EcoGreenHotel

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!

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.

By Jeff Kiec, Director of Sustainability – EcoGreenHotel

In today’s strenuous economic conditions, hotels are looking for every advantage to increase occupancy and lower operating expenses. Fortunately, there is a program that can help do both. The U.S. EPA’s EnergyStar Labeling program for hospitality buildings offers solutions to property owners to find hidden operational cost savings and unlock energy efficiency throughout the property. In addition, since EnergyStar is the most recognized eco-label by environmentally conscious consumers, it provides positive connection to the traveling public.

Energy Efficiency = Cost $avings

• U.S. hotels spend close to $4 billion on energy every year.
  • A 10 % reduction in energy costs is equivalent to increasing ADR by $0.83 for limited service hotels and by $2.45 for full-service hotels.
  • Hotels and motels spend an average of $2,196 per available room each year on energy, an amount that represents about 6 percent of all hotel operating costs

Hotels can dramatically improve energy performance and thus operating costs with simple steps that will leave additional capital to invest in further property improvements. In addition to delivering financial savings, cost reductions through energy efficiency translate into greater profitability for hotel owners.

Increased Recognition = Additional Revenue

• Leading online travel companies, Travelocity (Green Directory) and Orbitz (Eco-Toursim Travel Guide), enhanced their online hotel listing to allow travelers to easily identify properties that have earned the EnergyStar Label.

Leading hotel corporations are taking advantage of the cost savings found within the program. Hilton Hotels earned the EPA’s EnergyStar Award for Excellence in Energy Management and ties their hotel general managers’ annual bonuses to energy performance. By meeting Hilton’s goal of reducing energy consumption by 5% for every owned hotel, a manager’s annual bonus was increased. This resulted in almost every property meeting the goal.  Marriott has over 275 hotels with its EnergyStar label, more than any other hotel company. The US EPA also presented Marriott with its EnergyStar Sustained Excellence Award and has named the company “Partner of the Year” since 2004.

Currently there are 415 labeled green hotels: which represents 4% of the total labeled buildings in the US. (see figure 1).

Less than 1% of all of the 47,000 US hotels are Energy Star Labeled, which means yours can stand-alone in its local market.  EcoGreenHotel can assist your property achieve the EnergyStar Label through its onsite Energy Efficiency Analysis and EnergyStar benchmarking and labeling services. http://www.ecogreenhotel.com/energystarbenchmarking.php

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sponsored the first national energy efficiency contest – a “Biggest Loser” competition to see which commercial building can shed the most energy waste and be declared the most efficient in the country.

The EPA is keeping tabs on 14 final contestants until August 31st, among which are two hotels. They include the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Downtown and the Sheraton Austin Hotel. The 14 buildings also include schools, college dorms, hotels, department stores, a mall, a healthcare center and office buildings. They were selected as finalists from a pool of 200 participants.

EPA’s National Building Competition’s 14 finalists will be judged on their energy performance from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010. The energy use of each building is being monitored with EPA’s Energy Star online energy measurement and tracking tool, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Television personality Bob Harper will provide energy fitness tips for the contestants through a series of videos that will be available on the contest website. The winner will be declared at EPA’s final weigh-in on October 26, 2010.

The Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown is managed by Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources. Located in the Gaslamp Quarter, the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown is housed in one of the city’s most prominent landmark buildings, the historic San Diego Trust & Savings Bank. The hotel, which currently has an Energy Star rating of 63, plans to win the competition by making key operational changes, including the installation of water restricting devices, motion sensing lighting controls in stairwells and the replacement of all incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs.

Energy Star Challenge

“We are thrilled and honored to be a part of the EPA National Building Competition,” said Jody Blackinton, general manager of the hotel. “There are definitely unique challenges to improving the energy efficiency of a historic property like this and we look forward to seeing how we measure up against other buildings across the nation.”

“Sustainability is good business, plain and simple,” said Chris Alto, the Sheraton’s general manager. “Not only does it help global efforts to make the planet a cleaner place to live, but it also creates meaningful cost reductions for our bottom line. HEI Hotels & Resorts has been a leading proponent of ‘green initiatives’ for some time now, as evidenced by being named a 2010 Energy Star Partner of the Year. Our goal is to continue this mission.”

“Buildings of all shapes and sizes are saving money and energy with help from EPA and Energy Star,” said Jean Lupinacci, director of EPA’s Energy Star Commercial Buildings Program. “We applaud the contestants of EPA’s National Building Competition for taking action to protect the environment and fight climate change.”

In addition to showcasing contestants’ efforts toward energy efficiency, the competition is intended to put the Energy Star program in the spotlight. More than 17,000 companies, schools, colleges, hospitals, municipalities, utilities and other organizations participate in the program.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings in the United States account for 72 percent of electricity consumption, 39 percent of energy use and 38 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Commercial buildings are responsible for 17 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year, says the EPA, which estimates that on average 30 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted.

“It’s time for buildings to tighten their belts and we’re happy to help them go on an energy diet,” said Gina McCarthy, the EPA’s assistant administrator for air and radiation.

We, at EcoGreenHotel, know the challenges involved to become both an energy efficient and green hotel. Therefore, we’re rooting for both the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Downtown and the Sheraton Austin Hotel and wish them good luck!

The buzz around Washington D.C. is that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is laying the groundwork for a federal green lodging certification program for U.S. hotels.

The EPA plans to roll out its sustainability guidelines by the end of the year, with the goal of giving facilities an outline of the standards necessary to win federal meeting and convention business in the future.

Is there a need for yet another green lodging certification program? Well, that depends. If the EPA’s program turns out to be a meaningful method for recognizing genuine accomplishments in sustainable lodging, then we’re all for it. But if it’s just another pay-to-play, rubber stamp mechanism for properties to drum up business on the ruse of operating a watered-down green lodge, then we’re wholeheartedly against it.

In other words, only time will tell if there’s really “room at the inn” for a new federal green lodging program. We’ll just have to see it before we can believe in it.

Indications are, however, that this program might actually be a worthwhile addition to the green lodging certification mix. An EPA spokesman said it will be modeled after excellent state-sponsored programs like the ones in Florida and California, and will eventually become as highly regarded and recognizable as the Energy Star ratings for appliances.

Plus, word on the street is that these new guidelines will eventually be the measure by which all federal agencies and departments will award their meeting and convention business in the future – along with price and past performance considerations, of course.

And one can’t help but wonder if a highly publicized, well-funded federal green hotel certification program will eclipse others of questionable quality – especially those in the pay-to-play arena.

So our recommendation is for hospitality properties to watch this process closely, and to plan to apply just as soon as the EPA opens the floodgates. There’s likely to be a stampede of facilities scrambling to align with the federal program and you want yours to be in front of the pack.

Are you satisfied with your facility’s sustainability program? Could your staff use some professional guidance in positioning your property to earn the upcoming federal certification? Send a message to info@EcoGreenHotel.com today, and we’ll have you on the road to a meaningful green certification before you know it!

For more information visit: www.EcoGreenHotel.com

Eco-conscious hotels joined millions of other businesses, individuals and government entities around the world in observing Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday, March 28th.
Lights were dimmed or turned off en masse in 88 countries worldwide that night to show support for the fight against global warming, from the Vegas strip to New Zealand to Antarctica to Greece and all points in between. The non-profit World Wildlife Fund organized the event, and on its website called this year’s Earth Hour “the largest of its kind.”
Green hotels found lots of imaginative ways to celebrate and get their guests involved in Earth Hour beyond just dimming the lights. One Boston hotel invited all its guests and staff to a party on the rooftop to watch the lights go out over Beantown. Another offered green martinis in the bar, where the lights were dimmed and supplemented by flameless candles.
In Toronto, guests enjoyed candlelight dinners and a swimming pool filled with floating candles, and guests at one hotel in Australia were treated to eco-friendly foods and “carbon neutral” drinks.
It looks as if Earth Hour has become an annual event, so perhaps now would be a great time to add an Earth Hour Committee to your property’s green team. Participating in the event is an enjoyable and memorable way to highlight your facility’s dedication to conservation. It’s not too early to start thinking about how your facility can celebrate Earth Hour 2010!
Did staff at your property come up with a fun or particularly meaningful way to observe this year’s Earth Hour? Tell us about it at info@EcoGreenHotel.com and we may post it on our website!

For more information visit: www.EcoGreenHotel.com

Heads up, green hotel owners, managers and marketing departments! There’s a new place on the worldwide web for promoting eco hotels, and it’s making it easier than ever for properties like yours to attract potential guests.

Check this out: www.ecohotelsoftheworld.com. This site has an independent, objective online directory created to assist eco-travelers in finding environmentally friendly lodging all over the world. The U.K.-based site has been adding venues at the rate of three per month since inception and currently lists around 140 properties worldwide.

Site visitors can search the free database for an eco hotel near their destination. They can also submit hotel reviews, recommend hotels for inclusion on the site, and sign up to receive a newsletter full of information and travel-related offers.

And here’s how it works from the lodging facility side. First, hotels study the requirements for inclusion in the directory. The requirements are fairly straightforward and mainly focus on water and energy conservation, waste disposal practices, community involvement and staff training.

Then, the hotel fills out the directory’s simple online form and submits it. An Eco Hotels of the World representative will contact the facility about whether or not the property has made the cut.

And here’s the best part: Hotels are not charged any fees or commissions to be listed on the site!

EcoHotelsoftheWorld.com has been featured in various publications, including Time Out magazine and Panorama. It’s a site that’s destined to pick up speed and grow, so get in on the ground floor and secure your hotel’s free listing soon!

At EcoGreenHotel, we have lots of great ideas for marketing your green hotel effectively and cost-efficiently. Contact us at info@EcoGreenHotel.com with your marketing questions or concerns, and we’ll be happy to help.

For more information visit: www.EcoGreenHotel.com

So, you’ve installed low flow faucets, toilets and showerheads, and started a linen re-use program. You’ve got sparkling new recycle bins strategically placed all around the property. Housekeeping is outfitted with the latest ozone laundry technology to save energy and cut down on chemical use, you’ve got Energy Star appliances around every corner, and your maintenance guy looks like Mr. Universe from climbing all those ladders switching the old-fashioned light bulbs for CFL’s.

Your property has the green thing down pat… or does it? There’s one part of your eco-hotel you might have overlooked when drawing up your sustainability plan – your office.

Here are three new devices that can not only make your life easier, but also make your office – and in turn, your hotel – a little greener:

• SoyPrint laser print cartridges. Soy ink is nothing new, but soy ink in laser print cartridges is. The company that manufactures these cartridges says that the U.S. consumes “more than 100 million cartridges per year. That equates to 100 million pounds or 50,000 tons of material we currently use petroleum to produce.” The cartridges start at $60 and are compatible with many popular printer brands. Visit www.soyprint.net.

• Occupancy Sensors. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average office spends 29% of its energy usage on lighting alone. If you forget to turn off the lights when you leave the office, 100% of that lighting energy is wasted. To prevent that kind of loss, install a simple infrared or ultrasonic motion sensor that cuts the lights when everyone has left the room. Sensors start at $20 and can be purchased online or at most home or hardware stores.

• Solio Hybrid Charger. This little silver doodad can charge your handheld devices using either electric or solar power, and it’s universal – no need to lug around a separate charger for all your devices. One hour of sunlight translates into 20 minutes of talk time or nearly an hour of MP3 music playing. And word on the street is that President Obama has one to charge his trusty Blackberry wherever he goes! Solio models start at $80. Visit www.solio.com.

Got a green office dilemma? EcoGreenHotel is happy to help! Contact us at info@EcoGreenHotel.com.
For more information visit: www.EcoGreenHotel.com