The headquarters of three major hotel chains, Hilton, Marriott, and Wyndham, are all going green!
Hilton, who recently relocated its headquarters from Beverly Hills, California, to McLean, Virginia (the same neighborhood as Cvent HQ!), occupies an LEED Gold-certified building owned by B.F. Saul Real Estate Investment Trust. A reflective roof, sustainable wood in doors and lobby millwork, high energy efficient windows, and low-flow plumbing fixtures are among the features helping to make Hilton's home base eco-friendly, according to Green Lodging News.
Marriott is working to obtain LEED rating for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance for its offices in Bethesda, Maryland. Its efforts include shifting to biodegradable disposable containers in the cafeteria (and eventually to all permanent-ware), utilizing energy efficient lighting, and enforcing a building-wide program that sends appropriate wastes to a compost farm as opposed to a landfill.
Wyndham, meanwhile, opened its headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, and expects to achieve LEED Silver certification by early 2010. A reflective roof, energy efficient lighting, low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) paint, carpeting and furniture, and zoned heating and cooling systems are among the measures helping Wyndham go green. Employees can also take advantage of a on-site gym, green dry cleaner, credit union, cafe, cafeteria and gift shop with groceries like milk and eggs so that they don't have to drive as much.
In addition to helping the environment, the three hotels have found that their green initiatives are saving money and boosting morale. Faith Taylor, vice president of sustainability and innovation for Wyndham Worldwide, told GLN that the new amenities and working in a healthy building have boosted morale; Wyndham's even seeing a 10 percent to 30 percent improvement in efficiency at its HQ.
At Marriott, the eco-friendly efforts are saving thousands of dollars. Energy efficient lighting has resulted in $155,000 in electricity savings, while eliminating disposables in the cafeteria will likely save $65,000 over the next three years.
Saving the environment and saving money—sounds familiar, right? If you want to follow in the footsteps of these hotels, get a refresher on green meetings by looking through some of these earlier posts:
• Go Green, Save Green by Posting Your Event Document Library Online
• Green Your Meeting Space
• Avoid Meeting Mistakes: Incorporate Green Practices to Your Events
Hilton, who recently relocated its headquarters from Beverly Hills, California, to McLean, Virginia (the same neighborhood as Cvent HQ!), occupies an LEED Gold-certified building owned by B.F. Saul Real Estate Investment Trust. A reflective roof, sustainable wood in doors and lobby millwork, high energy efficient windows, and low-flow plumbing fixtures are among the features helping to make Hilton's home base eco-friendly, according to Green Lodging News.
Marriott is working to obtain LEED rating for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance for its offices in Bethesda, Maryland. Its efforts include shifting to biodegradable disposable containers in the cafeteria (and eventually to all permanent-ware), utilizing energy efficient lighting, and enforcing a building-wide program that sends appropriate wastes to a compost farm as opposed to a landfill.
Wyndham, meanwhile, opened its headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, and expects to achieve LEED Silver certification by early 2010. A reflective roof, energy efficient lighting, low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) paint, carpeting and furniture, and zoned heating and cooling systems are among the measures helping Wyndham go green. Employees can also take advantage of a on-site gym, green dry cleaner, credit union, cafe, cafeteria and gift shop with groceries like milk and eggs so that they don't have to drive as much.
In addition to helping the environment, the three hotels have found that their green initiatives are saving money and boosting morale. Faith Taylor, vice president of sustainability and innovation for Wyndham Worldwide, told GLN that the new amenities and working in a healthy building have boosted morale; Wyndham's even seeing a 10 percent to 30 percent improvement in efficiency at its HQ.
At Marriott, the eco-friendly efforts are saving thousands of dollars. Energy efficient lighting has resulted in $155,000 in electricity savings, while eliminating disposables in the cafeteria will likely save $65,000 over the next three years.
Saving the environment and saving money—sounds familiar, right? If you want to follow in the footsteps of these hotels, get a refresher on green meetings by looking through some of these earlier posts:
• Go Green, Save Green by Posting Your Event Document Library Online
• Green Your Meeting Space
• Avoid Meeting Mistakes: Incorporate Green Practices to Your Events
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