Category: Resource Conservation
Green Blackmail
In June 2007, San Francisco Mayer, Gavin Newsom, banned bottled water from being purchase by city departments. Water coolers were included in that ban, though given five months before that part of the ban went into effect. Also in the summer of 2007 Charlie Crist, Florida's Governor, directed that as of January 2008, green-designated hotels were the only hotels in Florida that could be used for government-sponsored conferences.
Green blackmail is becoming one way of getting people's attention about environmental issues. When taken far enough -- or too far -- it becomes environmental terrorism. Will you take environmental steps on your own, or will you wait until either green blackmail or government regulations force you?
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Green Hotels Branch Out Again
The Prince Albert II Of Monaco Foundation and The Fairmont Hotels have joined forces to take their respective sustainable plans further into Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Both organizations have strong environmental commitments and this alliance will strengthen both of their goals.
Environmentally friendly hotels have taken a huge step forward recently. When the Fairmont Hotels teamed up with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation to take sustainable measures further into Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Green hotels and eco travelers can further this effort by doing more and asking more of others. Energy and water conservation, climate change and biodiversity are important issues we all need to face and work together on to make the world a better place.
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Best Practices for Hotel Energy Savings
Energy conservation is one step we all need to take to reduce our impact on climate change. Surprisingly, sometimes water conservation is just as important to that end. Hotels are a wasteful business and need to do much to reduce their impact on the environment and this best practices report will help you do just that.
Flex Your Power, California's statewide energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign, is a partnership of everyone in California and was initiated in 2001. It has received international recognition and an Energy Star award of excellence. California hotels are lucky to have such a program to rely on for energy education, but any hotel can use the information to good success.
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A Green Computer System
Making the internet accessible to your guests and being environmentally sensitive are good goals to strive for. And they are available to you with an integrated computer hardware and software solution. With a high speed internet connection and up to ten monitors and keyboards per CPU, you can enter the internet society world. This could beat offering a wireless internet service as far as computer and internet security goes, as well as keeping the connection speed strong. It's a green system because of the resources saved by not producing as many CPUs and because of the energy conservation you experience by running fewer computers.
Thanks to the genius of Userful Corporation you can effectively create your own internet cafe. If you have a high speed internet connection you can provide an internet service to your guests and clients with this internet portal and workstation system. Put the power of a desktop PC at your guests fingertips.
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A "Secret" Energy Consumption Source
In most hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, energy conservation is approached through light bulbs and the HVAC system. One energy conservation tip I've been overlooking is managing vending machines and their energy consumption.
In the vast majority of hotels, motels and resorts all over the US, vending machines abound. What most people don't realize is how much energy these machines require and how much money it costs to power them up. Vending machines are true energy hogs and waste a lot of electricity because they are built inefficiently and left powered on 24/7. As the campaign to go green kicks into high gear, hotel vending machines are often overlooked as an area where savings can truly take place. For instance.
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Wind Turbines -- An Eyesore?
Wind power is yet one more way you can manage your growing energy bills, and improve the quality of your energy supply. There are advantages and disadvantages of wind energy, but if you live in a windy location you have one relatively steady supply of harnessed power. Wind turbines are a sight you aren't as familiar with as a distribution grid, but they ultimately have a smaller impact on visual pollution -- making them less of an eyesore -- than the web of power poles and lines.
The article I just read about the wind farm being developed in Hays, Kansas, reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend just last night. She's newly on the energy committee of the local watchdog group and starting to learn about energy conservation, alternative energy sources, and how to educate and motivate the community to get involved.
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Water Consumption
Storm water management and waste water management are two ways of controlling water consumption. Improving water quality so water can be reused without harming the environment is important too. The hospitality industry can lead the way in pro-actively decreasing water consumption and improving the water situation world wide. Finding and implementing water technology will go a long way in improving the water shortage situation.
Scientists meeting in Stockholm this summer to discuss their findings that one third of the world population faces water scarcity today. That reality wasn't expected until 2025. They are proposing radical action to ease water shortages around the world. How radical? A 50% reduction would stabilize water withdrawals from rivers and other water sources. Implementing drastic water conservation methods could mean there is sufficient water to protect the environment for the next fifty years. And with "proper" water management practices, the land and human resources available, we can end hunger too.
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Energy Efficient Lighting
Energy efficiency and energy conservation get easier every day through simple steps like changing incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL). The light quality is better today than ever before, and there's no more slow "glow up" or flickering. CFL bulbs can be used indoors and out, and now that there are dimmable and three-way bulbs, you can use them in most fixtures you have. Because they last up to ten times longer than conventional bulbs, you won't waste as much time changing bulbs. Switch to CFLs and save money, labor costs, and the environment.
Look generous but act miserly. When it comes to your hospitality venue's lighting, that is. You can act as if money is no object and that electricity is abundant by having all the lights in the house on during the evening and on dark days, but save money by using energy efficient lights. And new technology means they aren't the slow-to-light, green-tinted, humming bulbs of the past.
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Waste Reduction
Recycling in the hospitality industry is important in general, but more so because it's an inherently wasteful industry. Recycling containers placed around the property will encourage guests and staff alike to help reduce the waste stream going to landfills. That effort will lower operating costs and benefit the environment too. Recycle what you can and be surprised by how little you put in the garbage.
A writer for the "Las Vegas Advisor" contacted me about hotels that operate with the chemically sensitive guest in mind. A chemically sensitive guest is one who suffers from contact with a wide range of chemicals including laundry detergents and fabric softeners, cleaning supplies, perfumed products, off gassing of petrochemical products found in paints, carpets, and various finishes, as well as dust, mold and mildew.
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Ship Ballast Water
Ballast water is used to stabilize a ship. Any heavy material can be used, but water is commonly used today. The ship scoops water in Port A and releases it in Port B, somewhere else in the world when it doesn't need it anymore. Ocean-going vessel ballast water is filthy and contaminating oceans in much the same way a factory contaminates the air or ground. The ballast contaminants include not only chemicals but also the plant and animal species that are scooped in with the water. When plants and animals are introduced to new areas, from either ballast water or ships' hulls, they negatively impact the environment by competing with the native species and commonly overtaking them. This loss of native species often also negatively impacts the economy of the affected area.
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Managing Costs, the Environmental Way
Would saving $100 per guestroom per year be interesting? It was to the Holiday Inn and Suites in Madison, Wisconsin. By installing an energy management system (EMS) to reduce the heating and cooling demand on unoccupied rooms, $17,000/year is being saved.
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Saving Money Through Water Usage
Potable water consumption in the U.S. is about 340 billion gallons daily - accounting for about one-fourth of the US's total renewable fresh water supply, according to an article in GreenBiz.com. This water is drawn from rivers and reservoirs and used to support uses including agricultural, recreational activities, industrial, residential and commercial, as in the hospitality industry. The water is then returned to various bodies of water after use, often without treatment first. Our water supply is being threatened by our usage.
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Consumers Seeking Hospitality Green Labels
Do you rely on "green" labels to make your purchase decisions? Green labeling came along in the 80s to help people make environmental purchases, or so we thought.
Does the term "free range eggs" mean chickens roam free and enjoy "the good life?" Not often.Does "unscented" mean no fragrances or perfumes were added? Not usually. Green labeling became so misleading in many cases, the term "green washing" evolved.
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Ten Environmental Tips for the Hospitality Industry
This is excerpted from an article written for Earth Day 35 by Ray Burger, VP of Marketing and Sales for Green Suites International. There are great pointers for helping develop and strengthen your environmental philosophy. There are environmental issues that affect every aspect of the hospitality industry and most of them are easy to deal with. Being environmentally friendly is good for business.
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One Hotel Chain's Environmental Philosophy In Action
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (a longtime Green Suites client and recognized green hotel leader worldwide), has adopted a strong stance with their environmental philosophy, tackling the environmental issues that plague the hospitality industry. Their environmentally friendly hotels and restaurants are first class an dwell respected. Here are some of the things they have done.
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Is Your Fresh Water At Risk?
Water is not only a finite resource on earth, but potable water is a minuscule portion of the water supply. The hospitality industry is a big user of water so it's up to us to take action now. There are easy, inexpensive steps to take, like repairing leaks, using flow restrictors, and reducing laundry loads. There are more expensive and involved steps too, like water purifiers for recycling water, installing closed loop systems to reuse water, and replacing high water consuming devices.
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New Zealand Hospitality Sustainability Program
The Ministry for the Environment, with the assistance of Enterprise Northland, helped six Northland tourism businesses put in place a sustainable tourism project to improve their environmental performance. Enterprise Northland (Northland being one of the North Island's regions) adopted a sustainable tourism charter in 2003 and helped define the pilot project. Six diverse Northland tourism businesses were nominated to participate. The Ministry for the Environment sponsored a sustainability consultant to assess opportunities for improvement and then assist the six businesses develop action plans. The Northland Sustainable Tourism Project was a success, so a part-time sustainability assessor was funded for the 2004/2005 financial year.
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Why Energy Efficiency
According to a briefing by the Conference Board of Canada (an independent, applied research organization that shares insights on economic trends, public polity issues, and organizational performance), CEOs are well advised to embrace energy efficiency because it directly affects their bottom line. Translating energy efficiency into dollar savings is the easiest way to sell people on the benefits of making energy efficient investments.
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