Recycling Begins at Cooke Elementary School

Jane Sorensen, School District EPIC Coordinator shows off the new cafeteria sorting station

September 10th and Cooke Elementary School's recycling program is off to a good start. Students, teachers and the administration attended an assembly today to kick off the event. Ms. Sondra Johnson Fields, Principal of Cooke welcomed the stakeholders in the initiative: Colleen Emery of Sullivan Renaissance, Christy Walsh of Thompson Sanitation, Evadne Giannini of HospitalityGreen and John Travis, District Director of Facilities.

Draining the milk before tossing it in recycling

For two days students have been learning how to use the new cafeteria sorting station. Evadne, Jane, Sandra, teachers and aids have been working with the students to show them how to use the new station.
The station also features a cart  for uneaten fruit and milk. The "cafeteria sorter" designed by Leo Giannini features a drain for partially used milk, a smiley face with holes for the recycling of milk cartons, plastic containers and unsoiled papers, and a tray stacker for styrofoam trays.

Custodians prep for first day of school

The stacker allows students to stack their trays and has reduced bulky bags of garbage by over 70%. Students "Tip and Tap" their garbage in the Oscar Bin to the right of the sorter and then insert their tray in the stacker. On the first day of school, custodians removed two bags of recyclables, 2 bags of trays and two bags of garbage. Last year with a hundred less children, custodians removed after lunch daily 12-15 bags of garbage and no recycling.
Today at the assembly Ms.Sorensen Coordinator for Cooke's School Recycling Program congratulated students and staff for being chosen to be Sullivan County's model program and led everyone in a pledge.

Our Environmental Pledge

"I pledge by the show of my hand to conserve water, to preserve our endangered species, to reserve our natural resources by recycling, and to share with my fellow citizens the responsibility for a cleaner and greener community."



Watch for daily updates on the school twitter at  #cookepride

A Great Green Hump Day

Everybody needs a good “hump day” once in a while. Yesterday was one of those unforgettable Wednesdays. I had started to get disenchanted in my work as an environmental consultant. What did the work really mean? What was its real value? Granted I am tired of cajoling and fighting with business owners to get them to see the cost savings in conservation. God forbid you mention the environmental benefits.

Business is hard, and we all are so involved in our day to day concerns. Our actions have direct consequences. But do we stop to really care or take concern? When do we look to the outside to evaluate or see the possible ramifications on our future?  “Think of your children.” has become an empty rant repeated in the “green” vernacular.                                       

 It’s been almost 20 years since I stood in a room full of little ones to try and teach them the importance of recycling and conservation.

I went in with full vigor and prepared. To the 3^rd and 4^th grade we were orienting them to the different kinds of plastics and where and how to find the numbers. We passed out all kinds of plastics and gave them a chance to identify the number on their item. 

Great excitement filled the room as the discoveries were made. We even put a few trick items in our collection. Each child that had caught or gotten an item came to the front and got to put the item in the recycling bin or the trash. We complimented and cheered as the kids figured it out. Then one little boy came up and showed me his item, a bag that had contained dog food. He explained that there was no number on his bag. I, of course, repeated that if it had no number it was to go in the trash. He then said to me, “But it could be reused.”

Stunned, I congratulated him and told him that was excellent. And because he knew that it could be reused; I would give him the item to re-use however he wanted.  Off he went, and we conducted the third assembly of the day with 5^th graders, an introduction to composting and reuse. At the end of the 5^th grade assembly, we looked up and standing at the door was the little boy, Thomas.  He had something to show us.

What can I say? For all of us “Green folks” who have lost our way or the meaning of why we are doing what we are doing; I promise you, we are doing it for the children. And those adults who can’t seem to figure out the value or the ROI of this “green stuff,” move over, the next generation gets it, and they mean business.

Have a great weekend! It's coming soon.

                           Thinking #Outside the Box#

It is almost Summer and the perfect time to get outside!  Take a walk or admire a flower garden. Here in the Catskills our surroundings are constantly changing.  The mild days and cool nights allow us ample time to get outside. 

In winter we can feel trapped in the comfort of our warm house and or our car. Now is the time to use our beautiful surroundings to unleash our creativity and think outside the box. 

Check out our Twitter @Hospitality_Grn and we will inspire you with ideas, businesses and people who are Thinking #outside the box#

And of course, we welcome your additions. Follow us, retweet, add to your favorites or send us yours. 

We look forward to the shared inspiration. Enjoy summer and spending time, Thinking #Outside the Box# 

It’s Earth Day Every Day for Santa Fe’s Green Lodging Participants

April 28, 2014

On April 22^nd, Earth Day 2014, the 13 participating hotels of the Santa Fe Green Lodging (SFGL) Initiative celebrated their accomplishments at the Inn of the Governors.

Felicity Broennan, coordinator for the Santa Fe Watershed Association’ Green Lodging Program, opened the ceremony by saying that even though it is Earth Day, our SFGL participants throughout the year  have been trained in sustainable practices and are now practicing Earth Day every day. She congratulated all of them on their accomplishments.  

   

The participating hotels are Casa Cuma B and B, Eldorado Hotel, Houses of the Moon at 10,000 Waves, Hotel Santa Fe the Hacienda & Spa, Inn of the Five Graces, Inn of the Governors, Inn on the Alameda, La Fonda on the Plaza, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, Old Santa Fe Inn, Santa Fe Inn, Santa Fe Sage Inn and Silver Saddle Motel.  Twelve of the thirteen properties have achieved HospitalityGreen’s (HG) Green Concierge bronze level certification.

In December 2012, the Santa Fe Watershed Association (SFWA) launched a public-private sector collaboration, called the Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative. The initiative was funded by a $49,700 grant awarded to the Watershed Association by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The Initiative, spearheaded by the SFWA, worked directly with Santa Fe’s hospitality industry to save money, conserve water, and decrease chemical and carbon pollution going into their river and watershed system.

Since February 2013, HospitalityGreen LLC, a New York-based firm specializing in environmental and operations consulting services and founder of the nationally recognized Green Concierge Certification® program, provided technical assistance, green team training and customized coaching to each of the participants.

In October 2013 HospitalityGreen (HG) conducted on-site third party assessments of thirteen of the fourteen properties. The on-site assessment determined if the individual property met the rigors of the Green Concierge Certification.  The certification requires that a property meet multiple standards and track resource use over time.

With data acquired from the properties and the utility companies, the participants have cumulatively saved over 2.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity with a cost savings of about $ 101,000.00. The cost savings does not include the rebates they received for lighting and electrical system upgrades, some of which are still in process.  Through system and water saving features, the SFGL properties saved over 1.5 million gallons of water with a cost savings of over $27,000 annually. By switching cleaning products they eliminated over 2000 pounds of hazardous chemicals from entering our waste water treatment plant and thus the Santa Fe River.

Sam Gerberding, General Manager of the Inn of the Governors said that they were never made to feel bad about what they were doing or chastised for not doing more. Consequently, the Green Teams at the lodging properties, consisting of staff from housekeeping, food & beverage, engineering, and top management, took pride in the daily steps they made to achieving tangible resource conservation with viable economic benefits. 

Evadne Giannini, Founder and CEO of HospitalityGreen LLC, said “We are honored to have been able to work with our enthusiastic colleagues in Santa Fe for the past year with wonderful engagement at every level at these extraordinary properties. We look forward to continuing to share ideas, increase everyone’s benefits and assist the businesses to help brand Santa Fe as a premier eco-tourist destination.”  As Ms. Broennan said in her closing remarks, “Everyone benefits when we collaborate to take care of our natural resources: the businesses, the residents, the tourists, and the environment. It’s the new quadruple, value-added bottom line with high impact results!”

********

The Santa Fe Watershed Association (SFWA) builds vibrant, resilient ecosystems within the Santa Fe River Watershed using a holistic approach of restoration, education, stewardship, and advocacy.  

Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative’s growing directory of local partners includes: Santa Fe Watershed Association, Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Santa Fe Environmental Services Division, New Mexico Lodging Association, Santa Fe Lodgers Association, Santa Fe Community College, New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce - Santa Fe Chapter, Inn of the Governors, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa and La Fonda on the Plaza. 

HospitalityGreen LLC is a New York based consulting firm specializing in environmental and operations consulting services. HospitalityGreen partners with service-based and product-based clients throughout the hospitality, manufacturing and institutional healthcare industries, to implement sustainable business practices. Providing services for our client not to them, our goal is to create for our clients environmental capital one facility at a time.

Many Shades of Green - Part 2

Our first Many Shades of Green blog shared no/low cost ideas to help you get started on the journey to greening your lodging property. If you now have a Green Team in place and made an investment in a little staff training; you can see that developing a green policy wasn't that difficult.  In fact, you’re undoubtedly curious about additional ways to be kind to both your bottom line and Mother Nature!  

May we suggest; to start on Part 2 of your Shades of Green journey first you need to take a walk.  

That’s right. With your Green Team take a walk around your property. Let them individually point out possible areas for improvements.  Listen to your staff. Their insight will be valuable in creating employee engagement and in implementing improvements. Be careful not to blame or point out a person who might be at fault. Remember that as Jeffrey Liker in his book, The Toyota Way, states, “It is the people who do the work who can improve the work.”   

HG has a Walk Thru Assessment Guide Book that helps staff define, find and prioritize areas for improvements. The guide is an easy to follow series of check lists that quantify and evaluate sustainable water, energy, waste, and purchasing practices and systems throughout a property. If nothing else, take notes as you see areas for improvements.    

It is easier to make improvements if you have a guide to follow. We recommend using either Trip Advisors Green Leaders Survey or HG’s Green Concierge (GC) Certification Standards? Either of these will give you a point at which to begin and a matrix for improvements.  TA’s Survey and the GC Certification Standards provide a comprehensive guide for looking at water, energy, waste, purchasing, employee and customer engagement, and policy improvements.

#2 the Employee Assessment

Assign members of your Green Team to assess and evaluate improvements in areas of your property where they spend most of their time working. Administration employees are best suited to improve practices within their area. Other team members and outside expertise can be brought on once the original employee assessment has been completed. By engaging the employees first, you will find that they are much more willing to accept modifications and changes, both large and small to products and systems. They initiate the change by conducting the walk thru assessment.

#3 Evaluating the Assessment

Before investing in costly upgrades and new products, first address all maintenance issues that you haven’t already done. More importantly make sure that employees are assigned to areas of maintenance that needed improvement. Add items to housekeeping’s check list like setting back thermostats and checking for leaking faucets.  How often and who is assigned to cleaning all sconces and hall lights? Who checks for water leaks in the property system and how often?  There are numerous areas that can save money and improve the overall appearance of a property.  Guests notice leaky faucets and stained and dirty fixtures. Work through each maintenance item and create check lists or assign people to each task.

#4  Track Energy Use

Do you know how much energy you use? Free on-line tracking tools such as the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager make it simple to manage your energy and water use.  All you need to get started are your most recent energy bills and basic information about your building(s).  Within a few months of tracking you’ll see patterns of energy waste that can be corrected quickly and easily.  Reducing energy consumption will not only result in significantly reduced operating costs but will also lead to safer conditions for your staff and guests

#5 Track and Record your Waste and Purchasing Inventories

Even if it is not scientifically perfect, you need to at least estimate how much garbage and recycling is being collected. HG has a Resource Tracking Tool available for use that allows you to track everything from small containers to rolls offs. Read your bills and see if tonnage is provided. If not, how big is your dumpster or are they toters? Start with at least a decent estimate of what you are doing right now. How else can you make and manage improvements? “You can’t manage what you can’t measure….” Peter Drucker

#6 Evaluate your Cleaning Program

Start small by examining the cleaning products used by housekeeping.  The most successful green cleaning programs combine both green cleaning products and high performance cleaning equipment.  Rely on your third party certifiers, Green Seal and Eco-Logo for green validation. These certifiers have an in depth understanding of the federal regulations for chemical compounds. Let their chemists do the work for you. Remember to evaluate your cleaning equipment. Training will need to take place when adopting new products and procedures.

With input from your staff, data on current resource use, basic maintenance issues assigned, you are now ready to make decisions on new products, and systems.

#7- Approach all upgrades comprehensively

·         Utilize the services of good energy consultants who will pair state incentive programs to their services. A good resource for state energy incentives for energy efficiency upgrades and the installation of renewable energy systems is http://www.dsireusa.org/  Before making major upgrades or re-lamping the property, seek the advice of a lighting consultant who is familiar with  new products and potential state and federal incentives.  Speak to your energy consultant and ask for a few referrals. Today it is more than changing a bulb. Many of these services are free and or required for incentive programs. Don’t just purchase from a catalog. Before making any purchase, make sure that the lamps and fixtures are compatible.  Use the services of a reputable licensed service provider.

·         Work with cleaning product providers who will test product with you and provide staff training. Buying off the shelf from your local food co-op or a big box store is throwing money out the door.

·         Consider working with a consultant to evaluate and modify energy, waste and water contracts. This is money well spent. Often their contracts are based on the savings that they are able to provide through contract re-negotiation.   

#8 – Let your guests know that you are “Going Green”

By making outward guest sensitive improvements first, guests will readily see them. Your return guests can be involved in the process. If done with authenticity and comprehensively, Going Green can:

·         Solidify your credibility as a green lodging property

·         Increase tourism revenue

·         Engage your employees

·         Decrease operating costs

·         Increase financial returns.

Economic and environmental sustainability can easily be achieved by recognizing and applying the Many Shades of Green!

The Many Shades of Green

Running a “green” hotel – sounds daunting, doesn't it?  As hoteliers we have enough to do.  Running multiple venues across the property, managing staff, dealing with maintenance issues plus the all-consuming, relentless struggle to keep guests happy.  Who has the time or resources to implement an environmentally responsible green program?!

Actually, it’s not as hard as one might think.  In fact, even just a few no cost/low cost changes can result in cost-savings and favorable guest reviews, which gives you an edge in a very competitive industry.

According to a recent customer survey conducted by the 2013 CONE Communications Green Gap Trend Tracker, 70% of consumers “Think Green” when purchasing; and that number is growing.  Consumer observations and interests also affect their purchasing and the survey reveals 85% want companies to educate them.  So as hoteliers how can we afford to not “green” our hotel and “green” train our staff? 

In hard financial times what can we do that is no cost or low cost but will satisfy the growing hunger of guests looking for eco-destinations?  Being inside our properties, it’s difficult to see the most obvious areas for improvements and greening.

Be smart.  Start where you will get the best returns, guest satisfaction and cost savings with the least amount of capital outlay.

#1  Develop a “Going Green” Policy
Your policy doesn't have to be lengthy or highly detailed.   It should include your intentions to protect the environment, the health and safety of your employees, and the community in which you conduct your business.  Your policy should adopt environmentally responsible business practices by conserving energy, water, and other natural resources.  It can also state you will stay committed to these goals while maintaining your standards for customer comfort and enjoyment.

#2  Select a “Green Team”

There’s no need to go it alone.  With employee team members who represent your full scope of operations (housekeeping, maintenance, food and beverage, etc.), you’ll have expert help in identifying and implementing the best practices for your property as well as monitoring your progress and cost savings.

#3  Invest in Training your “Green Team”

These are the people on your staff that need to understand your “Going Green” policy and will be your “doers.”  It is important to educate them on “Green.”  Everyone needs to understand the many shades of green and have a mapped out process for getting there.  Invest in green training for your team.  A minimal training investment will be paid back within a short period of time by authorizing your green team to adopt minor operational changes.

#4  Fix Water Leaks and Manually Adjust Thermostats

Make sure kitchen staff and housekeepers alert maintenance staff to leaks regularly.  Water leaks can be costly but the good news is they can be easily fixed.  Make sure housekeepers set back thermostats when finishing a room.  Turn off lights in areas of the hotel that are not being used, but make sure all common access areas still meet fire code standards.

#5   Set-up a Towel Reuse Policy

Every day millions of gallons of water and laundry chemicals are used to wash towels and linens that have been used only once.  Create a simple room placard that gives guests the option to hang their towels back up and pull the comforter over the bed if they would like to help protect the environment by reusing their towels and linens.

#6  RECYCLE!

Customers notice if you do not have recycling bins. At the least, set up recycling bins for your customers in common areas and near vending machines.  Paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass – recycle some or all.  It’s as simple as contacting your waste vendor, requesting recycling bins and placing them strategically in common areas.

In some states, you can even get bottle return money!  Make sure you don’t just collect it, but actually recycle it.

The 2013 CONE Communications Green Gap Trend Tracker survey also provided the following statistics:

•       69% say, “It’s okay if a company is not environmentally perfect as it is honest.”

•       78% say they will boycott a product/service if they discover an environmental claim to be misleading.

Congratulations!  With the above “shades of green” in place, you now are on the way to “Going Green.”

Sure there is always more you can do, but with a small cash outlay, you’re off to a very good start.

Investing in an educated Green Team who can answer guest questions, and with an adopted credible environmental policy, you can now proudly display your environmental policy on your website and on property.  Travelers searching for green practice hotels will take notice, and your business will be well on its way to becoming both economically and environmentally sustainable.

View our 2014 Green Tourism Conference at a Glance Schedule

Short on time? Us too!

View the At-a-Glance Conference Schedule below or click here to download it.

Online registration is open. Click here to register online.

Important correction to Program Ad Specs, see below.

Program Ad deadline extended to March 15

Get in the program! Advertise your business in the Green Tourism Conference program, which will be in the hands of every attendee, and in front of the eyes of anyone visiting the GTC website.

Full page ad= $125

Half page ad= $75

Quarter page ad= $40

Ad specs:

Ads will be printed in Gray Scale

Full page 5"x8”

1/2 page horizontal 5”x 3.875”

1/4 page vertical 2.375”x 3.875”

Preferred file format: .JPG

Submit your print-ready ad to go.green@hospitalitygreen.com.

2014 Green Tourism Conference - April 7-8 - Callicoon, NY

http://www.icontact-archive.com/6tXppkIHVe-jc-u6dbBXrnYJ0eBzIJ-n?w=3

Redefining Eco-Friendly to Accurately Measure

Report finds eco-friendliness not a factor in filling hotel rooms:  By Danny King http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/Report-finds-ecofriendliness-not-a-factor-in-filling-hotel-rooms/

There are two factors that I find significant in Danny King’s story on the report from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration issued publicly in October 2013  http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-17463.html

(1) The data metrics that were used: Sabre's, Travelocity Green Program and the International Carbon Measurement Initiative

(2) What is "Eco-friendliness?" How does the customer perceive that concept and the value?

Let’s explore the first data metric that was used, Sabre's, Travelocity Green Program.  Sabre's Program unlike Trip Advisor's (TA's) program, was never clearly rolled out. Let's think consumer for a minute. To find a Green Hotel rated by their program on Travelocity’s public site, you would think that you would go to their main site page. http://www.travelocity.com/   But, there is no listing and no drop down for "green" on the main page.  If you care or know or have looked up, Googled, "Travelocity green hotels," you get guided to an interior page not even listed in the site navigation for "Green Hotels." http://www.travelocity.com/sitemap

The Travelocity Green page http://www.travelocity.com/c/content/site/en/TRAVELOCITY/public-relations/microsite/travel-for-good/travel-for-good.html  is a confusing site page loaded with PR jargon and the actual listings of hotels nearly impossible to find. There is no simple procedure for booking. If this is the tool that was used; number of hits, bookings from this source etc., I am surprised they got anything to measure based on the customer interface of the tool.

The article goes on to describe how many hoteliers went on to embrace measuring carbon footprints as the second metric used. Well if you look at the portfolio of Inter-Continental Hotels Group (IHG), the lead company in the article that is mentioned, you realize that this particular hotel group is heavily invested in countries that are embarking on carbon legislation that will and does impact hotel operations. For many reporting is a legislated necessity. IHG’s site provides insight into their carbon initiatives. http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=741 The US is also an active participant in the carbon reporting dialogue. Carbon measuring for the international hotelier is a standard practice for conducting international business.

Reviewing this concept from the consumer perspective, this is currently a pretty confusing concept. Ask anybody if they are trading or calculating their carbons and you will see a blank stare much like the deer on the side of the road. To most consumers, it does not mean a thing. Carbon trading goes far beyond and is in left field when describing to the consumer "Eco -Friendly" and potentially a reason for booking a hotel room.

So the metrics for measuring eco-friendly consumer spending behavior missed the mark. The metric failed as a measurement for consumer habits. So does that mean that the customer doesn't care or value green? I think Danny King's article would like us to believe that. "Eco-friendly is not a factor in filling hotel rooms" I question the definition, measurement and context of his statement.

It is interesting that the article completely leaves out the TA program. Understandably, the TA program was not in existence when the study was done. The author chose to use only the data from the Cornell study. The TA program is the game changer for the industry. TA reported in 9/13 that it had doubled its participation and had become in less than 9 months the largest certification program.  The first report on the Cornell Study was publicly issued one month after TA’s progress report.  And this article is published  a mere two months after the TA data. Certifications and green programs are without a doubt rattled by TA's game changer.

What is intriguing, and I believe significant about this article and gleaned from the report, is what was used to measure eco-friendly customer value engagement.  Dr Chong and Dr. Verma, authors of the study, in their executive summary succinctly state, “While this study doesn't address the situation of any individual hotel, we can conclude that going green is compatible with existing quality standards of hotel service…”

Therefore I pose the question, is eco-friendly as it was defined for the last 10 years as, the initial steps that a hotel took to “Go Green,” now viewed by the customer  as standard, norms? Are these standards of service which we initially thought of as green standards now “existing quality standards of hotel service?” A norm then becomes hard to measure as a factor to measure purchasing habits since it is assumed. I would argue that it is this metric and the definition that has changed and consequently changing the consumer’s attitude towards the value of eco-friendly.    

Energy Conservation, water savers, sheet and towel programs and recycling are all now just considered a part of normal quality standards of hotel service. I draw the analogy of the customer who asks the front desk for a toothbrush that he/she forgot to pack. Would the front desk employee even think to say, “Oh we don't have a toothbrush, we don't do that?”  Well, that's where we are with Eco-Friendly.  

Consequently how the customer views eco-green/eco-friendliness has changed.  How the customer rates the hotel for green has changed.  If you take a moment to study how TA has listed Green Practices, Energy etc. under its Green Certification lexicon, you will see how those attitudes have changed. To enter into the program as a Green Partner (Base 1 Level), it's not enough to have energy efficient bulbs, that's a given. What you need to do in order to enter as a Green Partner is track energy use for a minimum of one year. The language for the consumer in TA's public green face is much more evolved than the standard of 5 years ago. The customer is smarter, knows more, expects more and gets it. If they choose to engage, they can respond based on the customer experience and a metric which rates a hotel on basic green standards and their practices that are above and beyond the norm. And hopefully an employee, having been required to take Green Team Training can engage in dialogue with the curious customer about the hotel's practices. 

So as a customer, we no longer look at or reward a hotel for doing the basics, the givens. On the other hand, do we really decide if we are going to stay at your hotel if you measure your carbons?  The question remains. Will hoteliers read this article, go about business as usual and not really look below the title as to the true significance of the article? The executive summary of the research paper states, “…advertising green status doesn’t hurt a hotel’s revenues. Earning a green certification does not automatically result in a large revenue bump nor a revenue fall. In short, green is not a “silver bullet” strategy. “

The game changer is to actively engage the consumer in the process.  And without a doubt in marketing we know that when you engage people in authentic stories and link their actions to responsible tourism, the consumer finds it more appealing and fulfilling, the sweet spot of added value.

Linking authenticity and responsibility are powerful marketing tools. Linking your green practices to your regional stewardship of the environment brings a whole other dimension to the green / eco-friendly commitment both for the consumer and the hotelier. Our drums need to march in the same parade. It's not about just a towel or a bulb, it's also about how our actions and spending habits impact where we live and play. Our job is to create those linkages. Our definitions and understanding of eco-friendly are changing and in a sustainable direction for all.  It just requires defining and measuring accurately in order to tell the story with authenticity.

Congratulations to the Green Concierge Participants

Left to Right / Top to Bottom
10,000 Waves, La Fonda, Hotel Santa Fe, The Sage Inn
The Inn of the Governors, La Posada de Santa Fe, Casa Cuma B&B,
Old Santa Fe Inn, The Eldorado Hotel & Spa, Inn at Santa Fe
Inn on the Alameda, Inn of the Five Graces, Silver Saddle Motel

On October 15th, thirteen properties of Santa Fe received notification from HospitalityGreen (HG) that they had passed the requirements of Phase 1 of the Green Concierge Certification® program. In early October a site audit was conducted at each of the properties.

Each property met the initial requirements of the Phase 1. For completing Phase One, the property was issued by HG a report card on the status of their certification, a Green Page stating their commitments and validation of their green initiatives and permission to use the HG icon. The Green Page along with the HG icon can be placed on their websites and available for customers and employees to read.

In order to meet the first tier, the bronze level, of the Green Concierge Certification® each property must undergo the site audit, meet multiple standards and provide resource usage for a minimum of six months. Each property will need to meet the bronze requirements on or before January 31, 2014 in order to be certified by HG this year.

  

Evadne Giannini, founder of HospitalityGreen spoke at the Green Lodging Initiatives Working Group local partners meeting. She said, “Each of these properties is totally unique. Many are privately owned and have been established for generations in Santa Fe. Their understanding and appreciation for both the culture and the environment is revealed throughout.

It is most rewarding to be working with some of the oldest hotels in the country and to see that, yes, from Route 66 original motels to historic luxury properties green practices can be implemented and achieve extraordinary results.

It is much easier to implement sustainable initiatives on newer properties. It takes creativity, resourcefulness and a dedication to achieve this level of results on older properties.  These properties should be recognized as leaders in the industry. Over the next few months, we look forward to publishing more information on each of them.”  

Felicity Broennan, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Watershed Association said, “It is our intention that the guests of Santa Fe will recognize our individual lodger’s commitments to sustainability and participate in the conservation of the precious resources available to us here in Santa Fe.”  

The Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative is a public-private sector collaboration spearheaded by the SFWA and funded by a $49,700 grant awarded to the Watershed Association by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The SFWA contracted HospitalityGreenLLC to provide training, one-on-one technical assistance, and to implement the Green Concierge Certification® to the lodging providers of Santa Fe.  It is the intention of the program to work with the Santa Fe partners to help brand Santa Fe as an eco-tourist destination.

For more information on the Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative: 

Contact

Adrianne Picciano, Project Coordinator

HospitalityGreen

Tel: (845)-436-6173

Email: a.picciano@hospitalitygreen.com

www.hospitalitygreen.com

Group finds cutting waste yields savings

Program targets resorts' use

Evadne Giannini’s company, Hospitality Green, helps businesses save money by being environmentally friendly, such as going through the recyclables at the Villa Roma Resort to help the hotel reduce its waste.DOMINICK FIORILLE/ Times Herald-Record

By Leonard Sparks

Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 08/31/13

MOUNTAINDALE — Villa Roma maintenance Manager Bill Andrews parked a passenger van in the resort's Dumpster yard and Evadne Giannini got out and began inspecting clear bags filled with money.

Inside were bottles and cans collected as part of a recycling program expected to save Villa Roma more than $100,000 this year. Giannini was checking the purity of the program, which was launched with the aid of Mountaindale-based business Hospitality Green. She peered into bags to ensure they were free of other waste.

"This is money for them," said Giannini, the company's principal.

Reducing waste to yield savings for hotel and other clients, and showing how "green" products can protect employees and guests, is a growth industry for Hospitality Green as businesses pursue savings and travelers prioritize hotels using sustainable practices.

Giannini and her contract employees can be found looking through Dumpsters and trash bags, following trash haulers around and checking supply closets to see where clients can reduce waste and replace hazardous chemicals.

"We have to get under the hood," Giannini said.

Zero waste is the goal for Hospitality Green, whose local clients includes SUNY Sullivan and The Sullivan hotel.

To achieve that, the company recruits all levels of a business' operations, from maintenance and cleaning staff to supply purchasers and food service workers.

The benefit of junking incandescent bulbs in favor of longer-lasting CFLs and LEDs, thereby saving on replacement costs, is part of the mix.

So are composting and recycling, which can save on Dumpster and landfill costs, and green cleaning products, which can reduce worker health costs and appeal to guests sensitive to the odor of some chemicals.

Convincing all employees to buy in to sustainable practices is the key, Giannini said.

"Our job is to figure out a way to bring this rather complicated information to people where they can understand they can make a difference," she said.

One client, Dover Downs, saved about $250,000 on its landfill bill by diverting recyclables from its trash stream, Giannini said. Villa Roma expects to save significant amounts on the single-stream recycling program launched in June.

"A lot of people have the belief that going green is a lot of money," said Bill Andrews, the resort's maintenance manager. "But the overall savings, there's no comparison."

Villa Roma eliminated three Dumpsters and cut back on the frequency of pickups, which cost $150 per pickup plus $70 for each ton of trash.

Andrews predicts the savings may double next year.

"Not only is it great for the hotel, it's great for the environment," he said.

lsparks@th-record.com 

The Weight of Water Part 2: Desert Droughts & Deluges

Storm Descending

Turn on almost any faucet in Santa Fe and clear, clean free-flowing water will come out. This is a miracle. Where I live, just 20 miles south, water doesn’t come as easily. My house has no water source – no water lines, no well – other than rainwater from the sky.  It rains less than a foot a year in this part of New Mexico, most of it in the summer months, and on more than one occasion, I have turned on the tap and had nothing come out.

It’s true what they say: there is no shortage of water in the desert, but exactly the right amount. Living off rainwater in the desert takes vision: you have to be able to see past dryness to the deluge so when rain does come, often in the form of a sudden, biblical downpour, you are ready to collect as much rainwater as possible.

Floods are as much a part of this place as drought. As dry as the desert appears much of the year, its shape is dominated by the running of water. Since it’s dry most of the time, the soil doesn't seem to know what to do with water when it does come and storm scars cut deep and last for years.

Horses crossing an arroyo

Arroyos are the great gutters of this desert: rivulets lead to small gullies and then larger ones, which empty into the deep arroyos that, a few times a year, I’m told, flow in white caps down to the Galisteo River. Knowing the arroyos as deep, dry scars, I found it hard to fathom them full of water, until I witnessed an August flash flood.

One minute it was sunny, then it was a bit overcast, then rain was coming down in buckets. Rain is rare enough here to warrant stopping what you're doing to go watch it from the porch. But this time my porch was already soaked. This storm was something different. The rain was falling sideways and upside down, the wind-driven drops pelting so hard that when they hit they bounced back up towards the sky.

Squinting through the downpour, I saw a rushing, chocolate brown river raging across my driveway. This was the storm I had been waiting to see! I pulled on my water shoes and grabbed my camera and ran out into the rain. The driveway river was running fast and high enough that I would not attempt to drive across it. I turned upstream and plunged into the knee-deep fast running water without bothering to roll up my pant legs. Pants be damned; I had a waterfall to see!

I sloshed upstream, towards the spot I'd always planned on heading in the event of a storm like this: a spillway of red sandstone evidently sculpted by past floods less than a quarter mile from my house. The violent current was knee deep and frothy brown, like a melted chocolate shake – the good kind, thick with cream – and nearly as cold. 

Following the roaring, sloshing river between the high arroyo banks, water borne debris – sticks and rocks and I hoped not rattlesnakes– pelted my submerged feet and wrapped around my legs and I was glad for the long pants, though they were soaked and filthy. I rounded a few bends in the river and arrived to an incredible scene: raging water had transformed the usually dusty dry place and save for the familiar rocks crowning the falls, I hardly recognized it.

Rain was pouring, thunder was rumbling, lightning was clapping and the waterfall was glorious, falling like rushing chocolate and churning madly at my feet. A flood in the desert! I had to see it to believe it.

 In a one-inch rainstorm, a thousand square foot roof will catch 650 gallons of water. In that one spectacular summer storm – which loosed more rain than in the previous nine months combined – my roof collected enough water to last me through most of the winter. And that’s not even as wet as it gets out here. Heading west from my house across BLM land, I can hike to the Galisteo Dam, a massive flood control dam built in 1965 to hold back 100-year floods. As far as I know, they've never come, but there’s still time.

Standing at the top, on the edge of the dam, among bright red and pure white sandstone slabs – the red dotted with chartreuse lichen, the white decorated with delicate fossils of frozen grass – I finally saw the need for the dam: the land below is rippled by giant flood waves.

Only from this vantage, high above the desert, could I begin to grasp the vast expanse of time preserved here. Millions of years ago, this landscape was underwater, drowned beneath an inland shallow sea. Much later the Cerrillos Hills and Ortiz Mountains littered the ground with glittering shards of volcanic rock.

Cerrillos Hills Summit

 This desert is made up of millions of years of these layers, layers of Earth, layers of life. Studying these layers from the top of the dam, our own layer of Earth, the uppermost crust we live upon, love upon, ransack and pollute upon, becomes ever so humbly thin.

The rains will always come again, but there’s no telling when. In our lifetimes the deserts are desertifying: trending drier and drier, with longer and longer waits between deluges. How dry is too dry? How long is too long? Better to learn the weight of water, before those miraculously free flowing taps run dry.

About The Author

Mary Caperton Morton is a freelance writer, photographer and professional housesitter who makes her home on the back roads of rural North America, living and working out of a solar-powered Teardrop camper. When she’s not at the wheel or the keyboard, she can be found outside, hiking, climbing mountains and taking photographs. Follow her travels at www.theblondecoyote.com 

The Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative receives the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Green Economic Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative receives the Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Green Economic Development 

Santa Fe, New Mexico - April 27, 2013 - Felicity Broennan of the Santa Fe Watershed Association, spear heading the public-private sector collaboration called the Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative, received today the 2013 Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Green Economic Development at the Eldorado Hotel, located at 309 W. San Francisco Street in Santa Fe. The 2013 Sustainable Santa Fe Awards are sponsored by the City’s Sustainable Santa Fe Commission, Earth Care NM, Green Fire Times, and the Green Chamber of Commerce. 

Santa Fe hosts more than one million tourists every year. While tourism is an important part of the Santa Fe economy, tourism puts considerable pressure on the environmental resources of the city. In 2012, The Santa Fe Watershed Association (SFWA) was awarded an 18 month grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to partner with the City, lodging associations and providers to develop Santa Fe’s Green Lodging Initiative. The initiative was undertaken to generate economic development and to work with lodging providers to help conserve water and reduce chemical pollutants entering the Santa Fe watershed. 

SFWA contracted HospitalityGreen LLC, founder of the nationally-recognized Green Concierge Certification® program, to provide Santa Fe lodging providers training, coaching, and individualized technical assistance that leads to third-party green certification. 

HospitalityGreen LLC’s work in the Catskills resulted in measured environmental and financial outcomes. Participating businesses diverted at least 2,640 tons of waste and increased occupancy in 2011 by 20 – 25%. Certifying over 20 properties helped legitimately brand the Catskills as a green destination resulting in increased tourism and local jobs.  Similar results are expected from the Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative.

The Santa Fe Green Lodging  Initiative was launched in November 2012 and fourteen Santa Fe properties representing  B&Bs, hotels, inns, motels, and resorts qualified for participation including:  La Fonda on the Plaza, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa, Old Santa Fe Inn, Inn on the Alameda, Silver Saddle Motel, Eldorado Hotel and Spa, Santa Fe Sage Inn, Hotel Santa Fe, Inn of the Governors, Ten Thousand Waves, Inn at Santa Fe, Inn of the Five Graces, Fort Marcy Suites, and Casa Cuma Bed and Breakfast.  

By adopting streamlined sustainable practices, these lodging providers will save money, upgrade their facility to meet growing market expectations, and increase their competitive advantage in an expanding green hospitality marketplace. 
 

Evadne Giannini, Founder and CEO of HospitalityGreen LLC, said “We are honored to be working with this exciting public-private partnership and to be awarded the 2013 Sustainable Santa Fe Award for Green Economic Development.

  

The Santa Fe Watershed Association (SFWA) www.santafewatershed.org  builds vibrant, resilient ecosystems within the Santa Fe River Watershed using a holistic approach of restoration, education, stewardship, and advocacy.  

Santa Fe Green Lodging Initiative’s growing directory of local partners includes: Santa Fe Watershed Association, Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Santa Fe Environmental Services Division, New Mexico Lodging Association, Santa Fe Lodgers Association, Santa Fe Community College, New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, Santa Fe Chapter, Inn of the Governors, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa, and the Inn and Spa at Loretto. 

HospitalityGreen LLC, www.hospitalitygreen.com is a New York based consulting firm specializing in environmental and operations consulting services. HospitalityGreen partners with service-based and product-based clients throughout the hospitality, manufacturing and institutional healthcare industries, to implement sustainable business practices.   We provide services for our client not to them. Our goal is to create for our client’s environmental capital one facility at a time.

For more information on HospitalityGreen and the Green Concierge Certification™, visit www.hospitalitygreen.com or call (845) 436-6173.

CONTACT

Adrianne Picciano, Project Coordinator

HospitalityGreen

Tel: (845) 436-6173

Email:  a.picciano@hospitalitygreen.com

Website: www.hospitalitygreen.com