Fight Global Warming On Vacation
Since it was first published in 1999, the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Lodging Properties (GS-33) has represented leadership in the lodging industry.
This spring, Green Seal conducted a study to quantify the minimum of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of hotels implementing the fundamental environmentally preferable practices outlined in GS-33.
The study focused on GHG savings for a single, typical hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
The total GHG reductions in a single hotel implementing a few simple measures specified in GS-33 is equal to 398.26 tons of CO2.
This GHG savings from a single hotel is the equivalent of the annual GHG emissions of 73 passenger vehicles or the CO2 emissions from the energy use of 35 homes for one year.
These GHG savings are just the beginning since the study included only some of the key measures GS-33 Bronze-certified properties implement so … as more efficiency measures are taken, more savings will be seen (as is required for continued certification and to reach the higher certification levels of Silver and Gold).
- The simple measures that resulted in this GHG savings included:
- Using energy-efficient lighting for areas that keep lights on for 24-hours (the study modeled a 50 percent replacement of lighting on for 24 hours)
- Use of occupancy sensors in areas such as meeting rooms, housekeeping closets and laundry rooms (the study modeled sensors in 10 percent of the hotel’s square footage)
- Implementing effective preventive maintenance of the HVAC system
- Using water-efficient fixtures
- Setting the default on copy machines to double-sided
- Establishing recycling programs for common areas and administrative areas.
- These measures for a single hotel also produced the following water savings and waste reduction:
- 536 thousand gallons of water saved per year
- 122 tons of waste diverted from the landfill per year.
For more information on GS-33, visit www.greenseal.org.
The complete study is available upon request, followed ISO 14044 and was peer-reviewed.