One Easy Way to Get Started

If you stop to think about it, your hotel is sort of like a machine. It’s got a ton of moving parts – the building and all of its infrastructure, the staff and administrative personnel, the grounds – all of those components have to be in good working order or the whole operation will suffer.

But there’s another moving part to your machine that you might not have considered right off the bat, and that’s the energy that powers your entire hotel engine.  If your building, its infrastructure, your personnel and the grounds surrounding the building are not conserving energy like they could be, the machine that is your green hotel will eventually sputter and stop running.  It won’t be able to sustain itself, and it won’t be able to compete with all the other green hotel machines that are running at peak efficiency.

Even if you have implemented a green initiative or two at your property, there is still room for improvement, because green lodging is not a destination – it’s a journey.  And a journey of a thousand miles begins with… say it with me now… a single step!

Maybe your green team would like to improve your property’s energy efficiency but you’re confused about the next logical step.  Or perhaps your hotel has yet to launch a green initiative and you don’t even know where to begin.  One easy way to overcome either of those scenarios and kick start the process in a single step is to conduct an energy efficiency analysis.

An energy efficiency analysis is an in-depth study of your property’s energy usage.  It shows you – in black and white – how each of your hotel’s moving parts can become more efficient, and how you can save energy and money without disrupting the guest experience (and in many cases, how you can actually enhance the guest experience).

One of the most important things to come out of an energy efficiency analysis is benchmarking, which gives you a starting point from which to measure your green hotel’s progress toward greater efficiency and savings.  The most trusted benchmarking tool for hotels is the one developed by Energy Star, which is a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Almost 4,000 hotels have used the Energy Star benchmarking tool as part of their energy efficiency analysis.  To learn more, visit www.EcoGreenHotel.com and click on “Energy Star” under Our Services section.

Organic cotton to bamboo, these are the threads you should know about.

When it comes to purchasing your linens, you have the power to make a difference. It’s up to us,consumers including green hotel purchasers, to buy from companies that will create a shift in the market for our environment and long-term health.

You should know that not only are chemicals in the foods that we eat, but they are also found in our upholsteries, blankets, bed sheets and clothes. More and more, people are experiencing health problems such as rashes, allergies, respiratory and concentration problems due to chemical sensitivities. This adds to the growing demand of “green” hotel guest rooms.

So what makes fabric “eco-friendly”? Wikipedia defines eco-friendly (as well as environmentally friendly, nature friendly and green) to be used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies considered to inflict minimal to no harm to the environment.

“Green” fabrics, for the most part, include any fabric made from sustainable or organic natural materials using fewer chemicals, sustainable operations and environmentally supportive manufacturing methods. Green fabric is also used to describe recycled fabric.

Lets focus on the following four eco-friendly fabrics. Keep in mind, these aren’t the only eco-friendly fabrics available – we’ve chosen these to start with.

1–Organic cotton: is weaved from non-genetically modified plants. It is certified as grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals, such as fertilizers or pesticides. It doesn’t damage the quality of the cotton or the land and surrounding ecology.

2– Organic linen with flax fibers: True organic linen is created with flax fibers. It comes in the color of a natural cream or light tan since pure white is only achieved through bleaching. Although it wrinkles easily, it is a great hot-weather fabric because it absorbs moisture without getting damp, thus drying quickly and cooling the skin. If you accept the wrinkle look charm, keep in mind flax fiber is stronger than cotton fiber and is less elastic.

3–Hemp: Ok, so it’s still illegal to grow hemp in the Unities States due to its association with marijuana. However, legislation is in the works to change. Right now it’s grown elsewhere in the world and, unfortunately, this increases it’s carbon footprint. Nonetheless, hemp products are manufactured in the U.S.

As for the hemp itself, it’s grown easily and is environmentally friendly. The fibers are mildew-resistant, antimicrobial, UV protecting and even fire proof. This makes it an ideal candidate for fabrics that get a lot of use, but it isn’t the softest option around.

4–Soy: It’s softer than cotton, much more durable, warm, absorbent, and lightweight. Made out of discarded tofu, it’s considered the ultimate sustainable fiber and sometimes referred to as “vegetarian cashmere” – “cashmere” due to its softness and luxurious appeal.

So how do you make fiber out of tofu, you ask? Well, leftovers from tofu manufacturing are gathered, liquefied, and extruded through spinnerets to create filaments that are spun into fine yarns. (Fun fact: Henry Ford first investigated the use of soy in textiles for his automobile in the 1940’s, but the arrival of synthetics on the scene stole the show – however it’s now being rediscovered).

Side note: There is much controversy around the use of bamboo for fabrics and products. Therefore, keep an eye out for EcoGreenHotel’sbamboo pros and cons article to help hotel operators make a well-informed decision.

Our GREEN TEAM series is coming to a close soon. We’ve covered numerous topics on how to engage your employees in sustainability, now we’ll take a look at how leading companies are engaging their customers through different mediums and a quick idea on how you can create a green tool kit

Engage Customers to be Part of the Solution

Without customers, you can’t run a business. What would happen if you work together to achieve a goal? eBay realized the most powerful thing they could do as a company would be to invite their consumers into the equation. Many of their customers have green values—when they opened the eBay Green Team (ebay.com/greenteam), 40,000 people signed up over night. The Green Team, along with their corporate commitment to sustainability, has strengthened relationships with their customers and helped them achieve an authentic green identity in the marketplace.

Whether it’s a top down or bottom up approach, at one point or another you can’t avoid your guest’s needs. Start taking action by creating a Green Team at your hotel and explore creative ways you can engage your guests during their stay and away. Create a space for them to express themselves about your initiatives and allow them to make recommendations or participate in one way or another. Who knows, they might have some good ideas too.

As part of Intuit’s sustainability strategy, which reaches millions of small businesses with its software programs, have made a commitment to helping their customers be more sustainable. They developed Green Snapshot, a new free tool to help small businesses quickly and easily estimate a company’s carbon footprint and identify recommended actions to shrink it, saving customers money in the process.

Simple idea from Yahoo!. They make green relevant to its consumers through Yahoo! for Good, a campaign that offers tips and resources for going green, and Yahoo! Green, one of the most popular environmental sites on the Web. I’ve seen many hotels take this idea and incorporate it into their own green hotel initiative.

Use Art to Raise Awareness

Here are a few examples of how Yahoo! and eBay raised company awareness.

At Yahoo!, “Chuck the Cup” Day was held at four of their campuses to raise awareness about the environmental impact of using paper cups and highlight the things employees can do to create a more sustainable workplace. The project is the brainchild of Kai Haley, a Yahoo! Green Team member and the “Andy Goldsworthy “ of trash. She calculated how many paper cups are consumed every 15 minutes on Yahoo!’s main campus and created hexagon globes out of thrown away cups.

Along with providing incentives to encourage employees to bring their own mug, Yahoo! put the attention‐getting sculptures that Kai created on their main lawn, each of them representing the number of coffee cups (over 100) used in 15 minutes at their headquarters.

One of eBay’s local Green Teams was determined to phase bottled water out of their office. Prior to installing filters and chillers and removing water bottles from break rooms, they invited employees’ children to participate in a poster contest with the theme “what does water mean to you?” Winning posters were displayed around the office, along with facts and statistics to educate employees on the environmental impact of bottled water production and consumption. The team credits the poster campaign with increasing awareness and support for the project and allowing for a successful transition.

Create a Toolkit to Support and Guide Green Teams

To make it easier for your Green Team (or all your employees), consider cmpling a “Greening Toolkit.” For example, Deloitte’s green program toolkit includes 37 suggested best practices and greening projects, focused on energy consumption, paper consumption, daily product consumption, waste reduction, recycling and travel.

The program is monitored through a “Greening the Dot” Web site, which charts the number of toolkit projects that have been completed, kicking up competition between office locations. In the first six months, over half of the workforce engaged in the implementation of over a thousand greening projects across nearly 100 offices, and reducing energy, water, paper use and travel and increasing recycling.

In the end, they saved resources, reduced waste and realized savings. Everyone won! Being sustainable justmakes economical sense.

Next months newsletter will close this series with: Alighn Green Teams with Corporate Sustainability Goals. Don’t miss it!

Is that possible? Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque, New Mexico, claims they’ve done just that. Reopening after a $30 million remodel, the Andaluz reduced their water use by 78% with their water savings program.

The Andaluz, which previously existed as the La Posada hotel, was extensively remodeled according to LEED standards. In order to cut water use, the Andaluz developers implemented numerous water and energy saving conservation measures, including:

1. “Oxygen-assisted” low-flow shower heads
2. Rainwater collection system for irrigation (in process)
3. Efficient low-flow toilets
4. Solar panels to heat about 60% of the hotel’s hot water (which will cut energy use by 20%)
5. Guestroom controls
6. Fluorescent and LED lighting

The result, in May 2004 the La Posada used 1.2 million gallons of water. In May 2005, the last year of operation before remodel, La Posada used 730,000 gallons in a month. After remodel, in May 2010, the Andaluz significantly reduced usage to 300,000 gallons of water. Although this is one month, it doesn’t dictate what the new hotel will average through the months to come, especially considering it’s a new hotel. Looking at eight different months of usage over the years, the new hotel averaged 770,000 gallons less than its predecessor La Posada.

Lets put that into perspective. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection estimates a hotel to average around 200 gallons per room per day. Assuming these numbers, Andaluz, in its best month, used 300,000 gallons in a month, which is 10,000 gallons each day – and with 107 rooms and suites, it averages around 93 gallons each day per room. That is better than the low average.

Andaluz took on aggressive green measures, including energy efficiency, in its remodel and operations that the hotel is applying for LEED gold status (it had previously aimed for silver). Once certified, it will be one of the first historically renovated gold LEED hotels in the U.S. -

Visit Green Hotel Directory for more green hotels.

It’s been four months since the launch of the EPA’s National Building Competition and fourteen contestants have been in fierce battle to win! They’re at the midpoint of the first-ever national contest to reduce their energy use. Currently, there is only a one percent margin that separates the leader from the next contestant.

The fourteen contestants have together reduced their energy consumption by over 24 billion Btu and reduced their carbon dioxide emissions equal to the electricity use of 330 homes for a year – impressive would be an understatement! By shedding the energy waste, the incredible energy savings are also piling up.

The top 5 as of the mid-point are:

1. UNC’s Morrison Hall (Chapel Hill, NC)
2. Sears (Glen Burnie, MD)
3. 1525 Wilson Blvd (Arlington, VA)
4. JCPenney (Orange, CA)
5. VanHolten Primary School (Bridgewater, NJ)

The Courtyard Marriott San Diego Downtown is currently in 10th placereducing their energy usage by 3% while the Sheraton Austin Hotel is lagging behind in 13th place with a -.08% reduction. It isn’t the winner’s spot, but at the end of the day both hotels have won regardless of their ranking– a healthy environment for themselves and guests, guest satisfaction, environmental stewardship, better future for all, and energy savings to name a few. Just as San Diego’s team name, Money in the Bank, implies – triple bottom line savings!

But whether or not they’ve made it to the top, five of the contestants have increased their ENERGY STAR energy performance score by more than 10 points; three contestants are eligible for the ENERGY STAR label and several more are within striking distance. And they still have less than three more months of savings to go before the winner is announced!

The contestants have pursued a wide range of effective projects that focus on energy efficiency improvements in the areas of operations and maintenance, technology upgrades, and raising awareness. Each property started with the basics like changing out inefficient light bulbs with highly efficient CFL and LED lighting, but as the competition has gotten very close, they had to step it up a notch. Properties have implemented energy efficient strategies although they won’t disclose their secrets.

Wishing all the contestants best of luck (but of course, we’d like to see our hotel friends win!).

See the complete list of the midpoint ranks go to http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=buildingcontest.contestants

By Susan Patel

I was watching clips of the Today Show a few days ago and found a segment titled “Green Your Routine,”which brought attention to green cleaning products. It got me thinking: why isn’t there a law or regulation requiring manufacturers to list ingredients? Not knowing what chemicals are in products can be dangerous. You don’t know what you’re using and how it could destroy our immune system, cause cancer, lung disease, and death – a health and safety nightmare!

Companies are shockingly allowed to use general terms for chemicals such as “fragrance”or “preservatives.” This wouldn’t make the cut with the Food & Drug Administration, but apparently products we touch and breatharen’t that important on the list. What we need is national regulation so that companies must disclose every ingredient in a product.

So, what are we to do? Warning labels are useful, first line of defense. But we need to start gradually creating a system that works for our well-being and us.We have to start somewhere, right? Why not with all of us – you!

At the frontline of the EcoGreenHotel Store, I’m on a mission to know exactly what we’re selling. One form of verification I’ve become familiar with is the Green Seal, a third-party certifier. Of course there is also EcoLogo, Environmental Choice and EPA’s Design for the Environment Program that test products for effectiveness, besides health and environmental considerations. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other since each is slightly different, however a certified product is better than none at all.

When hotels purchase products certified by Green Seal or any of the other eco-labels, they know that the products meet good standards and consumers aren’t completely on their own. Still, some green cleaning products are not certified. There are several reasons for this: the product might be new on the market, the company that produces it has chosen not to pay the fee the certifying agencies charge to evaluate it, or that they didn’t meet the criteria of that certifying organization.

When it comes to what we sell on EcoGreenHotel Store, we’ve made sure our green cleaning products are Green Seal certified. For example, the Proxi hydrogen peroxide multi-purpose cleaner, a versatile, environmentally friendly cleaning product formulated with an active ingredient that is safer than aggressive acids and bleaches. Added bonus, due to its high concentration (dilute 1oz per quart water to make 128 quarts), it’s actually saving you money too!

Aside for looking for a third-party certification, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) is another tool that helps hoteliers to make a well-informed decision. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) also has information about many toxic substances at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp.

Next time you’re purchasing your green cleaning products, make sure you know what chemicals are in the products you’ll be using at your green hotel.

Hospitality Industry’s role in Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure

Electric vehicles are no longer a dream on the drawing board. The Volt and the Leaf will be in showrooms later this year from automakers GM and Nissan. Luxury EV manufacturer, Tesla Motors offered an IPO this June; which makes it the first American Automaker to go public since 1956. Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen all have EV models on the board. It looks as if the EV has captured the imagination of the people. Now comes the hard part….building the charging infrastructure.

Creating a robust regional or statewide EV infrastructure will take commitment and buy-in from numerous parties. In North Texas, government, non-profit, and Fortune 500 corporations are making that commitment together. This year’s Texas State Fair will feature an Electric Vehicle Showcase, sponsored by General Motors, US Green Building Council –North Texas, North Central Texas Council Of Governments and North Texas Clean Air Coalition, where attendees will get a chance to drive a Chevrolet Volt on the Road Test Track, and to see how electric vehicles, smart phones, smart charging, green buildings, the Smart Grid and renewable energy work together to become something greater than the sum of parts.

Furthermore the hospitality and travel industries will play a key role to make the electric vehicle an everyday reality. Years ago one could only dream of a day where business travelers would rent an EV at the airport and stay in a green hotel with an EV charging station. Beginning next year that dream will become a reality. Hertz will begin offering the all-electric Nissan leaf early 2011 and Starwood’s LEED Certified Element Hotels offer public charging stations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas and Boston.

Hotels that recognize the opportunity for increased bookings will be among the first businesses to offer public charging stations. What’s more, early adopters are likely to benefit from the buzz, press, heightened brand recognition and strengthened brand loyalty as people recognize the “cool factor” and the importance of the electric vehicle. Green Hotels could see outsized marketing returns for installed charging stations, especially since tax incentives halve the cost of charging infrastructure that’s installed this year.

Hotels have an opportunity to help our communities work on big challenges. There’s growing recognition that electric vehicles offer solutions to many of the challenges we face today: dependence on foreign oil, clean air, climate change, energy security, national prosperity, a missing collective sense of purpose. (To learn more, see the Electrification Coalition Roadmap). An important first step is to create a geographically diverse network of charging stations in a region. Hotels will play a vital part.Please contact us if you would like additional information.

Not what you might expect!

A new study of the workplace preferences of Generation Y (people born between 1981 and 2000) reveals some striking information – and provides an important heads up for green hotels that hope to attract this up-and-coming demographic.

Not surprisingly, Gen Y’ers want their workplace to have the latest technology and to be set up to allow for greater teamwork, creativity and multi-tasking.  But an overwhelming number also expect their employers to provide an eco-friendly work environment that not just meets but exceeds minimum compliance standards.

For example, 96% of those surveyed said they demand an “environmentally-aware or friendly workplace,” and close to 60% said they expect their employer to go above and beyond the regulatory requirements. They want more than just strategically-placed recycle bins – they want real water conservation efforts and the highest level of energy efficiency to be standard operations at work.

The report recommends that employers bring their green initiatives front and center, and that they make sustainability policies a meaningful part of day-to-day operations, because the eco-savvy Gen Y’ers are clearly on the lookout for environmental-friendliness in all aspects of their daily lives.

“[Gen Y] preferences for an environmentally focused working environment are very strong; not only in the physical aspects of the workplace, but also in their way of working: flexible working, travel patterns, etc.,” said the report.

Are you listening, green hotels?Clearly, if the members of Gen Y are that determined to make eco-friendliness an integral part of their work-lives, they’re probably equally determined to exercise that same level of sensitivity when making travel and lodging decisions.

And there will be no fooling this knowledgeable bunch. They’ve grown up alongside the environmental movement. They know green-washing and lax or phony eco-standards when they see them.

If you’re ready to boost your hotel’s energy efficiency and water conservation efforts to prepare your property to attract a new generation of environmentally-aware consumers – contact EcoGreenHotel today.

From ENERGY STAR benchmarkingof your energy usage to finding rebates and incentives to help pay for energy efficiency upgrades to targeted, industry-specific marketing services, our professional green team has got you covered.

Save Money while Maintaining a Beautiful and Healthy Landscape

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. –

Green Hotels want to make sure their lawn and landscape stays healthy and beautiful for the enjoyment of guests and improved occupancy rates. They must also think about controlling utility rates and being environmentally friendly.

Overwatering of landscape is often the major water waste culprit for a hotel property. But now, you no longer have to “guess” how long each watering zone should be operating thanks to the SmartLine System offered by Weathermatic, a global manufacturer and service provider of water conservation solutions for the outdoors since 1945.

EcoGreenHotel recognizes Weathermatic’s weather based watering technology that has proven to be an economical choice for properties of any size.

George Kenney of Soundview Landscape has installed SmartLine for several properties in Hawaii. “SmartLine has changed the way we irrigate properties,” Kenney states. “[When] we converted the landscaping at a condominium to SmartLine, the water savings have been so dramatic that the resort has asked to convert additional sites. If the next six months are equal to the first six months, the property will realize a savings of six million gallons in the first year of system operation.”

How Does It Work
Simply stated, it is a thermostat for the landscape. The SmartLine System replaces existing sprinkler timers that operate like the old egg timer.

It uses weather readings from a small, on-property weather station to automatically calculate precise run times for the plants in each zone using a proven evapotranspiration formula. It also uses sprinkler precipitation rates, soil type, and slope to apply water in run and soak cycles at a rate the soil can accept to prevent polluted runoff. In addition,” Brodie Bruner, VP Marketing and Sales for Weathermatic, notes, “this technology eliminates the need to have lawn maintenance crews manually adjusting controllers to match ever-changing weather conditions.”

Real Dollar and Water Savings
“More than 200,000 properties in over 80 countries are now using SmartLine,” saidBruner, “with SmartLine water savings ranging from 20 to over 60%.“

“The comforting part about converting existing controllers to SmartLine,” Bruner explains, “is that a typical installation can be accomplished in a few hours without any disturbance to existing landscaping or interruption of property use for your guests. Most importantly, this high efficiency system results in a return on investment of typically 12 months or less.”

You Only Know What You Measure
Weathermatic can provide a SmartLine Water Management Service that includes access to monthly reports detailing site-specific water savings and performance compared to water usage goals considering the actual weather conditions. This service,” Bruner explains, “acts both as a monitoring device and provides analysis to verify the entire irrigation system is working properly.”

Alen Hinckley, Yorkshire West Realty Advisors, saw the payback in less than three months and saved almost 4 million gallons of water after a year. With an effective annual 70% reduction, their group is rolling out SmartLine on all their properties. “It’s a no brainer,” said Alen.

SmartLine controllers are available in sizes for any property with configurations for wall mounting or pedestal installation. They can be wired or wireless for flexibility in mounting locations on any property. Several remote control options are available to insure easy irrigation field maintenance for landscape crews.

Excellent News for Green Hotels

In a move that will undoubtedly benefit green hotels across the country, the Obama administration recently announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have teamed up to create an action group that will assist states in improving energy efficiency in residential, industrial and commercial buildings – including green hotels.

The group, called the State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network, will partner with representatives of state and local governments, public utilities, business leaders and associations to assist states with their energy efficiency initiatives, including energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses,funding opportunities to invest in carrying out innovative energy efficiency policies, and improving the availability of energy usage information.

The action network’s goal is to jumpstart the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, which calls for maximum energy efficiency to be achieved in the United States by 2025.  SEE’s ambitious mission is to beat that deadline by five years. It aims to do so by providing technical assistance and funding “to states that seek to create new results-based policies and programs that encourage energy efficiency.”

For green hotels, we envision a lot of good coming out of this partnership.  SEE’s fierce determination to beat the 2025 deadline by five years creates a much-needed sense of urgency that has been sorely lacking over the past few years.  The network’s goal of promoting energy efficiency through a web of statewide, regional and nationwide partnerships means there may finally be a coordinated, orchestrated and cohesive effort to get the job done.

And additional funding means that good state and local energy efficiency programs that have great potential to make a lasting difference – those that never received quite enough funding to get off the ground, or those whose funding was slashed – (remember Florida’s outstanding Green Lodging Program that was gutted due to budget shortfalls in 2009?) may once again have a fighting chance.

Thanks to the formation of this new action group, we see a future filled with wonderful possibilities for green hotels to take advantage of energy efficiency programs, rebates and incentives.  Members of the network began meeting a few weeks ago, so we should begin to see positive movement very soon.

EcoGreenHotel will be monitoring SEE events as they happen, and we promise to bring you the latest news about how the green hospitality industry – and your green hotel – can benefit.