How Green Hotels Can Support Earth Hour 2011

At 8:30pm on Saturday, March 26 2011, hundreds of millions of people and international landmarks across the globe will switch off the lights of homes and businesses for one hour – Earth Hour, the world’s largest public action for the environment sponsored by World Wildlife Fund. Green hotels are in a great position to show their current and future guests, staff and the community they are contributing to global environmental change that aligns with their sustainable initiatives.

Hotels will be asking their guests to go dark and restaurants will be holding Earth Hour specials.The following are a few ideas that show your hotel’s commitment to Earth Hour, be it big or small.

Switch off non-essential lights at 8:30pm on Saturday, March 26 2011
Switch to minimal lighting internally (in accordance with the occupational health and safety standards) which is also energy efficient. Be sure to plan ahead the logistics of switching off non-essential lighting for Earth Hour 2011 including neon lights in and around the hotel.

Organic dining in the dark
Savour the natural tastes of Earth’s finest organic produce in a buffet exclusively tailored for Earth Hour as Pan Pacific Orchard is planning. Welcome guests to indulge in a healthier menu while doing their part for the planet over candlelight and lanterns.

Earth “Cocktail” Hour
Design a special “green” cocktail drink menu for your guests during Earth Hour under the glow of the candle lights. Do not forget to remind your guests to switch off the lights and air-conditioning in their room before making their way down to the bar.

Register your hotel’s commitment on www.earthhour.org
Show your support by signing up at the official Earth Hour website and sharing your hotel’s ongoing actions for the planet with people around the world – it’s free!

Incorporate fundraising into your Earth Hour events
Consider fundraising as part of the festitivies by selling a special cocktail or dish where proceeds are donated the World Wildlife Fund or any other charity.

Organic moonlit massage
If your hotel offers spa services, offer guests an organic moonlit massage using eco products such as virgin coconut oil or a locally produced product.

Put on a special show for all ages
Hotels can choose to put on a shadow puppet show or have a local band perform unplugged.

Be sure to advise each guest upon check-in about Earth Hour including the message the hotel has committed to Earth Hour incuding appreciation of your guest’s support by turning off their lights. Front desk or housekeeping can also provide an Earth Hour letter to inform guests of all the details and events being held at the property.

Communicating your property’s sustainable commitment is key to branding, therefore even a sign positioned at reception and outside the guest lifts reminding guests about Earth Hour is a good idea to raise awareness.

Pan Pacific Seattle: green green hotel!!!!

One of the Pacific Northwest’s most experienced sustainability leaders is helping to transform the Pan Pacific Seattle hotel into a model of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Molly Phillips, manager of CSR for the 160-room property located near downtown Seattle, has helped establish a program called PanEarth that includes not only a CSR vision for the hotel but also a committee that overseas four community pillars: Caring for Community, Caring for Our Planet, Caring for Challenges, and Caring Globally.

Phillips, who has been at the Pan Pacific Seattle for about a year, at one time was manager, sustainable partnerships and senior sales manager for Kimpton Hotels Seattle. Phillips is one of the few people in the entire U.S. lodging industry with a full-time, property-level CSR position.
The hiring of Phillips reflects Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s commitment to expand its CSR initiatives. “PanEarth started here,” Phillips says. “It’s been copyrighted. We are looking into doing a regional program. The goal would be to have PanEarth be the global program. I am excited about its potential. It is a new direction for Pan Pacific.”
PanEarth Committee Formed

To help carry out the programs that are part of the four community pillars, a PanEarth Committee has been assembled that includes a team of leaders tasked with the following responsibilities: working with community partners to measure the hotel’s environmental impact, creating a communications strategy to convey the hotel’s CSR commitment to staff and the community, and overseeing every department’s attempts to be as green as possible.
“We try to encourage people to work on a pillar that they have a more personal connection with,” Phillips says.
Organizations benefiting from the Pan Pacific Seattle’s CSR activities include the Pike Place Senior Center, Seattle area Red Cross, Alley Cat Acres (an urban farming collective), Muscular Distrophy Assn., Angeline’s House (shelter for homeless women), and World Vision. Pan Pacific Seattle also donates about 100 pounds of partially used soap each month to Clean the World.

Numerous Green Initiatives

To reduce the property’s environmental impact, Pan Pacific Seattle owners have invested in the following: programmable digital thermostats, food waste composting, paperless check-in and check-out, green cleaning products, compact fluorescents, in-room recycling, aerators, dual-flush toilets, and a water filtration system (the hotel no longer offers bottled water).
“Green purchasing is definitely on our radar,” Phillips says. “We are getting ready to switch to biodegradable key cards. We just switched our dry cleaning company to one that uses nontoxic cleaning solutions.”
The Pan Pacific Seattle, which opened in 2006, is now registered for LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. “We just went through the first step of analysis,” Phillips says.

The hotel’s CSR team is currently looking into offering guests the option of a carbon-neutral stay—through the purchase of renewable energy credits. Phillip’s staff is also looking into making the hotel’s green initiatives more prominent on the hotel’s website.
“Our website will be refreshed,” she says. “We will not be ‘in your face’ with our green messaging. We are a luxury product. We will be really careful about our messaging.”

http://www.panpacific.com/Seattle/Overview.html

By Glenn HasekShare
Green Lodging news

10 tips for saving water and making healthier choices

10. Avoid using products in plastic containers
I know it’s hard to avoid plastic in our everyday lives but you can search for alternatives. If you’re using body wash that is packaged in plastic try switching to bar soap. Usually soap is packaged in a cardboard box that can biodegrade or be recycled.

9. Switch to plant-based ingredients
Whether it’s your shampoo, bar of soap of even bathroom cleaning products, this will be healthier for you and your family and you’ll be reducing your impact on the planet as well. The many chemicals found in our everyday household products have a major effect on our water and our health, so switching to a plant-based, biodegradable product will really help.

8. DIY!
If you’re crafty, try creating our own soap, shampoo, etc. This way you will know exactly what’s in your product and it usually is more cost effective. There are many great resources online, such as Youtube, and soap making websites that can help you get started!

7. Simplify
Instead of having a specialized product for each part of your body, re-evaluate whether you actually need it. For me, I use my handmade soap for shaving as well, saving me dough and space in my small shower.

6. Short ‘n’ sweet
Keeping your showers short is one of the best ways to conserve water in the bathroom. If you’re used to a 20 minute shower, try limited your routine by a minute each day until it takes less than 10. Use a timer. If you’re used to a 10 minute shower, try a 5 minute one. You get the picture.

5. Low-flowin’
Make a small investment in a low-flow shower head. All you have to do is install it and you’re being kinder to the planet! Buy one with a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute — they come in all different styles, from sleek and modern to simple and practical. Click here for some helpful FAQs.

4. Looking glass
Ever opened up a new shower curtain and that chemical odor nearly knocked you down? Vinyl shower curtains are actually very toxic and full of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phthalates and metals. A study has shown that some chemicals remain in the air 28 days after the shower curtain had been hung! And these shower curtains do not last forever — except in the landfill. In fact you’ll probably have to buy a new every year. Try using a water-resistant hemp shower curtain, instead. It can be put in the wash. Or try installing a glass shower door instead. It may be a larger initial investment but it will save a lot of vinyl going to the landfill. Plus it can really update the look of your bathroom!

3. In the Navy
A navy shower is where you turn off the water while you lather up. This can save a ton of unused water from going down the drain! You can also install a shut-off device that reduces shower flow to a trickle while you lather or shave. If you really want to be hardcore, try a “traditional” navy shower and keep it under two minutes!

2. Plants need H2O
Place a bucket in the shower with you and collect the run off water to water your plant or garden. This is a little extreme, but why not do it? Plants don’t care where the water comes from! Just make sure that you are using a natural, biodegradable soap so the roots of the plant won’t get damaged.

1. Sharing is caring
This is my favorite tip...share your shower routine with your significant other. This will not only save water (unless you get distracted), it can give you two some valuable time together, especially if you have a busy work schedule or have children. Some of these tips are more attainable than others but adopting just a few of them can help you conserve water or reduce your impact on the planet on shower at a time. Happy showering!