Hospitality Design - September 2023 - 41

A mountain view from Songtsam Linka Retreat Lake Basong Tao
in Tibet's Jibe village, featuring a design by Studio Qi Architects
spans most of its locations, has enabled it to
reprocess soap into more than 2.3 million
bars that have been donated to those in need,
diverting more than 211,000 pounds from
landfills in 2022. " The most [effective] projects
reduce our environmental impact while
improving the guest experience and providing
real value to our owners, " says Jean Garris
Hand, Hilton's global vice president of ESG.
" Hilton's partnership with Clean the World is
an excellent example of the positive impact you
can make when you align these goals. "
Ownership company Highgate-which
reported that more than 200 of its properties
are powered by 100 percent renewable energy,
amongst many other sustainability-focused
accomplishments, in its 2022 ESG report-
found success when it began evaluating
contractors' waste-reduction plans as part of
its project selection criteria. According to Paul
McElroy, Highgate's executive vice president
of design, " Whenever these practices get
embedded early, it doesn't have to cost more
money. It's a different way of thinking. "
During one recent renovation at a 600-pluskey
hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii, Highgate opted to
reupholster and refinish the existing furniture,
keeping several tons of material out of landfills
and shrinking the project's carbon footprint.
But it was not without some logistical challenges,
McElroy says, as " we had to think about getting
skilled craftspeople into the hotel and have them
be able to keep up with the project schedule. "
Envisioning a net-zero future
For many of the hospitality companies striving to
minimize their footprint on the planet, the ultimate
sustainability goal is achieving net-zero emissions
by preventing or offsetting all the carbon their
operations release into the atmosphere.
Drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions
in line with climate science is central to the
Journey to Tomorrow sustainable business plan
IHG launched in 2021. The hotel group's first
net-zero property, the 142-key voco Zeal Exeter
Science Park is set to open in Exeter, UK in 2024.
Developed by Zeal Hotels, the building is designed
to maximize passive heating and cooling and will
source most of its electricity from solar panels
located on the roof and the south, east, and west
exterior walls.
IHG also numbers among the leading hotel
groups that have purchased Renewable Energy
Certificates-essentially the rights to a certain
amount of renewable electricity, similar to a carbon
offset built into the electric grid-to promote a
cleaner electric grid and help shrink their own
emissions. " This offering is just one of the many
ways we're driving progress toward IHG's
sustainability commitments, " says Townsend
Bailey, the company's head of corporate
responsibility, Americas, " which include
reducing our energy use and carbon emissions in
line with climate science. "
Since 2021, Marriott, Hilton, and Accor-
all well on their way to meeting their initial
sustainability targets-have upped their
standards and formalized their plans to hit net
zero by 2050. They have also taken tangible steps
toward their new, loftier goals.
Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection
by Hilton, is a reimagination of the Marcel
Breuer Brutalist Pirelli building in Connecticut
by local architecture firm Becker + Becker, with
interiors by New York studio Dutch East Design.
Having opened as Hilton's anticipated first
net-zero property last year, the 165-room hotel
received its LEED Platinum certification this
April, raising the bar for future carbon-conscious
projects nationwide. If it continues to stay under
its emissions limits, as the data collected so far
suggests it will, Hotel Marcel will soon establish
itself as the anticipated first net-zero hotel in the
country. " Hotel Marcel is a great example of what
is possible for the future of sustainable travel, "
Hilton's Garris Hand says.
" Through our relationship with our hotel
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