Climate Impacts

Some of Fairmont’s initiatives include waste reduction, resource conservation, local species protection. For example, the largest hotel purchaser of wine in Canada, The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto is one of the first affiliates of the innovative Bag-A-Cork recycling program, collecting natural and synthetic corks and providing a bin for local residents to pitch in. In addition, the Fairmont San Jose, California has installed a cogeneration, or combined, heat and power plant, recycling waste heat generated by conventional power. Cogeneration now produces 60% of the hotel’s electricity and 100% of its hot water.

Fairmont has partnered with the widely recognized U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR © program. This partnership focuses on the company's fifteen U.S.-based properties, and is part of Fairmont's ongoing strategy to streamline its energy performance and reduce both utilities consumption and greenhouse gas emissions throughout its operations.

Vail Resorts
In 2006, Vail Resorts made a commitment to offset 100% of their companywide electricity use by purchasing 152,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy for their five mountain resorts; the nine RockResort hotels and spas and nearly 2,000 additional hotel and condominiums; over 145 retail locations.

The company continues to explore ways to reduce energy use throughout all of their operations by supplementing them with other renewable energy technologies such as solar infrastructure, micro-hydro turbines and geothermal heating. Vail Resorts is the second largest corporate purchaser of 100% wind energy credits in the United States.

The company has replaced traditional lighting with high-efficiency compact fluorescent bulbs and retrofitting bathrooms with low flow plumbing fixtures. At the five mountain resorts, upgrades have been undertaken to upgrade snowmaking systems which resulted in a 33% greater output capacity, better snow quality and an overall 25% increase in electrical efficiency.

All of the resort’s snowcats run on Category Three "green" engines and all snowmobiles are outfitted with four-stroke engines. Some resorts also feature automated energy management systems, including timers and motion sensors to power down in-room heating, ventilation and cooling systems, spa and health club equipment, kitchen appliances and lighting. Vail resorts also actively engages guests in conservation efforts, such as offering visitors the choice to reuse their daily linens and towels to reduce water and energy usage.


Kimpton Hotels
In 2005, Kimpton launched their EarthCare program, where every one of their hotels adopted environmentally friendly products and practices with high-impact and benefit to the planet. Some of Kimpton’s initiatives include implementing environmentally friendly cleaning products for housekeepers, the use of soy inks, recycled paper, a towel/linen reuse program, cfl bulbs, low flow water systems, the elimination of Styrofoam cups, and organic food and beverage options in the in-room mini-bar.

Marriott International

Marriott International recently joined forces with global environmental organization Clean Up the World to expand the company's green efforts at the community level. Marriott says the initiative complements the company's green volunteerism, recycling, energy and water conservation, and the addition of a new senior-level Green Council. Marriott was also recognized as the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Excellence in Energy Management for the past two years and was reportedly awarded more ENERGY STAR labels (160) than any other hotel company.

Several of their green initiatives include their Group "Re-Lamp" campaign, which replaced 450,000 light bulbs with fluorescent lighting in 2006 and reportedly saved 65 percent on overall lighting costs and energy usage in guest rooms.

The company also implemented their "Ozone Activated Laundry" and "Formula One Systems", which can save up to 25 percent in energy used in laundry systems. Marriott also replaced 4,500 outdoor signs with LED and fiber optic technology, which reportedly yielded a 40 percent reduction in outdoor advertising energy use in its first year.


Element by Westin Hotels

Element Hotels are under development nation wide incorporating eco-friendly materials throughout their hotels. The flooring in Element hotels feature carpets with up to 100% recycled content and recycled carpet cushions and low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints improve indoor air quality for their guests and staff. Silverware and glassware are used to reduce waste generated by plastic utensils and paper cups while bath amenities are in a dispenser system rather than wasteful mini-bottles.

Element is making a brand-wide commitment for their hotels and pursuing the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Certification. An Element is located in Lexington, Massachusetts with another location planned for Las Vegas and 20 more hotels planned to be open by the end of 2009.

Starwood said it plans to use the hotel as a working lab to test the latest in green construction, products, design and operations and have referenced that research indicates that LEED certification is achievable at a minimal cost and the initial investment can he recouped within a few years, given associated operational savings.


“1” Hotel and Residences

“1” Hotel and Residences aim to be an eco-luxury brand with a residential component. The first hotel will be the "1" Hotel and Residences Seattle opening in 2008. Following Seattle, openings are planned for Mammoth Mountain, Scottsdale, Ft. Lauderdale, Paris, New York City, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

The 1 Hotel & Residences New York is aiming to be one of NYC's first LEED Certified hotels. The properties will be pursuing LEED certification and one percent of all revenues from the 1 Hotels throughout the world will be donated to environmental and conservation groups.


Shangri-La Hotels
Shangri-La Hotels has implemented several initiatives that resulted in a decrease of 14.8 lbs of Carbon Dioxide (CO²) for every available room night they operate. Since the late 1990s, the Shangri La Hotels and Resorts Group, a primarily overseas operator, has started a large scale energy-saving program targeting several areas of their properties.

All hotels are also fitted with variable speed drives for air handling units, pumps and fans to vary and reduce energy use; public areas are lighted with incandescent lamps, back offices with fluorescent lamps, ballrooms and function rooms fitted with low energy lamps for events set-up and guestrooms have on average 50 percent of its lighting provided by energy-savings lamps and low flow water systems.


Hilton Hotels
Hilton has developed a comprehensive company-wide policy to promote business practices that help preserve the environment. By asking their guests when they would like their sheets and towels changed, their hotel brands save over 12 million gallons of fresh water a month while also reducing waste water and the use of chemicals and energy resources.

A full service hotel's occupied rooms on average use 11.5 pounds of linens per room, so a single large, fully-occupied hotel (1500 rooms) with a typical stay of two nights can reduce water usage, through implementation of these programs, by over 17,000 gallons during the two day period.

Most recently, Hilton announced several long-term goals to move its brands further towards sustainability. By 2014, the company plans to reduce energy consumption from direct operations by 20%, CO₂ emissions by 20%, reduce output of waste by 20% and reduce water consumption by 10%.