Celebrating a year of the Carbon Calculator

Celebrating a year of the Carbon Calculator

Celebrating a year of the Carbon Calculator
16th January 2025

SilverDoor's game-changing industry innovation marks its first anniversary 

When we launched the SilverDoor Carbon Calculator a year ago, we had one clear goal to tackle a significant challenge in the serviced apartment sector: the need for a consistent and reliable way to measure carbon emissions. For some time, businesses have struggled to track their Scope 3 emissions, which refers to the indirect emissions produced in their supply chain, including the business travel accommodation they book. At the same time, serviced apartment operators were struggling to measure and report on the emissions produced by their properties because existing third-party carbon measurement methods were costly and time consuming. 

The Carbon Calculator was built with a purpose: to empower operators to understand and improve the sustainability of their properties and businesses to visualise the carbon footprint of their corporate accommodation programme. Fast forward a year, and the results speak for themselves. Not only has the Carbon Calculator reshaped how sustainability progress is viewed in the industry, but it’s also been recognised as the worthy 2024 winner of several awards including CHPA Innovation of the year, ITM Game changer awards and most recently the Business Travel Award for Technology Innovation – Accommodation.  

 

The Carbon Calculator was awarded the much coveted Business Travel Award for Technology Innovation in 2024
The Carbon Calculator was awarded a much coveted Business Travel Award for Technology Innovation in 2024

 

The award judges were impressed by its accurate carbon emission calculations for long stays, providing a solution to an important industry challenge. They praised the detailed development process and the positive feedback from clients, highlighting the tool’s ability to meet legislative reporting requirements and help travel managers meet their sustainability goals.  

The Carbon Calculator certainly didn’t just appear overnight, the development process was indeed detailed. Its success today is the result of months of research, collaboration with operators and stakeholders, and the collective efforts of our hard-working team at SilverDoor. Let’s take a look at how this tool came to life.  

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From Idea to Innovation: Creating the Carbon Calculator 

The journey started with a simple yet crucial realisation; there was no easy way for businesses to measure and report on the carbon footprint of their serviced accommodation programmes. While other sectors, like aviation, had standardised methods for calculating emissions, the serviced apartment sector hadn’t yet cracked the code.  

In 2022, we assembled a dedicated internal team to tackle the challenge. Our aim? To create a standardised, transparent and easy-to-use carbon measurement tool. The result allows operators to input building-level data they already measured, like energy consumption and unit size, and generate an estimated reading of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) produced per night.  

Over the next year, we engaged with clients and operators, refined our methodology, and focused on energy consumption - the largest contributor to a serviced apartment’s carbon footprint. By aligning our approach with the hotel industry’s HCMI (Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative) framework, we ensured the environmental performance of serviced apartments can be compared fairly with that of hotels.  

The SilverDoor Carbon Calculator was launched to property partners in September 2023, and announced publicly in November. Since then, we have worked hard to keep improving the tool, building a comprehensive database of emissions calculations for serviced apartments across the globe. 

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A Year of Progress: Real-World Impact and Success Stories 

The real strength of the Carbon Calculator lies in its simplicity and accessibility. Whether operators have 10 or 10,000 units, the tool is easy to use and doesn’t require significant time or financial investment.  

At our 2024 Partner Engagement Day, Stuart Godwin, Managing Director of Lamington Group, shared how the tool is setting new standards for our industry: 

A quote from Stuart Godwin at the 2024 SilverDoor Partner Engagement Day

This highlights just how vital the Carbon Calculator has become in making emissions reporting a possibility and, crucially, making sustainability an industry-wide priority. 

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Solving the Data Problem: Standardising Carbon Reporting 

Before the SilverDoor Carbon Calculator, businesses were struggling to accurately measure and report on their Scope 3 emissions. Without a standardised methodology to collect and compare carbon data on serviced apartments, businesses couldn’t fairly assess the environmental impact of their corporate accommodation choices. 

With regulatory pressures like SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting) and CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), businesses were increasingly legally required to report their carbon emissions—but without reliable data, they were stuck. That’s where the Carbon Calculator stepped in.  

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How the Carbon Calculator Works 

A graphic showing the steps for operators using the SilverDoor Carbon Calculator

The SilverDoor Carbon Calculator makes carbon data accessible and actionable. Operators enter operational data for their buildings - including energy consumption, room areas, and occupancy rates—into our CMS. From there, the tool calculates an accurate CO2e estimate per night for each serviced apartment property and unit type. 

Now, bookers can view estimated carbon emissions as standard at the point of booking, enabling them to integrate sustainability into their business travel strategies and meet Scope 3 reporting requirements. 

A graphic of our aggregated search results and carbon calculator numbers

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Looking Ahead: Building a More Sustainable Future 

We’re proud of how far the Carbon Calculator has come, but this is just the beginning for the tool. Our long-term vision is to create one accepted industry standard backed by a global database of serviced apartment emissions data, allowing owners and bookers of serviced apartments to compare accommodation options with confidence. 

But we’re not stopping there.

We are also looking to use the data to advise guests on how to modify their in-unit behaviours to reduce the overall carbon footprint of a stay — like reducing housekeeping frequency or switching to eco-friendly settings on appliances — so guests can visualise their impact on the environment, too. 

We’re also reporting on overall programme emissions to clients and showing how emissions could be reduced by booking one two-bedroom apartment for two employees to share rather than two one-bedroom units. These innovations will further help businesses track their sustainability progress and achieve their carbon reduction goals. 

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Discover How the Carbon Calculator Can Help You Achieve Emissions Reduction Targets 

The SilverDoor Carbon Calculator is already changing the game in the serviced apartment sector, providing valuable sustainability insights that make a tangible difference. Whether you’re an operator looking to measure your properties’ environmental impact or a corporate client aiming to hit sustainability targets, the Carbon Calculator is here to help. Get in touch with our team today for more information and advice


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