A valuable resource for hoteliers, EcoGreenHotel.com is dedicated to helping hotels address environmental issues and implement environmentally friendly initiatives.
EcoGreenHotel’s Director of Sustainability, Jeff Kiec recently completed a series of green hotel case study presentations in Texas and Arkansas. Along with the local Convention and Visitor Bureaus of Bentonville, Arkansas and Plano, Texas and the SBDC for Enterprise Excellence, EcoGreenHotel spread the word about hospitality sustainability initiatives.
One of the most attention-grabbing topics addressed was the use of Eco-Labels and the growing importance of third party certification programs to determine the true extent of a green hotel’s sustainability initiatives. A consensus was reached that there is an immense need for the hospitality industry to determine a clearer definition of a truly “green” hotel. This would help to reward those hotels that implement and maintain robust sustainability programs and marginalize those that overstate or completely green-wash their efforts for short-term gain. During the question and answer sessions, discussions developed on how to differentiate the hard work required to achieve various green hotel certifications and which of those programs garner the most credibility amongst the traveling public and sustainability professionals.
In addition, a common thread was uncovered, the willingness of the municipalities to support hotels in their efforts to operate in a sustainable manor. Christopher Day, Commercial Recycling Supervisor for the City of Plano, provides guidance and training for businesses to develop robust recycling programs of all sizes. Helping create recycling programs is viewed as a win-win situation for both the municipalities and the hotels. By reducing the amount garage sent to land fills, the City wins by reducing long-term re-occurring costs. The hotels win by reducing the number of weekly hauls, reducing total cost of hauling, creating a revenue stream with its recyclable products and creating a culture of environmental responsibility among its employees.
Due to the interest and success of this series of presentations, EcoGreenHotel will be hosting another round of presentations in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio in the coming months. The future case study presentations with cover the role of social media in reputation management, expanded detail on Eco-labels, third party certifications, and additional real world cost savings case studies.
EcoGreenHotel would like to pay special thanks to Wendy Bader of the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Mark Thompson of the Plano Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Tom Pryor of the Small Business Development Center of Enterprise Excellence. We appreciate your efforts and help!
You can learn more about their organizations at:
http://www.sbdcexcellence.org
http://www.bentonvilleusa.org
http://www.planocvb.com/main/index.php
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