Articles & Industry News
At home, you’ve developed a user-friendly recycling system to sort cans, glass and paper, and you’ve successfully trained your family members to comply. You’ve replaced your incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, installed low-flow showerheads, and use non-toxic cleaners for your home. You’re committed to using low emissions wallpaper, paint and carpeting, and going forward, as your home appliances wear out, you’ll be replacing them with Energy Star units. You can be proud of the steps taken to go green in your own environment, and you’re eager to continue to adopt new methods to do your part to save our planet.
But do you toss your positive ecological energies down the drain -- or leave your green philosophy on your nightstand -- just because you’re away on extended business? As an environmentally savvy business traveler, what can you expect before drifting off to sleep in your unfamiliar surroundings? Can you tell the difference between a token green effort and one that truly meets high performance standards, and what are some important green criteria?
How Green Is Your Residence?
Below is a checklist of some “green” features that may be utilized in a hotel or extended stay residence.
• Comprehensive recycling program including in-room recycling bins
• Low emissions wallpaper, paint and carpets
• An HVAC system optimized for energy efficiency
• Roofing material to reflect heat from sun
• Designated preferred parking for hybrid and carpooling vehicles
• Environmentally friendly wood
• Chemical-free cleaning products
• Key card energy control system to shut off electricity when guests leave room
• Reduction of noisy and polluting electrical generators
• Energy Star appliances
• Filtered water
• High efficiency bath environments, including dual-flush toilets, low-flow showers
• Shampoo and conditioner in bulk dispensers
• Available bicycles (as well as bicycle storage) for guests
• Pool cleaned with saline salt solution
• Conserving energy by reusing towels
• Natural-light filled guestrooms
LEEDing the Standards for Green Buildings
The acronym “LEED” is becoming more and more prevalent in green circles, and it’s important to understand its significance. “LEED” is leading the way as a rising trend among many buildings, including hotels. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) has established and recommended standards for measuring building sustainability. LEED certification is based on a performance-based rating system, and it offers four different levels of certification: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, “The LEED green building rating system . . . is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.”
Among LEED’s many benefits are a healthier and safer environment for its building occupants, efficient use of energy and water which translates to lower operating costs, reduction of ozone-depleting emission, reduction of landfill waste and commitment to environmental responsibility.
Since 2000, the USGBC has had a positive effect on the hotel industry to focus seriously on sustainability. LEED has become the de facto industry standard. More than 400 hotels have registered for certification, and LEED’s influence has even spread internationally.
Marc Heisterkamp, Director, Commercial Real Estate, U.S. Green Building Council, offers, “USGBC has seen a large increase in interest in LEED from hotel companies. One of the primary drivers of this trend is corporate demand for responsible and healthy lodging for their traveling employees.”
He adds, “LEED is an independent, widely accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operations of buildings. Hotels that have achieved LEED certification represent market leading performance in areas of energy efficiency, water conservation, waste management, and indoor air quality.”
Marriott Execu-Stay
Going Green at the Corporate Offices
Adam Sherer, Vice-President of Marriott ExecuStay, shares how their green creed and practices actually begin back at their corporate offices, in a behind-the-scenes endeavor to save the environment. In their internal administrative operations, their employees cut down on printing by doing a lot of their work electronically, saving tons of paper. They turn off office equipment when not in use and return empty print cartridges for recycling. As an incentive, employees with hybrid vehicles are given reserved parking.
Employees are encouraged to bring their own lunch from home, which decreases the need to use gas to drive somewhere to obtain food, and the employees frequently give up outside coffee. Some employees then pool their savings from these small efforts, and they often then donate it back to the community to charities, including Feeding America, a collection of food banks throughout the U.S.
Starting with the Room Key
Although the above steps may not be visible to an ExecuStay resident, here are obvious ways upon using the room key (which is made of 50% recycled plastic) to open one of the apartment doors.
“At the outset, guests are provided with educational information regarding Marriott’s green initiatives in the community and around the world,” says Sherer. Residents learn about Marriott’s company-wide Environmentally Conscious Hospitality Operations (ECHO) program which provides guidance to their properties in four key areas: Energy and Water Conservation; Waste Reduction and Recycling; Minimizing Climate Change and Wildlife Preservation. “Tying back to Marriott’s community involvement program, guests are encouraged to donate all of their unopened canned goods and other foods back to the food banks, and many guests enthusiastically participate,” adds Sherer.
Notices are placed in all ExecuStay apartments to remind residents to conserve energy by keeping the thermostat at 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Marriott ExecuStay also works with various laundry facilities, in New York City for instance, to take advantage of the latest energy efficient machines which use less water and soap. They do housekeeping (changing bedding and towels) every other week for long-term residents, and this drastically cuts down on energy and water usage. our housekeeping training that goes a long way to helping in the operations end of the process.
Sherer adds that their housekeepers are extensively trained on best practices – move in, move out, and preparation activities relating to green initiatives. For example, they focus on moving furniture, plants, etc., away from vents to maximize airflow, turning thermostats down and lights off when leaving apartments. They also coordinate gathering food for donations.
And, Marriott has teamed with vendors for greener solutions. They use earth-friendly towels with no need for prewashing, which further helps in water conservation, and make use of low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, which is safer and less polluting. Working with Kimberly Clark to cut down on waste, Marriott even uses “coreless” toilet paper (the little tube inside toilet paper is called the “core”). This step is estimated to save money as well as 125 trees per year, in addition to reducing landfill waste. Marriott offers plush bedding with down pillows, but for those guests who are allergic to down, they offer synthetic-fill pillows made out of recycled bottles, which are very comfortable!
Overall Green Initiatives:
Marriott replaced 4,500 outdoor signs with LED and fiberoptic technology, yielding a 40% reduction in outdoor advertising energy use within the first year alone. Other efforts include energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, water-flow restriction devices and regularly collecting and using rainwater and “grey” water for landscaping, most notably in areas affected by drought. Marriott also replaced its Styrofoam and plastic with 100% biodegradable products made of potato (SpudWareTM), sugar cane and cornstarch.
Striving to expand a portfolio of green hotels, Marriott ‘s commitment to eco-friendliness is genuine. The Inn and Conference Center by Marriott in Adelphi, Maryland, was the first LEED-Certified hotel in the United States, and Marriott has more LEED-Certified buildings in the pipeline.
Execu-Stay residents can rest assured that Marriott is taking great steps to green their supply chain and to offer its guests a comfortable eco-friendly atmosphere with no compromise on an excellent overall experience. Marriott’s practices reflect the environmental interests and concerns of its guests, associates, business partners and communities.
On the Go with Movegreen
With job economics frequently forcing moves and relocations of employees, often with little time to prepare, Movegreen has pioneered a sustainable industry while providing companies and employees critical relocation assistance. As one of the few eco-friendly moving/relocation companies in the nation, the full-service provider Movegreen uses environmentally responsible materials and practices to save money and help to save the planet.
How does Movegreen accomplish this? One way is through the purchase of new trucks that run on B20 biodiesel, a cleaner burning fuel that reduces petroleum use and green house gas and hydrocarbon emissions by up to 20%. B20 biodiesel trucks meet the EPA’s Heavy-Duty Highway Diesel Rules of 2007, meaning that they produce 75-90 percent less nitrogen oxide and 90 percent fewer particulates than earlier models.
“Movegreen has a strong recycling effort and utilizes used packing materials and cardboard boxes,” says Erik Haney, CEO of Movegreen. “It also rents plastic bins and uses digital technology for bids and contracts in an effort to reduce paper waste.
The cost-containment efforts allow Movegreen to be competitive while passing on savings to customers, despite the misconception that green moving is more expensive.”
While striving to provide the highest professional service in the business, Movegreen exemplifies this goal by its extensive staff training to handle customers’ belongings as if they were their own throughout the entire packing and moving process.
Make Green Your Mantra
Most business travelers are committed to preserving the environment and doing their part to maintain it. Guests want a clean suite, comfortable bed and shower, well-lit working area and other creature comforts, just like at home. But if green is your mantra while traveling, just like at home, it’s important to get familiar with your residence, educate yourself regarding all of its policies, be aware of wasted resources, and know what features could be enhanced. Speak up if you have a suggestion and provide feedback. With a groundswell of eco-minded consumer concern, the hotel industry is improving in leaps and bounds to better satisfy the green traveler.
References:
Greenliving.suite101.com
Greenseal.org
Marriott.com
NRDC.org
Travel & Leisure, 10/20/2008
USGBC.org