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101 Ways to Reduce Environmental Impact

#	Category	Measure	done	NA
Here's a list of energy and water conservation measures (ECM) that can be implemented at your properties at no cost or at a very low cost and can begin to generate savings almost immediately.
1	All Departments	Develop checklists for each department, e.g. Security, Housekeeping, Duty Manager, Culinary, Stewarding, Banquets, et al, to follow when conducting their walk-through inspections or at the end of shifts, or at the end of functions, etc., to turn off lighting, equipment, etc. Use other departments, e.g. Security, to perform the QA/QC checks on other department’s energy-efficiency efforts. Review these exception reports during the committee meetings.
2	All Departments	In a collaborative effort between Engineering, Housekeeping, and others, develop a specification for how a guest room should be left after inspection upon guest checkout, “dirty and vacant”, and after cleaning (“clean and vacant”). For example, a Housekeeping supervisor might turn the fan off and close all drapery and shut lights off at the time he/she inspects the room after checkout, then the room attendant may leave the fan on low (setpoint TBD) with the drapery parted somewhat after cleaning.
3	Engineering	Implement an energy management task force or committee with representation from all key operating departments. Meet on a regular basis; publish and post an agenda, meeting minutes, assignments, and results. Focus on shutting lighting and equipment off when not in use as the first priority.
4	Engineering	Print out in color the various energy efficiency reports on your property and post them on a bulletin board in or near the cafeteria for all to see the progress in gaining energy efficiency.
5	Engineering	If the facility(ies) is/are equipped with an energy management and control system that is capable of scheduling the operation of equipment off and on, ensure that the program schedules are regularly reviewed and optimized.
6	Engineering	If the operation of equipment is controlled with an electro-mechanical time clock or an electronic programmable time, regularly inspect and test these devices to ensure that they aren’t bypassed, malfunctioning or set/programmed in error.
7	Engineering	Institute a preventive maintenance program that includes all tasks designed to keep equipment operating at design efficiency. Periodically measure and calculate equipment/system efficiency to determine whether further troubleshooting is necessary. Keep filters clean.
8	Engineering	Consider retrofitting motion sensor controllers to escalators.
9	Engineering	Have a program in place to convert light fixtures or entire areas to more energy-efficient lamp replacement alternatives as the operating budget permits. Become educated on the various alternatives available and work with your EcoGreenHotel representative to develop a conversion plan and schedule. Prioritize the retrofitting according to payback period.
10	Engineering	Convert service area and stairway 4 foot fluorescent fixtures to 32 watt, T-8 lamps with electronic ballasts. Your supplier can recommend the correct lamp specifications for each application. Maintain a lamp schedule to ensure that the wrong replacement lamps aren’t used in fixtures in each area or application.
11	Engineering	Disable vending machine lamps that are for advertising purposes only.
12	Engineering	Install clear vinyl strip curtains in loading dock door openings and in the openings of walk-in freezers and coolers to minimize temperature escape during periods of material transport
13	Engineering	Ensure that air curtains used for heating are controlled properly so as not to overheat the affected area.
14	Engineering	Ensure that fly fans and bug zappers are shut down after cooler weather renders flying insects inactive.
15	Engineering	Check all thermostats in public and service areas several times per week for proper set-points and condition.
16	Engineering	Ensure that thermostats a cleaned, calibrated, adjusted and tested for proper functioning at least semi-annually in your PM programs. Install locking covers on thermostats to prevent unauthorized adjustment.
17	Engineering	Install dead-band thermostats to control guest floor corridor heating and cooling so the temperature can float within limits.
18	Engineering	Install dead-band thermostats in service areas.
19	Engineering	Check control valves on air-handling units’ heating and cooling coils, unit heaters, air-conditioners, convectors, radiators, fan-coils, preheat coils, reheat coils, etc., for proper functioning and leak-through at least semi-annually.
20	Engineering	On air-handling systems that provide both heating and cooling, check control valve operators and related control systems for evidence of simultaneous heating and cooling due to operator failure, valve lift-off due to excessive system pumping pressures, control signal overlap, or controller and valve hysteresis.
21	Engineering	Operate hot water heating loop systems for space heating at no higher temperature than necessary for the outdoor temperature conditions. These systems should be automatically controlled on an “outdoor air temperature reset schedule”. Ensure that your system features this control scheme and ensure that it’s functioning properly. Such a system should be checked daily during the heating season and “shoulder” seasons.
22	Engineering	Avoid operating a second boiler or a second chiller or a second pump for the sole purpose of back-up in case the other shuts down and no one is around to start the stand-by equipment up. This should only be done when the equipment has known reliability problems, but such problems should be corrected as quickly as possible.
23	Engineering	Have the boiler flue gas analyzed for proper combustion at least twice per year by a trained and certified technician. Make adjustments to combustion based on visual inspection more frequently. Combustion adjustments should only be performed by a trained and certified technician.
24	Engineering	Ensure that boiler bottom blowdown takes place once per shift for the prescribed time without being excessive.
25	Engineering	Ensure that boiler surface blowdown is controlled by conductivity measurement.
26	Engineering	Recover waste heat from the continuous surface blowdown to preheat boiler make-up water.
27	Engineering	Establish a regular burner preventive maintenance schedule for boilers.
28	Engineering	Consider preheating combustion air and/or feedwater with flue gas.
29	Engineering	If high-pressure steam is only used in the laundry operation, reduce the boiler operating pressure to 10 p.s.i. above the settings of highest-set pressure reducing valves after the laundry shuts down. This process can be automated by a qualified boiler control technician.
30	Engineering	Replace missing thermal pipe and tank insulation in the laundry, kitchens, mechanical rooms, etc. Install damage protection in locations where the pipe insulation is vulnerable to damage from surrounding activities.
31	Engineering	Identify and immediately correct all steam and water leaks throughout all areas.
32	Engineering	Check your local ventilation code to determine minimum air requirement in space and reduce if it is measured to be substantially above the minimum ventilation rate required.
33	Engineering	If air systems have not been tested and balanced for at least several years, consider retaining a qualified (certified) testing and balancing firm under a service contract to perform a predetermined amount of work each month re-balancing the major air systems.
34	Engineering	Target air-handling systems that are suspected of delivering an over-abundance of air to spaces served (as evidenced by excessive air noise or drafty conditions) to potentially slow fan speeds down through sheave replacement. This must be performed by specially trained mechanics, e.g. certified air and water testing/balancing technicians. All sheave replacement should be followed by dynamic balancing of the rotating assembly(ies). Consequent motor current reduction may allow a change to a smaller horsepower motor in order to realize the full benefit of the efficiency improvement.
35	Engineering	Reduce the temperature of domestic hot water serving guestrooms to 125 degrees F. at the heating source or storage tank.
36	Engineering	Isolate off-line boilers to ensure that system return water is not flowing through the idle boiler. Boilers remove heat from heating water when they are idle.
37	Engineering	Lower the condenser water temperature to water chillers by setting the cooling tower operating temperature lower. Ensure that you operate within parameters recommended by the chiller manufacturer. Confer with your chiller service company or manufacturer’s representative before making any changes.
38	Engineering	Install daylight sensors to control lighting in common areas that benefit from adequate ambient day-lighting.
39	Engineering	Reduce illumination levels where possible and where guest satisfaction is not an issue (storage closets, mechanical rooms, etc.). Refer to Illuminating Engineers Society standards, which are available in your local library.
40	Engineering	Use task lighting in administrative offices and encourage office staff to use it in lieu of overhead lighting.
41	Engineering	Implement a steam trap inspection and maintenance program. Consider using an outside service, e.g. Armstrong or Sarco, if there is not sufficient staffing to conduct such an inspection program quarterly. Steam trap inspectors should be properly trained.
42	Engineering	Check combustion of atmospheric boilers and heaters by observing flame quality. If flame is yellow, sooty/dirty or “lazy”, check for inadequate combustion air due to poor draft, restricted make-up air into the room, dirty burners or other restrictions to air flow.
43	Engineering	Ensure that chemical treatment programs for boiler water, condenser water, and closed circulation systems are strictly followed by trained staff to avoid heat exchange surface fouling and corrosion problems.
44	Engineering	If your facility has an energy management system, implement duty cycling and demand limiting control routines as applicable without affecting guest comfort.
45	Engineering	Evaluate pump sizes to ensure that systems aren’t being “over-pumped”, i.e. that system pressure differentials are too high. This results in pump energy waste and usually simultaneous heating and cooling due to control valve “lift-off”. Have pump impellers trimmed by a machine shop in accordance with an experienced mechanical engineer’s calculations, as may be applicable.
46	Engineering	Implement chilled water reset on chillers equipped with an integral energy management system or if interfaced with the building’s energy management system.
47	Engineering	Ensure that air side economizer control cycles are operating correctly on air-handling systems so-equipped.
48	Engineering	Have a qualified testing and balancing firm measure outdoor air quantities on air-handling units to ensure that quantities are as specified in the building design documents.
49	Engineering	If you have an energy management system, implement night set back temperature control strategies in areas that are not in use or service areas that are relatively unpopulated.
50	Engineering	Check seals around operable windows, sliding doors and other exterior doors and renew as necessary.
51	Engineering	If your hotel has a substantial amount of south-facing glass (in northern hemisphere), consider applying solar film to glass to reduce cooling loads and reduce ultraviolet radiation deterioration of interior finishes and furnishings.
52	Engineering	If purchasing steam from a district steam system or other private plant or utility, consider recovering heat from condensate before returning it to the plant.
53	Engineering	If the hotel’s electrical power factor is below 90%, consider installing power factor correction capacitors.
54	Engineering	Replace motors over 5hp with high efficiency motors as they need to be replaced.
55	Engineering	Consider the use of a swimming pool and spa blankets during off-hour periods.
56	Engineering	Retrofit linen closets, storage rooms, electrical closets, administrative offices and restrooms with occupancy sensor-based control of lighting. However, do not use occupancy sensors to control lighting in inherently dangerous areas, e.g. mechanical rooms. Mechanical (wind-up spring) timers can be used in linen closets.
57	Engineering	If public restrooms have dedicated exhaust fans, control ventilation fans with occupancy sensors, allowing minimum run times of half-hour.
58	Engineering	If equipment doesn’t feature automatic timer control, then develop a checklist for starting and stopping equipment for execution by an assigned engineer. The catering/function room schedule should be used to update this checklist daily.
59	Engineering	Calibrate oven thermostats quarterly. Clean gas jets and nozzle air openings quarterly on range and oven burners
60	Engineering	Ensure that springs close oven doors tightly. Replace springs, if necessary.
61	Engineering	Ranges are often operated from early morning until night because of non-working pilots. Ensure that pilots work so equipment can be started up conveniently when needed.
62	Engineering	Consider retrofitting ovens and ranges with electronic ignition systems (similar to residential furnaces and water heaters).
63	Engineering	Replace oven and range insulation and fire brick once it becomes deteriorated or saturated with grease.
64	Engineering	Install timers on production ovens so they’re not inadvertently left operating all night.
65	Engineering	Install timers on heat lamps so they’re not inadvertently left operating all night.
66	Engineering	Keep bain maries de-limed.
67	Engineering	Frequently check door seals on steam chests for leakage. Replace, if necessary.
68	Engineering	Replace leaky faucet washers right away.
69	Engineering	If faucets on service sinks and hand-washing sinks are frequently left running, consider retrofitting foot-pedal actuated faucets.
70	Engineering	Institute a refrigeration equipment checklist that is followed at least once per day. Check to ensure that condenser coils are clean and have unrestricted airflow, check for frost-back conditions, short-cycling, door and door seal closure, etc.
71	Engineering	Ensure that compressors cycle off during defrost cycles on reach-ins, roll-ins and walk-ins.
72	Engineering	In walk-in coolers and freezers that have doors open for extended time periods during loading/unloading, hang plastic strip barriers in the door openings.
73	Engineering	Check door seals on walk-in, roll-in and reach-in coolers and freezers. Replace, if necessary.
74	Engineering	Put lights in walk-in coolers and freezers on simple timer switches or occupancy sensors.
75	Engineering	Put kitchen lighting on a motion sensor controller.
76	Engineering	Consider a way to shut steam off to the kitchen area at night. Start-ups must be performed slowly to allow thermal expansion and to avoid damaging water hammer conditions.
77	Engineering	Inspect guest floor ice machines during the beginning of day shift when there should be little ice production activity. If a machine is found to be running, it should be suspected of malfunctioning until it can be “cleared of suspicion”.
78	Engineering	Investigate economics of adding insulation on presently uninsulated piping and tanks and on the underside of bain-maries or around steam chests, etc.
79	Engineering	Install small engraved signage over light switches, faucets, equipment control switches, etc., as applicable, to remind associates to shut things off when not in use.
80	Engineering	Experiment with the variety of toilet tank retrofitting devices available (e.g. dams, early flapper closure devices, bowl fill tube restrictors, etc.) to find those that work and implment them. Incorporate into the guest room PM program a toilet tank leak check by putting a dye or food coloring into the tank to see if it seeps into the bowl within a few minutes’ time.
81	Engineering	Use photocells as the preferred method of controlling the operation of exterior lighting. If time clocks are used, ensure that all walkway, parking lot, accent, landscaping and building wash lighting turns off and on at optimal times all year around.
82	Engineering	For public and common area lighting equipped with programmable dimmers, take full advantage of features that allow different “scenes” to be programmed for different periods of the day and night.
83	Food Service	Institute special food service equipment operational control checklists within Stewarding. Target warming and heater carts and cabinets, plate warmers, bain maries, reach-in and roll-in coolers and freezers.
84	Food Service	Eliminate operating plate warmers or other heater boxes for plate warming until 3 to 4 hours prior to the dishing up period.
85	Food Service	Operate bain maries at 180 to 190 degrees F. (not boiling). Use a thermometer hanging in the water to regulate the heating source.
86	Food Service	Institute special food preparation equipment operation control checklists in Culinary so that equipment isn’t operated any longer than necessary.
87	Reality Check	If you actually got this far in reading this, I'm impressed, and glad your paying attention!! Keep up the good work, only 14 more to go.
88	Food Service	When using frozen meats, plan meat preparation tasks a day in advance so frozen meat can be transferred to the meat cooler for 24 hours first. Don’t use continuously-running water to thaw frozen meat in kitchen sinks. Let the meat soak for a half-hour, then refresh the water. Repeat the cycle until thawed.
89	Housekeeping/Laundry	Shut off laundry steam after the laundry shuts down. If this process is difficult due to valve inaccessibility, consider installing a chain-operated isolation valve with a floor-level-mounted 1” globe valve piped in a by-pass configuration to allow slow system warm-up prior to the start of the laundry shift.
90	Housekeeping/Laundry	Ensure that the correct wash formulas are being used to process the various wash loads.
91	Housekeeping/Laundry	Ensure that wash loads are weighed and the washer drum pockets are equally and correctly filled to the design weight capacity
92	Housekeeping/Laundry	Maintain accurate wash process records and track rewash counts for process troubleshooting purposes.
93	Human Resources	Install an energy and water conservation suggestion box in or near the cafeteria. This should be a separate depository from any other suggestion box.
94	Human Resources	Develop a program to reward associates for ideas implemented.
95	Human Resources	Develop an associates’ poster contest for energy efficiency. Have the executive committee (or energy conservation or environmental committee members) vote on and select two submissions to post in various service area locations each month. Pay the successful employees for their award-winning efforts (do the same thing for safety).
96	Purchasing	Avoid having the loading dock doors left open for prolonged periods of time.
97	Security/MOD	Turn off escalators during the early morning hours when there is no guest traffic.
98	Stewarding	Ensure that curtains separating dishwasher sections are in good condition to minimize cross-contamination between tanks and avoid tank overflow. Ensure that spray nozzles are in place and unrestricted. Dishwasher operators should be regularly trained by the assigned Ecolab technician.
99	Fitness Center	If your hotel features a revolving door, install a professionally-made sign next to the swinging doors requesting guests to use the revolving door.
100	Fitness Center	Set pool water temperature at a reasonable level that minimizes energy use and guest complaints.
101	Fitness Center	Install a mechanical timer device on the operating controls for the dry sauna or steam sauna.

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