buildings increases their environmental sustainability and their attractiveness to environmental conscious visitors. Solar energy is abundant in Crete, Greece while it is broadly used in several sectors for heat production with solar thermal systems and electricity generation with solar photovoltaic systems. The use of solar thermal energy, solar photovoltaic energy and low-carbon energy technologies can replace the conventional energy sources used in hotels and eliminate their carbon emissions due to energy use. Additionally, hotels can offset any remaining carbon emissions with the existing offsetting mechanisms. A PESTEL analysis regarding the decarbonization of the hotel industry in Crete has been implemented indicating the external factors which affect the elimination of their carbon emissions. The political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors which impact positively or negatively their decarbonization have been identified. The results of the current study could be useful to hotel owners, to public authorities in Crete and to energy companies dealing with installation of benign energy systems.