Private and Public Green
State governments, regional nonprofits, and private companies are implementing a variety of water conservation efforts in order to bolster their “green” credentials.
Even though no national standard has been established, it’s never been easier to jump on the “green bandwagon.” This is due in large part to the efforts of public and private entities as well as local governments. In the lodging and hospitality industry, these green labels are considered a valuable badge of honor.
In the past, a lodging facility was considered environmentally friendly by placing placards in rooms asking guests to consider reusing towels and linens. “Green lodging” now generally encompasses those entities in the hospitality industry—including hotels, motels, resorts, and bed-and-breakfast facilities—as leaders in environmental practices encompassing air quality, energy conservation, water efficiency, and waste reduction.
Because there is no umbrella national green-certification program, some groups, such as The International Ecotourism Association (TIES) and Green Seal, have developed their own certification standards for interested lodging facilities. Building on that initiative, in the past few years states throughout the nation have also developed green lodging programs that seek voluntary compliance on a range of issues. Additionally, the EPA’s Web site lists a number of green lodging initiatives. Finally, some lodging chains, such as Hilton Hotels Corp., have instituted corporate-wide environmental initiatives irrespective of whether a particular state has a green lodging program.
The Nonprofits
Green Seal, an independent, nonprofit organization, works to promote the manufacture and sale of environmentally responsible consumer products through its set of environmental standards. Those products that qualify receive the Green Seal of Approval. Green Seal also has formed an alliance with the lodging industry to certify participating facilities that meet its standards in green practices.
According to their Web site, TIES has a system designed to promote responsible and sustainable ecotourism development. Launched in 1990, the association focuses primarily on “creating an international network of individuals, institutions, and the tourism industry educating tourists and tourism professionals, influencing the tourism industry, public institutions and donors to integrate the principles of ecotourism into their operations and policies.”
In 2007, TIES debuted two conferences focused on promoting ecotourism: the Global Ecotourism Conference and the North American Ecotourism Conference. Both of the conferences are considered “firsts” in the industry. Although the association does not have a specific green-certification program, it does promote water efficiency and conservation through its partnerships with international governments and tourist industries.
The States Make a Stand
In recognition of those factors, many states have initiated their own green lodging programs, each with its own set of criteria for green lodging certification.
The reasons to do so are compelling. Consider the following:
- The lodging industry is the United States’ second-largest employer.
- Michigan’s green lodging program cites a Travel Industry Association of America statistic indicating 43 million Americans identify themselves as “eco-tourists” and are willing to pay 8.5% more to those who supply environmentally sensitive travel services. Another survey concludes 87% of US travelers would be more likely to stay at green properties.
- Typical hotels use 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room. Water-efficient fixtures can reduce water and sewer bills by up to 30%, according to the California Green Lodging Program.
- Marketing incentives are realized through awards, events, articles, news releases, and newsletters.
- According to Michigan statistics, a lodging facility can save 13.5 gallons of fresh water daily per guest room when guests choose not to replace bath towels and linens.
- Replacing a seven-gallon per flush toilet with a low-flow 1.6-gallons-per-flush toilet yields a 77% water savings.
One of the more established state-based green lodging initiatives was instituted a decade ago by Vermont’s Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State program. The program is operated through the Vermont Business Environmental Partnership.
“We were looking for a program to encourage businesses to improve their environmental management,” says Peter Crawford, the Vermont Small Business Center regulatory assistance program director. “There wasn’t much out there. We started with lodging because customers were right there and the feedback can be instant.”
Water efficiency measures are derived through a towel and linen reuse program, which, Crawford points out, was begun in major cities throughout the United States a decade ago. “It’s a total win-win,” Crawford says.
The program operates with two levels: the “environmental partner” designation is awarded for meeting a minimum level of environmental standards. A “green hotel” designation is awarded to those meeting more stringent standards, including an environmental management plan based on requirements from the International Organization for Standardization.
To date, 50 out of Vermont’s approximately 700 lodging facilities are participating in the program. The voluntary program carries marketing incentives. The names of the lodging facilities are listed on the state’s “green hotels” Web site as well as on “green hotel” rest area cards that are distributed at the state’s welcome and information centers.
Crawford says travelers are increasingly seeking lodging facilities designated as green hotels.
“The rest area cards disappear from the rest areas, so people are looking for hotels that might be more environmentally friendly,” he says. “In general, my gut feeling is if there are two similarly priced hotels, there is a percentage of the market audience that would choose the more environmentally friendly one as long as price was not the discriminating factor.”
Crawford believes that in order for a green lodging program to be successful, there has to be management and employee buy-in.
“You need to have a team and a ‘champion,’ whom we call the ‘spark plug,’” he says. “If you don’t, things will lag.”
Crawford says smaller lodging facilities tend to have more enthusiasm for the program.
“With the bigger ones, I’ve noticed with management chances, things come and go, including green initiatives,” he says. He cites one large hotel in Boston that was one of the first to start the green-lodging movement, yet after a management change, “you couldn’t tell there had ever been anything green about it.”
Michigan is a newcomer to the certification process, having launched its Green Lodging program in October 2006. By early 2007, there were six lodging facilities on Michigan’s certification list. The state’s goal for the end of that same year included having 25 certified facilities.
 |
Photo: The Breakers, Palm Beach |
| Water conservation measures such as low-flow faucets and showerheads have helped The Breakers, Palm Beach earn its “one-palm” certification. |
Roger Doherty is the program coordinator for Michigan’s Green Lodging program. The program is operated by the state’s energy office, which is part of Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Michigan sought to develop a program that was win-win: The state would move toward its goal in reducing energy and protecting the environment, and the lodging industry would benefit from cost savings and positive marketing exposure, says Doherty.
In order to be certified as green, a lodging facility must meet 10 requirements.
Points are awarded for each environmentally friendly practice. Based on the scoring, certification is awarded at three levels: partner, steward, and leader. Participating facilities are eligible for a free energy audit to help them identify areas where energy improvements can be instituted.
Michigan lodging facilities are assessed for sound environmental practices with respect to communication and education, air quality, energy efficiency, solid waste reduction, toxic/hazardous waste, purchasing, and water conservation. Such water-efficiency measures include a linen and towel reuse program; low-flow faucets (less than 2.5 gallons per minute), low-flow showerheads (less than 2.75 gallons per minute), and low-flow toilets (less than 1.6 gallons per flush); automatic faucets or toilets in public restrooms; waterless urinals in public restrooms; use of graywater or stormwater in toilets; and sidewalks that are swept, not hosed.
Additional measures include a regular maintenance schedule to repair leaks; water-efficient washing machines (less than 25 gallons per load); native landscaping; irrigation with non-potable water; landscape watering done in the early morning or evening; soaker hoses used in plant beds; mulching to prevent water evaporation; bioswales in parking lots or ditches; rain gardens to retain stormwater onsite; and pervious pavement to promote infiltration.
To date, Michigan’s Green Lodging program has focused on educating lodging facilities on green practices. Doherty has traveled throughout the state giving presentations and helping lodging facilities assess their environmental practices. Future plans call for the state to print educational materials directed to the public on ways lodging guests can make their travel stays more green (through such efforts as reusing towels and linens, for example).
Sometimes tourists tend to be nonchalant about water and energy savings while on travel. “Linens is a big one,” Doherty points out. “Some people who stay in a hotel for a week want their linens changed every day, but they wouldn’t change them at all for a week if they were at home.”
Meanwhile, one of the nation’s biggest tourism states—Florida—is taking off with its relatively new greenlodging program. In 2005, more than 50% of 83 million visitors to Florida stayed in one of the state’s Florida lodging facilities.
“This is a very large industry. It has the potential to affect many individuals and help the environment a great deal,” says Niki Pocock, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Florida launched the Florida Green Lodging Program in March 2004. “It was another way to help the environment and get a large industry involved,” she says.
In an effort to obtain green lodging certification, Florida’s hotels undergo an environmental self-assessment and planning checklist to help lodging facilities evaluate current practices and identify areas for improvement. For example, Florida’s lodging facilities use 55 million gallons of water daily, which, Pocock points out, can be reduced through certain green lodging initiatives.
“If one quarter of all hotels in the state opt to reuse their towels and sheets, the industry would save almost $20 billion a year and conserve billions of gallons of water,” Pocock says.
Some of the practices for which Florida lodging facilities can receive credit include water assessments; low-flow fixtures; efficiency inspections of boilers/cooling towers, ice machines, hot water heaters, dishwashers, and washing machines; linen and towel reuse programs; the use of reclaimed water for irrigation, toilets, laundry, or cooling towers; and Xeriscaping.
The first step a lodging facility takes is to identify an environmentally conscious person who can be a liaison between the facility and the green lodging program.
Then, after lodging management is on board with the idea, the facility forms a “green team”—a group of lodging employees who will ensure an environmental plan is carried out. Next, the facility conducts an environmental assessment that identifies best management practices the green team can implement. The lodging facility submits a form and is recognized as a green lodging candidate. Those who qualify are awarded one, two, or three palms, depending on the level of adherence to environmental standards.
By the end of 2006, the state had 19 one-palm facilities, one two-palm facility, and 21 candidates, with a few three-palm facilities on the horizon. Those that do not achieve two-palm status within 24 months are removed from the list.
A lodging facility is a business just as intent on making money as any other business. While some may see a Green Lodging initiative as costing money to implement, “It actually does save the facility money, and that is another point we highlight in talking to our lodges and partners,” says Pocock.
Case in point: A lodging facility saves $1.50 each day for every guest that chooses to reuse the linens.
Another benefit for participating facilities is the marketing factor. Those designated as green lodging facilities are listed on the state’s Web site. The state recommends such facilities when organizations call looking to book conferences. Another aspect of the program are the partners—those companies that offer designated green lodging facilities such incentives as discounts on environmentally friendly products or services.
“We’ve seen a positive influence by having this program,” says Pocock. “It’s been very well received.”
One of the first lodging facilities in Florida to receive green lodging certification is The Breakers, a posh hotel in Palm Beach. It has a “one-palm” certification. Rick Hawkins, director of materials management for The Breakers, says the hotel’s owners, management, and staff readily bought into the program for its dual benefits of making a positive environmental impact and a profitability factor.
“Everything we do requires upfront investments,” he says. “Every green lodging initiative we implement has a direct impact on the environment, but over the long term, these things also make sense for our business because they eventually reduce our operating costs.
“When we started this, we understood no one is going to do this for us—not the government or anybody else. People and businesses have to take a stand and do something. That’s why we went after this certification.”
To conserve water, The Breakers has low-flow faucets and showerheads and conserves 50% of water usage in toilets. Guests have also responded favorably to the hotel’s towel reuse program. Other measures include native landscaping, which requires less water.
But one of the most significant water conservation measures The Breakers has undertaken was to construct a 1,100-foot-deep water well and reverse-osmosis water plant, which conserves 104 million gallons per year of potable water and is used to irrigate the hotel’s golf course.
The Breakers communicates its green efforts extensively to its guests through placing placards in each room marketing its green-lodging certification and asking guests to partner with the hotel by reusing towels and linens. The guest folios and the in-room magazine also convey information about the program.
Hawkins points out that for the lodging facilities, some initiatives recoup the cost in months, while other initiatives can take far longer to achieve a return on the investment, such as the hotel’s deep water well, which involved a large capital outlay.
Another state that’s hot on tourism is California. California started its program about four years ago in response to a state statute to reduce solid waste by 50%. Lodging facilities seemed to be a logical sector to target, with California being a key tourist destination and lodging guests frequently leaving an immense amount of solid waste behind after a stay or a trade show, says Roberta James-Kunisaki, a spokesperson for the California Green Lodging Program.
“We found lodging materials to be a great additional resource to find ways to meet our mandate of reducing our waste,” says James-Kunisaki.
By the time California’s program rolled out, there already had been a number of hotels engaged in their own green lodging initiatives. “But there wasn’t a cohesive program—it was a mixed patchwork of different jurisdictions and different hotel corporations doing their own thing,” James-Kunisaki says. “We wanted to have a statewide cohesive plan and to have some standards.”
In putting its program together, California also took into account Green Seal cleaning products standards and introduced to its lodging facilities alternatives for cleaning products.
“Some have gone to organic sheets, organic wine, and free-trade coffee and such, but in general, we were looking for a cohesive plan across the board that an average 150-room hotel could abide by and save money doing it,” she says.
California’s program is organized under the state’s Integrated Waste Management Board. Part of that strategy is to offer to the lodging industry recycled products—such as mulch from recycled tires—to align with the industry’s ongoing remodeling and upgrading practices.
James-Kunisaki points out that while the state’s waste reduction goal focuses on solid waste, the green lodging program identifies a variety of conservation measures, including water and energy. Among the measures California addresses in its green lodging program are indoor air quality, sustainable purchasing, shampoo dispensers rather than individual amenity bottles (and if individual bottles are used, donating half-used bottles to a homeless shelter), and using coffee cups instead of disposable cups and water pitchers instead of bottles.
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Photo: The Breakers, Palm Beach |
| The Breakers’ reverse osmosis plant converts over 104 million gallons per year of potable water. |
With respect to water conservation, the state asks lodging facilities to identify areas of improvement, such as reducing toilet and shower flows, bettering landscaping practices through the use of Xeriscaping, grass recycling, and planting native plants and drought-resistant plants.
Other water conservation practices for which lodging facilities receive credit include landscape watering conducted in the early morning or evening; mulched plant beds to prevent water evaporation; soaker hoses used in plant beds; lawns limited to areas where special guest events are conducted; sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots that are swept rather than watered or watered with graywater; offering a towel and linen exchange for multiple-night guests; clothes washers, dryers, and dishwashers filled to the recommended capacity for each cycle; using the coolest effective water temperature for washers, dryers, and dishwashers; and using water-conserving fixtures for faucets and aerators (2.2 gallons per minute), showerheads (2.5 gallons per minute) and toilets (1.6 gallons per flush).
“There are a lot of variables here,” says James-Kunisaki. We have a comprehensive plan where for people who are trying to start up a program—even if they just recycle their paper in their back office—it was a step. They’d find they saved money and decide to take it further. Our goal is to plant the seed and get them thinking green.”
California has a leadership level and a participation level. Lodging facilities document compliance through accumulating points from an extensive checklist. The participation level is entry level. The leadership level is given to those facilities that go above and beyond in changing the corporate culture, instituting innovations, establishing a continuous improvement plan, and “going beyond the low-hanging fruit,” says James-Kunisaki.
The Private Sector
Hilton Hotels started its green effort in California. The chain already had low-flow toilets, low-flow showers, and a linen and towel reuse program when California’s green lodging program began. The hotel chain also found that a typical showerhead will put out six gallons per minute and if it is reduced to two gallons per minute, there is a reduction of 35 gallons of water per shower for the average 10-minute shower.
“It made sense for us to partner with the state and start moving forward with getting all of our owned and managed [hotels] certified, and if our franchises wished to participate, get them certified either in the leadership or the participation level for this program,” says Michelle Pike, corporate director of housekeeping for Hilton Hotels Corp.
All of the owned and managed Hilton properties are now certified in California as green lodges.
Hilton was one of the first corporate sponsors that committed to California’s program across the board, “and they are reaping the benefits of it,” says James-Kunisaki.
“They are seeing reduced costs, less downtime for their staff, health protection for their customers and workers, and so they’re a perfect success story of how government and the corporate world work together to utilize what our program is all about,” she says.
Hilton has also been among the first lodging facilities to get certified in other states’ green lodging programs, such as Florida’s.
Some states are having problems getting green programs moving forward for lack of funding, says Pike. Hilton has offered to help advocate the program at the state level.
The Anchorage Inn, an 89-room hotel in Burlington, VT, has enthusiastically embraced green lodging. The inn came on board as soon as the program began, notes Bob McCarroll, general manager.
“We were in the middle of a complete remodeling, and I’d love to say I did it because it was all environmentally friendly, but looking at long-term costs, it made good business sense and solved problems,” McCarroll says of his energy-saving efforts. “After the program came along, [state green lodging coordinators] saw what we had already done, and we took further suggestions.”
One of the measures the Anchorage Inn took was dealing with the hot water system. “Hot water always is a problem with a hotel with so many people using it,” McCarroll says. “We use a single boiler that heats five stone-lined storage tanks. It then feeds through a mixing valve—like a shower valve—so we’re heating and storing water efficiently but then mixing it with the cold water and feeding it to the rooms. We don’t run out of hot water, and it lowered our gas bills in a huge way by running one boiler.”
The facility also uses low-flow showerheads.
Reaction from the guests to the green initiatives has been positive, McCarroll notes.
“We get great comments about the water pressure,” he says. “Little do they know it’s low-flow.”
Green lodging is attracting all types of price-point facilities, from the chains to bed-and-breakfast establishments. Such is the case with The Wren’s Nest Bed & Breakfast in Bloomfield, MI, a six-bedroom former farmhouse built in the 1840s on acreage within an undeveloped piece of property owned by proprietor Irene Scheel.
Scheel had grown up on a farm, where she learned conservation practices as a way of life. But when Doherty contacted her with details about Michigan’s green lodging program, she considered it too complicated. Doherty helped Scheel assess her situation, and she realized she qualified for the program through her own conservation methods and by adding a few more.
Although she does not have the buying power as do large independent and chain hotels, Scheel’s bed-and-breakfast was given “partner” status and became one of the earliest facilities in Michigan to qualify for the program. “Not only do you conserve energy, but with the economy, you certainly have to conserve where it is money-wise to do so,” she points out.
Scheel makes available for her guests printed instructions on how they can help with efficiency measures by not having their towels laundered each day. She says many of her guests want to conserve.
Water for The Wren’s Nest Bed & Breakfast comes from a well, and the water has been tested. Scheel serves the water upon request at the breakfast table. However, she serves bottled water in the rooms upon the guests’ arrival. A 5-gallon dispenser of water is in the kitchen for tea and coffee because Scheel doesn’t consider well water quality good enough for coffee or tea. Other water efficiency measures include low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets in the bed-and-breakfast. The landscaping is watered in the early morning with the well water. Only the gardens are watered, not the grass.
The Crown Plaza Cabana Palo Alto is the only hotel in California powered by solar energy, says general manager Adam Hamdy. Hamdy says the hotel’s owners wanted a green hotel and installed 68 solar panels to tap into the sun’s energy to provide electricity for heat, light, and hot water. The hotel also extends its environmentally friendly practices to water efficiency measures as towel and linen reuse. Eighty percent of the guests reuse their towels and linens.
Guests offer positive comments about the hotel’s environmental policies, Hamdy says.
“It’s nice to see everybody get on board, because usually in our homes, we don’t use a towel one time and toss it,” Handy says.
While California’s program is extensive, James-Kunisaki says, programs such as those that exist in Florida, Virginia, and Hawaii are exemplary.
“When I did my research, I found that Hawaii is really the exception,” James-Kunisaki says. “They have a governor’s award that offers good recognition. It’s very competitive. Hawaii’s totally dependent on tourism, so its program cannot fail.
“They have limited resources in landfill space and water supply. Much like California, they want to protect their resources, because without those wonderful beaches and destinations they have nothing. We all want to protect our resources so everyone can enjoy it.”
Doherty concurs, pointing out that the bottom line of green lodging programs is to protect that for which tourists travel.
“Tourism is a pretty big deal in Michigan,” Doherty says. “A lot of people come to Michigan to see the nature and the lakes. A big part of this program is protecting all of that, too, because if that were to go away, so would the tourists.”
It’s difficult for many states to assess how much buy-in they’re getting into green lodging programs.
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“The hotel business changes,” James-Kunisaki says. “They merge, they sell, they get new general managers, they get new corporate entities that either want to be green or don’t want to be green, or they are held by a foreign company. The turnover is unbelievable.
“That’s why we try to encourage them to have more than one person be actively involved, so if one person is to move on to a different location, it doesn’t start all over again.”
January-February 2008
Private and Public Green
State governments, regional nonprofits, and private companies are implementing a variety of water conservation efforts in order to bolster their “green” credentials.
Even though no national standard has been established, it’s never been easier to jump on the “green bandwagon.” This is due in large part to the efforts of public and private entities as well as local governments. In the lodging and hospitality industry, these green labels are considered a valuable badge of honor.
In the past, a lodging facility was considered environmentally friendly by placing placards in rooms asking guests to consider reusing towels and linens. “Green lodging” now generally encompasses those entities in the hospitality industry—including hotels, motels, resorts, and bed-and-breakfast facilities—as leaders in environmental practices encompassing air quality, energy conservation, water efficiency, and waste reduction.
Because there is no umbrella national green-certification program, some groups, such as The International Ecotourism Association (TIES) and Green Seal, have developed their own certification standards for interested lodging facilities. Building on that initiative, in the past few years states throughout the nation have also developed green lodging programs that seek voluntary compliance on a range of issues. Additionally, the EPA’s Web site lists a number of green lodging initiatives. Finally, some lodging chains, such as Hilton Hotels Corp., have instituted corporate-wide environmental initiatives irrespective of whether a particular state has a green lodging program.
The Nonprofits
Green Seal, an independent, nonprofit organization, works to promote the manufacture and sale of environmentally responsible consumer products through its set of environmental standards. Those products that qualify receive the Green Seal of Approval. Green Seal also has formed an alliance with the lodging industry to certify participating facilities that meet its standards in green practices.
According to their Web site, TIES has a system designed to promote responsible and sustainable ecotourism development. Launched in 1990, the association focuses primarily on “creating an international network of individuals, institutions, and the tourism industry educating tourists and tourism professionals, influencing the tourism industry, public institutions and donors to integrate the principles of ecotourism into their operations and policies.”
In 2007, TIES debuted two conferences focused on promoting ecotourism: the Global Ecotourism Conference and the North American Ecotourism Conference. Both of the conferences are considered “firsts” in the industry. Although the association does not have a specific green-certification program, it does promote water efficiency and conservation through its partnerships with international governments and tourist industries.
The States Make a Stand
In recognition of those factors, many states have initiated their own green lodging programs, each with its own set of criteria for green lodging certification.
The reasons to do so are compelling. Consider the following:
- The lodging industry is the United States’ second-largest employer.
- Michigan’s green lodging program cites a Travel Industry Association of America statistic indicating 43 million Americans identify themselves as “eco-tourists” and are willing to pay 8.5% more to those who supply environmentally sensitive travel services. Another survey concludes 87% of US travelers would be more likely to stay at green properties.
- Typical hotels use 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room. Water-efficient fixtures can reduce water and sewer bills by up to 30%, according to the California Green Lodging Program.
- Marketing incentives are realized through awards, events, articles, news releases, and newsletters.
- According to Michigan statistics, a lodging facility can save 13.5 gallons of fresh water daily per guest room when guests choose not to replace bath towels and linens.
- Replacing a seven-gallon per flush toilet with a low-flow 1.6-gallons-per-flush toilet yields a 77% water savings.
One of the more established state-based green lodging initiatives was instituted a decade ago by Vermont’s Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State program. The program is operated through the Vermont Business Environmental Partnership.
“We were looking for a program to encourage businesses to improve their environmental management,” says Peter Crawford, the Vermont Small Business Center regulatory assistance program director. “There wasn’t much out there. We started with lodging because customers were right there and the feedback can be instant.”
Water efficiency measures are derived through a towel and linen reuse program, which, Crawford points out, was begun in major cities throughout the United States a decade ago. “It’s a total win-win,” Crawford says.
The program operates with two levels: the “environmental partner” designation is awarded for meeting a minimum level of environmental standards. A “green hotel” designation is awarded to those meeting more stringent standards, including an environmental management plan based on requirements from the International Organization for Standardization.
To date, 50 out of Vermont’s approximately 700 lodging facilities are participating in the program. The voluntary program carries marketing incentives. The names of the lodging facilities are listed on the state’s “green hotels” Web site as well as on “green hotel” rest area cards that are distributed at the state’s welcome and information centers.
Crawford says travelers are increasingly seeking lodging facilities designated as green hotels.
“The rest area cards disappear from the rest areas, so people are looking for hotels that might be more environmentally friendly,” he says. “In general, my gut feeling is if there are two similarly priced hotels, there is a percentage of the market audience that would choose the more environmentally friendly one as long as price was not the discriminating factor.”
Crawford believes that in order for a green lodging program to be successful, there has to be management and employee buy-in.
“You need to have a team and a ‘champion,’ whom we call the ‘spark plug,’” he says. “If you don’t, things will lag.”
Crawford says smaller lodging facilities tend to have more enthusiasm for the program.
“With the bigger ones, I’ve noticed with management chances, things come and go, including green initiatives,” he says. He cites one large hotel in Boston that was one of the first to start the green-lodging movement, yet after a management change, “you couldn’t tell there had ever been anything green about it.”
Michigan is a newcomer to the certification process, having launched its Green Lodging program in October 2006. By early 2007, there were six lodging facilities on Michigan’s certification list. The state’s goal for the end of that same year included having 25 certified facilities.
|
Photo: The Breakers, Palm Beach |
| Water conservation measures such as low-flow faucets and showerheads have helped The Breakers, Palm Beach earn its “one-palm” certification. |
Roger Doherty is the program coordinator for Michigan’s Green Lodging program. The program is operated by the state’s energy office, which is part of Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Michigan sought to develop a program that was win-win: The state would move toward its goal in reducing energy and protecting the environment, and the lodging industry would benefit from cost savings and positive marketing exposure, says Doherty.
In order to be certified as green, a lodging facility must meet 10 requirements.
Points are awarded for each environmentally friendly practice. Based on the scoring, certification is awarded at three levels: partner, steward, and leader. Participating facilities are eligible for a free energy audit to help them identify areas where energy improvements can be instituted.
Michigan lodging facilities are assessed for sound environmental practices with respect to communication and education, air quality, energy efficiency, solid waste reduction, toxic/hazardous waste, purchasing, and water conservation. Such water-efficiency measures include a linen and towel reuse program; low-flow faucets (less than 2.5 gallons per minute), low-flow showerheads (less than 2.75 gallons per minute), and low-flow toilets (less than 1.6 gallons per flush); automatic faucets or toilets in public restrooms; waterless urinals in public restrooms; use of graywater or stormwater in toilets; and sidewalks that are swept, not hosed.
Additional measures include a regular maintenance schedule to repair leaks; water-efficient washing machines (less than 25 gallons per load); native landscaping; irrigation with non-potable water; landscape watering done in the early morning or evening; soaker hoses used in plant beds; mulching to prevent water evaporation; bioswales in parking lots or ditches; rain gardens to retain stormwater onsite; and pervious pavement to promote infiltration.
To date, Michigan’s Green Lodging program has focused on educating lodging facilities on green practices. Doherty has traveled throughout the state giving presentations and helping lodging facilities assess their environmental practices. Future plans call for the state to print educational materials directed to the public on ways lodging guests can make their travel stays more green (through such efforts as reusing towels and linens, for example).
Sometimes tourists tend to be nonchalant about water and energy savings while on travel. “Linens is a big one,” Doherty points out. “Some people who stay in a hotel for a week want their linens changed every day, but they wouldn’t change them at all for a week if they were at home.”
Meanwhile, one of the nation’s biggest tourism states—Florida—is taking off with its relatively new greenlodging program. In 2005, more than 50% of 83 million visitors to Florida stayed in one of the state’s Florida lodging facilities.
“This is a very large industry. It has the potential to affect many individuals and help the environment a great deal,” says Niki Pocock, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Florida launched the Florida Green Lodging Program in March 2004. “It was another way to help the environment and get a large industry involved,” she says.
In an effort to obtain green lodging certification, Florida’s hotels undergo an environmental self-assessment and planning checklist to help lodging facilities evaluate current practices and identify areas for improvement. For example, Florida’s lodging facilities use 55 million gallons of water daily, which, Pocock points out, can be reduced through certain green lodging initiatives.
“If one quarter of all hotels in the state opt to reuse their towels and sheets, the industry would save almost $20 billion a year and conserve billions of gallons of water,” Pocock says.
Some of the practices for which Florida lodging facilities can receive credit include water assessments; low-flow fixtures; efficiency inspections of boilers/cooling towers, ice machines, hot water heaters, dishwashers, and washing machines; linen and towel reuse programs; the use of reclaimed water for irrigation, toilets, laundry, or cooling towers; and Xeriscaping.
The first step a lodging facility takes is to identify an environmentally conscious person who can be a liaison between the facility and the green lodging program.
Then, after lodging management is on board with the idea, the facility forms a “green team”—a group of lodging employees who will ensure an environmental plan is carried out. Next, the facility conducts an environmental assessment that identifies best management practices the green team can implement. The lodging facility submits a form and is recognized as a green lodging candidate. Those who qualify are awarded one, two, or three palms, depending on the level of adherence to environmental standards.
By the end of 2006, the state had 19 one-palm facilities, one two-palm facility, and 21 candidates, with a few three-palm facilities on the horizon. Those that do not achieve two-palm status within 24 months are removed from the list.
A lodging facility is a business just as intent on making money as any other business. While some may see a Green Lodging initiative as costing money to implement, “It actually does save the facility money, and that is another point we highlight in talking to our lodges and partners,” says Pocock.
Case in point: A lodging facility saves $1.50 each day for every guest that chooses to reuse the linens.
Another benefit for participating facilities is the marketing factor. Those designated as green lodging facilities are listed on the state’s Web site. The state recommends such facilities when organizations call looking to book conferences. Another aspect of the program are the partners—those companies that offer designated green lodging facilities such incentives as discounts on environmentally friendly products or services.
“We’ve seen a positive influence by having this program,” says Pocock. “It’s been very well received.”
One of the first lodging facilities in Florida to receive green lodging certification is The Breakers, a posh hotel in Palm Beach. It has a “one-palm” certification. Rick Hawkins, director of materials management for The Breakers, says the hotel’s owners, management, and staff readily bought into the program for its dual benefits of making a positive environmental impact and a profitability factor.
“Everything we do requires upfront investments,” he says. “Every green lodging initiative we implement has a direct impact on the environment, but over the long term, these things also make sense for our business because they eventually reduce our operating costs.
“When we started this, we understood no one is going to do this for us—not the government or anybody else. People and businesses have to take a stand and do something. That’s why we went after this certification.”
To conserve water, The Breakers has low-flow faucets and showerheads and conserves 50% of water usage in toilets. Guests have also responded favorably to the hotel’s towel reuse program. Other measures include native landscaping, which requires less water.
But one of the most significant water conservation measures The Breakers has undertaken was to construct a 1,100-foot-deep water well and reverse-osmosis water plant, which conserves 104 million gallons per year of potable water and is used to irrigate the hotel’s golf course.
The Breakers communicates its green efforts extensively to its guests through placing placards in each room marketing its green-lodging certification and asking guests to partner with the hotel by reusing towels and linens. The guest folios and the in-room magazine also convey information about the program.
Hawkins points out that for the lodging facilities, some initiatives recoup the cost in months, while other initiatives can take far longer to achieve a return on the investment, such as the hotel’s deep water well, which involved a large capital outlay.
Another state that’s hot on tourism is California. California started its program about four years ago in response to a state statute to reduce solid waste by 50%. Lodging facilities seemed to be a logical sector to target, with California being a key tourist destination and lodging guests frequently leaving an immense amount of solid waste behind after a stay or a trade show, says Roberta James-Kunisaki, a spokesperson for the California Green Lodging Program.
“We found lodging materials to be a great additional resource to find ways to meet our mandate of reducing our waste,” says James-Kunisaki.
By the time California’s program rolled out, there already had been a number of hotels engaged in their own green lodging initiatives. “But there wasn’t a cohesive program—it was a mixed patchwork of different jurisdictions and different hotel corporations doing their own thing,” James-Kunisaki says. “We wanted to have a statewide cohesive plan and to have some standards.”
In putting its program together, California also took into account Green Seal cleaning products standards and introduced to its lodging facilities alternatives for cleaning products.
“Some have gone to organic sheets, organic wine, and free-trade coffee and such, but in general, we were looking for a cohesive plan across the board that an average 150-room hotel could abide by and save money doing it,” she says.
California’s program is organized under the state’s Integrated Waste Management Board. Part of that strategy is to offer to the lodging industry recycled products—such as mulch from recycled tires—to align with the industry’s ongoing remodeling and upgrading practices.
James-Kunisaki points out that while the state’s waste reduction goal focuses on solid waste, the green lodging program identifies a variety of conservation measures, including water and energy. Among the measures California addresses in its green lodging program are indoor air quality, sustainable purchasing, shampoo dispensers rather than individual amenity bottles (and if individual bottles are used, donating half-used bottles to a homeless shelter), and using coffee cups instead of disposable cups and water pitchers instead of bottles.
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Photo: The Breakers, Palm Beach |
| The Breakers’ reverse osmosis plant converts over 104 million gallons per year of potable water. |
With respect to water conservation, the state asks lodging facilities to identify areas of improvement, such as reducing toilet and shower flows, bettering landscaping practices through the use of Xeriscaping, grass recycling, and planting native plants and drought-resistant plants.
Other water conservation practices for which lodging facilities receive credit include landscape watering conducted in the early morning or evening; mulched plant beds to prevent water evaporation; soaker hoses used in plant beds; lawns limited to areas where special guest events are conducted; sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots that are swept rather than watered or watered with graywater; offering a towel and linen exchange for multiple-night guests; clothes washers, dryers, and dishwashers filled to the recommended capacity for each cycle; using the coolest effective water temperature for washers, dryers, and dishwashers; and using water-conserving fixtures for faucets and aerators (2.2 gallons per minute), showerheads (2.5 gallons per minute) and toilets (1.6 gallons per flush).
“There are a lot of variables here,” says James-Kunisaki. We have a comprehensive plan where for people who are trying to start up a program—even if they just recycle their paper in their back office—it was a step. They’d find they saved money and decide to take it further. Our goal is to plant the seed and get them thinking green.”
California has a leadership level and a participation level. Lodging facilities document compliance through accumulating points from an extensive checklist. The participation level is entry level. The leadership level is given to those facilities that go above and beyond in changing the corporate culture, instituting innovations, establishing a continuous improvement plan, and “going beyond the low-hanging fruit,” says James-Kunisaki.
The Private Sector
Hilton Hotels started its green effort in California. The chain already had low-flow toilets, low-flow showers, and a linen and towel reuse program when California’s green lodging program began. The hotel chain also found that a typical showerhead will put out six gallons per minute and if it is reduced to two gallons per minute, there is a reduction of 35 gallons of water per shower for the average 10-minute shower.
“It made sense for us to partner with the state and start moving forward with getting all of our owned and managed [hotels] certified, and if our franchises wished to participate, get them certified either in the leadership or the participation level for this program,” says Michelle Pike, corporate director of housekeeping for Hilton Hotels Corp.
All of the owned and managed Hilton properties are now certified in California as green lodges.
Hilton was one of the first corporate sponsors that committed to California’s program across the board, “and they are reaping the benefits of it,” says James-Kunisaki.
“They are seeing reduced costs, less downtime for their staff, health protection for their customers and workers, and so they’re a perfect success story of how government and the corporate world work together to utilize what our program is all about,” she says.
Hilton has also been among the first lodging facilities to get certified in other states’ green lodging programs, such as Florida’s.
Some states are having problems getting green programs moving forward for lack of funding, says Pike. Hilton has offered to help advocate the program at the state level.
The Anchorage Inn, an 89-room hotel in Burlington, VT, has enthusiastically embraced green lodging. The inn came on board as soon as the program began, notes Bob McCarroll, general manager.
“We were in the middle of a complete remodeling, and I’d love to say I did it because it was all environmentally friendly, but looking at long-term costs, it made good business sense and solved problems,” McCarroll says of his energy-saving efforts. “After the program came along, [state green lodging coordinators] saw what we had already done, and we took further suggestions.”
One of the measures the Anchorage Inn took was dealing with the hot water system. “Hot water always is a problem with a hotel with so many people using it,” McCarroll says. “We use a single boiler that heats five stone-lined storage tanks. It then feeds through a mixing valve—like a shower valve—so we’re heating and storing water efficiently but then mixing it with the cold water and feeding it to the rooms. We don’t run out of hot water, and it lowered our gas bills in a huge way by running one boiler.”
The facility also uses low-flow showerheads.
Reaction from the guests to the green initiatives has been positive, McCarroll notes.
“We get great comments about the water pressure,” he says. “Little do they know it’s low-flow.”
Green lodging is attracting all types of price-point facilities, from the chains to bed-and-breakfast establishments. Such is the case with The Wren’s Nest Bed & Breakfast in Bloomfield, MI, a six-bedroom former farmhouse built in the 1840s on acreage within an undeveloped piece of property owned by proprietor Irene Scheel.
Scheel had grown up on a farm, where she learned conservation practices as a way of life. But when Doherty contacted her with details about Michigan’s green lodging program, she considered it too complicated. Doherty helped Scheel assess her situation, and she realized she qualified for the program through her own conservation methods and by adding a few more.
Although she does not have the buying power as do large independent and chain hotels, Scheel’s bed-and-breakfast was given “partner” status and became one of the earliest facilities in Michigan to qualify for the program. “Not only do you conserve energy, but with the economy, you certainly have to conserve where it is money-wise to do so,” she points out.
Scheel makes available for her guests printed instructions on how they can help with efficiency measures by not having their towels laundered each day. She says many of her guests want to conserve.
Water for The Wren’s Nest Bed & Breakfast comes from a well, and the water has been tested. Scheel serves the water upon request at the breakfast table. However, she serves bottled water in the rooms upon the guests’ arrival. A 5-gallon dispenser of water is in the kitchen for tea and coffee because Scheel doesn’t consider well water quality good enough for coffee or tea. Other water efficiency measures include low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets in the bed-and-breakfast. The landscaping is watered in the early morning with the well water. Only the gardens are watered, not the grass.
The Crown Plaza Cabana Palo Alto is the only hotel in California powered by solar energy, says general manager Adam Hamdy. Hamdy says the hotel’s owners wanted a green hotel and installed 68 solar panels to tap into the sun’s energy to provide electricity for heat, light, and hot water. The hotel also extends its environmentally friendly practices to water efficiency measures as towel and linen reuse. Eighty percent of the guests reuse their towels and linens.
Guests offer positive comments about the hotel’s environmental policies, Hamdy says.
“It’s nice to see everybody get on board, because usually in our homes, we don’t use a towel one time and toss it,” Handy says.
While California’s program is extensive, James-Kunisaki says, programs such as those that exist in Florida, Virginia, and Hawaii are exemplary.
“When I did my research, I found that Hawaii is really the exception,” James-Kunisaki says. “They have a governor’s award that offers good recognition. It’s very competitive. Hawaii’s totally dependent on tourism, so its program cannot fail.
“They have limited resources in landfill space and water supply. Much like California, they want to protect their resources, because without those wonderful beaches and destinations they have nothing. We all want to protect our resources so everyone can enjoy it.”
Doherty concurs, pointing out that the bottom line of green lodging programs is to protect that for which tourists travel.
“Tourism is a pretty big deal in Michigan,” Doherty says. “A lot of people come to Michigan to see the nature and the lakes. A big part of this program is protecting all of that, too, because if that were to go away, so would the tourists.”
It’s difficult for many states to assess how much buy-in they’re getting into green lodging programs.
“The hotel business changes,” James-Kunisaki says. “They merge, they sell, they get new general managers, they get new corporate entities that either want to be green or don’t want to be green, or they are held by a foreign company. The turnover is unbelievable.
“That’s why we try to encourage them to have more than one person be actively involved, so if one person is to move on to a different location, it doesn’t start all over again.”