Tourism can boost GDP and is often not at all eco-friendly but Cape Town's Hotel Verde bucks that trend by being carbon-neutral
Five years ago its visionary owner, Italian-born Mario Delicio had the 145 room building constructed with double glazing, an array of solar panels, super-efficient HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and a grey-water system that saves thousands of litres of water daily. The investment was high, but the groundwork was laid, and the green dividends are lasting.
Procurement is also an awareness raising opportunity, ‘We try to source everything within a 160km radius, not exceeding 800km and every item from a coffee sachet upwards is scrutinised for its recyclability.’ The result is that suppliers are having to think greener too.
Incentivising and education is not confined to the staff and suppliers. Guests can earn ‘Verdinos’ – redeemable tokens worth R5 - in exchange for using stairs instead of the lift, reusing towels, foregoing aircon etc. There are fun initiatives like low lit Earth Hour at Nuovo the restaurant, a work-out in the gym on a treadmill that produces energy, a jogging track around the wetland garden and landscaped eco-pool. And corporates can score carbon credits for their sustainability reports by using green conference facilities in one of the eight venues available.
A guest can read them or leave them, but there are strategically placed notices on the hotels green strategies, in the lobby, a monitor gives the big picture on water, waste and energy and there’s a chalkboard showing the hotels monthly water savings which makes everyone in the drought-stricken Cape feel good. So not only is the hotel itself doing its bit to preserve and protect natural resources, it is also spreading the word – amongst locals and internationals as well as the broader hospitality community.
It’s not for no reason that Hotel Verde has been double Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified for both design and operation by the US Green Building Council and 6-star rated by the GBCSA, Green Building Council of South Africa.
See www.verdehotels.com/capetown/b…
#ecotourism #hotelverde
source https://squeet.me/display/962c3e10-125c-cb22-422d-731567513577
Procurement is also an awareness raising opportunity, ‘We try to source everything within a 160km radius, not exceeding 800km and every item from a coffee sachet upwards is scrutinised for its recyclability.’ The result is that suppliers are having to think greener too.
Incentivising and education is not confined to the staff and suppliers. Guests can earn ‘Verdinos’ – redeemable tokens worth R5 - in exchange for using stairs instead of the lift, reusing towels, foregoing aircon etc. There are fun initiatives like low lit Earth Hour at Nuovo the restaurant, a work-out in the gym on a treadmill that produces energy, a jogging track around the wetland garden and landscaped eco-pool. And corporates can score carbon credits for their sustainability reports by using green conference facilities in one of the eight venues available.
A guest can read them or leave them, but there are strategically placed notices on the hotels green strategies, in the lobby, a monitor gives the big picture on water, waste and energy and there’s a chalkboard showing the hotels monthly water savings which makes everyone in the drought-stricken Cape feel good. So not only is the hotel itself doing its bit to preserve and protect natural resources, it is also spreading the word – amongst locals and internationals as well as the broader hospitality community.
It’s not for no reason that Hotel Verde has been double Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified for both design and operation by the US Green Building Council and 6-star rated by the GBCSA, Green Building Council of South Africa.
See www.verdehotels.com/capetown/b…
#ecotourism #hotelverde
source https://squeet.me/display/962c3e10-125c-cb22-422d-731567513577
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