Over the last few decades, the public concerns toward the environmental problems/ disasters have progressively escalated (Heesup Han & Yunhi Kim 2010). Lately, Malaysia has been facing a number of environmental issues which is deforestation, climate change, and global warming. Malaysia’s temperatures are predicted to increase by 0.6 C to 4.5 C by the year 2060 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) (Zam zuriyati 2014). According to (Julia 2015), 5% of the global carbon emissions and 14% of total greenhouse emissions are caused by tourism around the world. Thus, tourism is considered to have a major impact on the environment. In many countries, tourism is one of the major sources of income and employment.
Tourism depends intensely on environmental resources which include clean air, warm atmosphere, and landscape formation among others (Nor Azila 2014) To deliver comprehensive accommodation services/supplies to the tourists, services such as lighting, laundry, heating, cooling, swimming pools and ventilation, has lead hotel industry into a high consumption of water, energy, non-durable goods and produces substantial waste and emission of carbon dioxide which these activities constitute a threat to the environment (Chih-Ching Teng 2017) According to (Zam Zuriyati 2014), hotel industry has been considering as the most environmentally harmful sector that has disproportionate consumption of energy, water, and non- durable goods which possessed 75% of its environmental impact. In recent years, numerous customers have been aware of the harming of environmental resources and environmental damages caused by the hotel industry. (Heesup Han ; Lee Tzang 2009). A great alteration in consumer buying behaviors and attitudes towards eco-friendly business establishment has occurred due to these environmental concerns and awareness (Heesup Han ; Yunhi Kim 2010).
Many customers had realized that their buying behavior might bring harm to the environment and has begun to change their purchasing habits by inquiring and purchasing for eco-friendly products (Mei-Fang Chen 2013). Subsequently, hotels are ending up more concerned towards keeping the balance between ecological issues, resources consumption issues, moral and societal concern and productivity. An attention to environmental issues particularly in the tourism sector has prompted the expanding number of the green hotel (Zam Zuriyati 2014). The Green Hotels Association (2014) characterized that Green hotel is a pro-environmental lodging property whose managers are keen to execute diverse green practices/programs that are water saving, energy saving and reduce the use of solid waste while saving cost to help secure our planet.
( Dr. Imran Rahman 2016). In recent years, numerous hotels around the world are putting intensive efforts in searching for compelling approaches to become “green” so as to position themselves distinctively within the competitive hotel industry and Malaysia is not an exception to this (Tilikidou Eirini 2014). In the recent past, (Punitha 2011) indicates that Malaysia is one of all the earliest countries within the world that have taken serious consideration relating to the environment by enacting the Environment Quality Act 1974.
Likewise in other countries, many hotels in Malaysia had incorporated the green concept in their business operations. There were several most known green hotels in Malaysia which are Sukau Rainforest Lodge in Sabah, Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa in Sabah, and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa in Penang, Malaysia. These hotels have been awarded the eco-certification standards and environmental management standards like ISO 4001.
