When Time Takes the Blame: Lessons from Sustainability Failures

I have unwittingly made an enemy of time, which seems unfair as it is all we truly have. I often catch myself saying: “Where did the time go?”, “I just didn’t have time!”, or “I ran out of time.”

Time seems to have become one of the most common excuses for why sustainability efforts stall in the SMEs I work with. At first, ideas, plans, and the ROI of integrating sustainability into hotel operations attract full attention. Many small property owners start off determined to make it work. Then time gets in the way, or does it? Is time really the villain?

A few months ago, I joined a frank debate on sustainability failures, chaired by Prof. Willy Legrand. We explored the issue from different angles, holding on to the idea that sustainability is not a certification, nor does it have a finish line. Building and running a sustainable business demands a deep systems shift - from operations to marketing, from sales to purchasing - and the goalposts keep moving.

So yes, perhaps in an abstract way, time is the culprit. But it seems unfair to blame something we cannot control.

Time, in fact, has recently been pardoned as the “bad guy” thanks to the unexpected rollback of the EU Green Claims Directive. The decision caught us all off guard and, frankly, disappointed many. Regulation would have at least pushed action forward. Its withdrawal created confusion at a moment when businesses most need clarity and support. Instead of one reliable EU benchmark, we may now face competing schemes. The result? Many SMEs will either quietly carry on as before, trying to be sustainable without drawing attention, or stop trying altogether.

Many SMEs also tell me they lack funding for the tech needed to track and measure resource use. While true, time plays a sneaky role here too. I have seen cases where funding was secured, systems installed and then ignored. Or rather, the data was.

Time becomes a factor again because, unlike large chains, SMEs rarely have a dedicated data analyst. That responsibility falls on already overworked owners who simply do not see it as a core business priority.

In a recent Hospitality Net viewpoint, Prof. Legrand asked why some interventions transform systems while others merely tweak variables. He cited Donella Meadows¹, who identified twelve leverage points for influencing systems, ranked by impact.

At the bottom (leverage point 12) sits adjusting constants and numbers. At the top (leverage point 1) is shifting to a goal-oriented mindset to drive change in the system. Sadly, hospitality seems stuck near the bottom. As Meadows wrote, it feels like we are still “diddling with the details, arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.”

Another reality check came at the 2025 Sustainability Summit at World Travel Market. Results were shared from a global study comparing Expedia’s eco-friendliness ratings with Booking. com's sustainability data for nearly 6,700 hotels across 100 top city destinations.

The conclusion? Guest “eco” ratings were almost entirely explained by overall satisfaction, not verified sustainability practices. It seems that guests are likely to reward based on how much they enjoyed their stay; not directly on how sustainable the hotel actually is. Most travellers' decision-making process is still guided by price, location, and comfort, not sustainability credentials.

This reinforces the need for true systems change. Certificates and data are not influencing guest perception. The perception–performance gap is real and closing it depends on making sustainability truly felt - tangible, relevant, and directly linked to a better experience. Guests need to feel the difference.

And yes, that takes time, as well as commitment and capacity from SME owners.

We are patient when toddlers fall while learning to walk; we hold their hands, tie their shoes, and cheer them on. Sustainability matures the same way, it grows stronger with patience and care.

Recently, hotel chains and groups have started to shift their sustainability language. It feels like a move away from showy messaging toward quiet integration. Accor no longer talks about “green stays,” but about low-carbon renovations and renewable transitions as smart financial choices. Hilton highlights “operational excellence” and “future-ready supply chains” instead of lofty climate promises. The Balearics have moved from “Sustainable Balearics” to “Premium Balearics.”

There is a tangible element of sustainability fatigue, not helped by the loss of supportive frameworks such as those originally proposed in the EU Green Claims Directive. Maybe it is time to drop the word sustainability altogether and just focus on doing, by allowing responsible business decisions to permeate how we operate.

Hopefully, this is evolution, not retreat. As the concept matures, so does our approach. This is too perhaps the logic of time, as we move along the acceptance journey of what it takes to truly offer sustainable experiences in our destinations and communities, as well as for our staff and our guests.  

So, if we are to make time our ally and embrace the learning curve of real change, what can we do?

As we concluded in our Sustainability Failures webinar back in May:

• Make experiences exceptional because of sustainable actions.

• Cut back on over-communication. Guests don’t want to spend holidays decoding your sustainability claims.

• Involve your whole team. Open conversations about systems change and how it affects daily work.

• And my personal favourite: welcome choice architecture. Gradually remove non-sustainable options, from unseasonal fruit and imported linens to excursions that don’t benefit the local community.

  
  

In short: embrace the journey. Be brave enough to keep holding sustainability’s hand as it learns to walk. Accept that you will stumble but learn as you go. And please, stop blaming time, and resist the urge to keep rearranging those deck chairs on the Titanic.

[1] Meadows, D. (1999). Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System, The Sustainability Institute. p. 6. https://donellameadows.org/archives/leverage-points-places-to-intervene-in-a-system/.