LEED Certification and Other Green Initiatives Can Be Hotel Marketing Coups , by Carl R... - 0 views
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from becoming airborne. Green Seal is a non-profit
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n the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nearly 5 million guest rooms, and close to $4 billion in annual energy use
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LEED is a voluntary, third-party green building certification program that awards points to buildings for satisfying certain green building criteria. In order to be LEED-certified, a building has to implement a plan to reduce building operating costs, its environmental footprint, and resource consumption such as water and energy use.
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intended to provide building owners and operators a basic framework for identifying and employing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions
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LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations and LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance are the programs which have the most applicability to hospitality projects.
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In addition, each rating system, including LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations and LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, is organized into six credit categories
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sustainable sites; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality and innovation in operations.
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Once the essential prerequisites are satisfied, developers can thereafter chose which optional credits to pursue in order to obtain certification. Certification levels start at Certified and increase to Silver, Gold and Platinum designations.
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first hotel to receive LEED Platinum Certification was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina
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Proximity Hotel uses 39% less energy and 33% less water then a comparable sized hotel. In addition, the Proximity Hotel was able to recycle 87% of its construction debris
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purchased 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally and even restored 700 feet of an adjacent stream. Proximity’s most impressive features, however, include:
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installation of 100 solar panels on the roof, which heat about 60% of the hotel and the hotel restaurant’s water; use of geothermal energy for the restaurant’s refrigeration equipment; and installation of the Regenerative Drive model of the Otis’ Gen2 elevator which reduces net energy usage by capturing the elevator’s energy and then feeding it back to the hotel’s electrical grid
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Many hospitality companies have already introduced green initiatives, such as the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs as well as various recycling programs
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Not only are these green initiatives environmentally responsible, but should a hospitality company at some future point seek LEED certification, these green initiatives would earn them points in furtherance of the certification process
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By using highly reflective concrete and/or open grid pavers, hospitality companies can help reduce the summer cooling loads for their building, which in turn reduces energy use and pollution generation.
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native plants reduce more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than traditional mowed grass due to their extensive root systems and increased ability to retain and store water
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A green cleaning program may include the use of Green Seal Certified household cleaners, Green Seal Certified laundry products, micro-fiber cloths, and dual motor vacuum cleaners with HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters that prevent particles from becoming airborne. Green Seal is a non-profit, third-party certifier
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While not every hotel or hospitality company may be in the financial position to seek LEED certification or undertake costly capital expenditures, there are numerous green initiatives that each and every hospitality company should be considering to improve their efficiencies while also attracting green conscious consumers
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In the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nealry 5 million guest rooms and approxiamtely $4 billion in annual energy use. As of January 2010, there were only 40 hotels that were LEED certified. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a voluntary, third party green building certification program that awards points to buildings depending on their sustainable practice being implemented which includes building improvements, environemntal footprint and water and energy use. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization. Its main purpose is to provide building owners and operators with a basic framework for developing and implementing sustainable practices. The first hotel to ever be certified according to LEED criteria was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC. This hote received Platnium status for being able to recycle 87% of its construction debris, purchasing 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally. Installation of 100 solar panels, use of geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and instllation of a Regenerative Drive model for its elevators made the Proximity Hotel a benchmark hotel. There are several practices that can make a hotel conserve energy and make it sustainable such as using flourescent lightbulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs, paving parkig lots with highly reflective materials or open grid pavers, installing high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants and using local materials and goods. These will not necessarily lead to LEED certification but will definitely earn points towards obtaining that accredidation. The use of sustainable practices not only helps conserve the environment but also saves money in the long run. Through water conservation techniques, recycling and linen and towel reuse programs, the hospitality industry wins two-fold,