We're Thinking Green this St. Patty's Day, Are You

We've definitely been thinking 'Green' lately. Not necessarily in regards to St. Patrick's Day - but in regards to conservation and our impact on the environment here in the Denver area. As you know, we've been under a major renovation and have been looking for ways to be more 'green'. Here are some of our recent conservation efforts:

• Recycling program: including cardboard, aluminum glass, paper, plastic, ink cartridges
• Using recycled glass, paper, plastic products as a standard
• 'Conserving for tomorrow' linen and towel use - asking guests to reuse their towels and linens rather than daily washing to reduce water consumption
• Energy Efficient Lighting: we have replaced 2000 light bulbs with higher efficiency lighting. Every exit sign in the building was replaced with a LED model rather than neon (85% more energy efficient); our Holiday Inn sign will also be LED. Our guestrooms have a LED nightlights so that our guests can find their way to the bathroom at night, without leaving the bathroom lights on all night. (AHLA studies show that a tremendous percentage of guests do leave the lights on at night when staying in hotels)
• Equipment - we just installed a new 300g washing machine that uses less water and requires significantly shorter drying time than any comparable machine on the market
• Any new appliance we purchase must be Energy Star rated.
• Occupancy sensors: we've begun installing 'back of the house' occupancy sensors to automatically turn lights out when a room is entered and turn them off when the space is unused.
• Low flow shower-heads - our low-flow shower heads are more energy efficient, yet still give good water pressure for the guests shower
• Low Flow toilets - we have begun replacing existing toilets with low-flow toilets, starting with public areas and looking to move into guestrooms
• During our renovation, we have gone to extraordinary measures to keep the items being replaced out of the waste stream by donating them whenever possible. We contact metal recyclers anytime we dispose of metal products that can be recycles.
• Kitchen - we even recycle the grease used in the kitchen - it's turned into biodiesel fuel.
• We are negotiating with our food vendors to deliver the same amount of product in half the number of trips to the hotel.
• All serving utensils and banquet/restaurant napkins and tablecloths are reusable.
• We use pitchers of water rather than bottled water for banquet events
• Ozone System - we are studying the possibility of installing an ozone system in the commercial laundry that will significantly reduce water and gas consumption.
• ERV System: We are evaluating an ERV system for the kitchen exhaust and the guest room exhaust system.
• Training - we have implemented ongoing training for employees on 'being green'

So this St. Patty's day -- in addition to WEARING green, start THINKING green -- what can you do to be a little friendlier to the environment, whether or not you live in Denver, Colorado.

Find out more about our Holiday Inn Denver by visiting our website.