Green Hotels and Meetings
The California Green Lodging Program certifies and helps market environmentally sustainable hotels and lodging facilities. There are more than 100 certified participants across the state.
Why "Green" Hotels?
- Average-sized hotels purchase more products in one week than 100 families do in a year. The California Green Lodging Program wants at least 50 percent of those purchases to be environmentally preferable products.
- Waste generation can be as high as 30 pounds per room per day; as much as 80 percent of these materials can be recycled.
- Hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion a year on energy. Electricity use accounts for 60-70 percent of the utility costs of a typical hotel. Energy-efficient products and practices reduce energy consumption, and therefore lowering energy costs.
- Two percent of California’s food waste comes from the hotel and lodging industry (112,000 tons per year). This food waste can be composted and/or donated to charities.
- Typical hotels use 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room. Water-efficient fixtures can reduce water and sewer bills by 25-30 percent.
The Green Lodging Program, supported by the Califoronia Integrated Waste Management Board, encourages State and local government travelers to seek out and give preference to these certified “green hotels.” The program also provides well-deserved recognition for those facilities doing their part to help to keep California green.
Two levels of sustainable achievement are supported:
Leadership Level
This is the highest level of program participation. Leadership level hotels achieved a minimum field survey score of 300. They have a written environmental policy in place and meet all seven of the program's criteria:
- Waste minimization.
- Reuse/recycling.
- Energy efficiency.
- Conservation and management.
- Waste management.
- Freshwater resource management.
- Hazardous materials management.
- Environmentally and socially sensitive purchasing policies.
Participation Level
This is the entry level for the program. Participation level hotels are building their environmental green lodging programs. They achieved a field survey score of 250 to 300, and they might not have a written environmental policy in place. Participation level hotels meet some of the seven program criteria, and have three years from their date of enrollment to demonstrate continuous improvement and elevate their rating to the Leadership Level.
CIWMB assists hotels and conference centers with marketing their facilities to state employees traveling on state business.
CIWMB issues a program certificate to be displayed in the lobby, at the registration desk or any other prominent location at your hotel.
CIWMB provides printed marketing materials: bookmarkers, decals and a comment card to encourage feedback from the travelers about hotel facilities.
Other Resources
- Benchmark
Hotel—A tool to help hotels improve environmental performance and make cost savings.
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Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions—The
Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC) was formed in
late 2002 to promote environmental best practices for large conventions,
starting with the 2004 national Democratic and Republican political
conventions in Boston and New York. CERC is a project of the Center for
Economic & Environmental Partnership, a non-profit located in Albany, NY.
-
Holding a Green Conference—From
SustainableBusiness.com.
- International Hotels
Environmental Initiative (IHEI)—A program to promote the benefits of environmental management as an integral part of running a successful, efficient hotel business.
- Green Hotels Association—Bringing
together hotels interested in environmental issues.
- Greening
the Lodging Industry—From Green Seal. Green Seal is an independent, nonprofit organization that promoting
practices and products that cause less waste, conserve resources and habitats, and minimize global warming and ozone depletion.
They develop suggested environmental standards for a variety of
industries. See their standards
for lodging properties.
-
Green Meetings—From
U. S. EPA.
Edited by Carolyn Allen, managing editor of Solutions For Green
Publication Date:
12/12/2006
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