HEI Hotels & Resorts has invested more than $6.5 million in energy management programs at its hotels and resorts in the U.S. since 2005, helping the private owner/operator of hotel real estate to earn the Corporate Energy Management award from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). In other hotel news, Seaport Hotel implements EnerNOC's CarbonTrack solution and Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa is named a Green Power Purchaser.
Gary Mendell, HEI's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a press release that the initial capital upgrades have already resulted in energy savings of more than $2 million annually. Mendell says sustainability is important to the planet, and can yield cost savings if companies invest wisely.
HEI launched in 2009 the "Energy Looking Glass (ELG)", a proprietary energy monitoring dashboard, which helps the company maximizes its energy use across its portfolio. The company also has set benchmarks for additional energy and waste reduction in 2010. HEI brands include the Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Embassy Suites, and Hilton.
As an example, HEI plans to reduce energy consumption company-wide by five percent in 2010 by continuing its 2009 programs targeting operational awareness and conservation, and expanding its sustainability efforts to include executive chefs, executive housekeepers and banquet managers in addition to its general managers and chief engineers.
The company also is planning to renovate an existing hotel to achieve LEED-EB certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center in Boston is another hotel that is investing in energy-conservation measures. Seaport, which was named one of ForbesTraveler.com's "Greenest Hotels in America", is the first hotel to implement EnerNOC's CarbonTrak application to better measure and manage its greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint.
By using CarbonTrak, Seaport will capture its carbon footprint and report the information voluntarily to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). The hotel will also use the data collected from CarbonTrak to help prioritize additional energy-efficiency efforts and projects.
The Seaport Hotel has installed energy-conserving CFLs in all of its guestrooms and public space fixtures, and motion sensors in housekeeping linen closets, which are expected to save the hotel 19 million kilowatt hours annually.
Other environmental programs include an electrolyzed water system for green cleaning, a composting program for food waste, and an Ozone Laundry System that reduces the amount of detergent needed.
Seaport also purchased enough renewable energy credits in 2009 to offset the electricity used to power all 426 guest rooms and 13 guest floors, and to operate its four guest elevators for the entire year.
EnerNOC's solution also has been implemented by Boston's city hall, the Boston Public Library and the Boston Police Headquarters.
In nearby New Hamphire, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, in the White Mountains, as a 100 percent Green Power Purchaser under its Green Power Partnership program. The resort expects to avoid an estimated 1,626,231 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually by using 100 percent green power.
The EPA revised its membership requirements for its Green Power Partnership program early last year.
