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Hyatt Regency Denver Heads Down Path Toward Sustainability

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DENVER—The Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center has begun to implement a comprehensive sustainability program designed to minimize the hotel’s overall carbon footprint and decrease its environmental impact.

“Sparked by the passion of our staff and our customers, and Hyatt’s desire to be a part of the solution, we felt compelled to develop and implement long-term sustainability programs that would have lasting, positive results,” commented John Schafer, general manager of Hyatt Regency Denver. “Living in Colorado and waking up to one of the most magnificent views every day is a constant reminder of our connection to the natural world. At Hyatt, we want to be proactive leader within our industry to ensure that we are making good choices with positive impacts for future generations.”

Hyatt’s program focuses on water savings, energy savings, waste reduction/recycling, and staff environmental education. The following are some of the steps the hotel has taken to reduce its water consumption:

• Installed guestroom low flow plumbing fixtures including toilets (1.4 gallon tanks), faucets (rated 1.5 gallons per minute), and showerheads (rated 2.5 gallons per minute);

• Converted automatic hand sinks and urinals in public restrooms to low flow units;

• Implemented a climate-appropriate landscape design with a water efficient irrigation system;
• Established policy that housekeeping only changes bed linens at the request of the customer and when rooms are newly occupied; and

• Serve water by request only in banquets.

In 2007, the hotel had an annual consumption of 45 million gallons of water, and without these implemented features would likely have seen an increase of 10 percent of the annual water consumption.

Reducing its Carbon Footprint

The following are some of the steps the hotel has taken to reduce its energy consumption:

• Installed a hydronic plate cooling system that utilizes outside air to cool the hotel when temperature variations allow;

• Converted 95 percent of the hotel’s light bulbs to energy saving fluorescent bulbs;

• Reclamation of heat from laundry waste water to preheat incoming cold water; and

• Whenever possible, chefs use locally grown produce.

Based on the use of compact fluorescents as opposed to incandescent light bulbs in the 1,100 guestrooms, the hotel has realized a savings of 1,171,207.62 kilowatt-hours per year, which reflects a 6.5 percent savings in annual consumption.

Reducing Landfill Waste and Recycling

The following are some of the steps the hotel has taken to reduce waste:

• Placed newspaper racks on each guest floor as opposed to individual room delivery;

• Is the first hotel in Denver to use a Waste Management single stream recycling compactor;

• Placed recycling bins in all guestrooms (1,100), and placed tandem trash/recycling bins with informational signage in all public areas;

• Implemented a recycling program and tandem trash/recycling bins for staff and restaurant; and

• Converted “to go” containers to biodegradable containers.

As a result, Hyatt has reduced an estimated 25 percent of its landfill waste, and continues to monitor its business practices for avenues for additional waste reduction methods.

Staff Education

Additionally, Hyatt has invested resources into creating a culture of environmental awareness and education of its staff by creating an active Green Committee of employees from various operations and executive departments. The committee of individuals serves as environmental ambassadors providing leadership, driving change, and increasing awareness on multiple environmental issues within the workplace and beyond. Not only does the Hyatt Green Committee develop and implement change initiatives at work, but each member looks for ways to educate fellow associates. For example, in celebration of Earth Week 2008, the committee provided fluorescent light bulbs and environmental educational information to employees for their use at home.

Hyatt has also hosted internal meetings specifically to educate staff on the hotel’s sustainability efforts; brought in industry experts, such as Waste Management, for internal trainings; and provided environmental, educational and technical materials in several languages such as Spanish and Russian.

Hyatt has already seen positive results from all of its initiatives, and plans to apply for a Green Seal Certification by the end of 2008. If successful, the Hyatt Regency Denver will become the first Green Seal certified hotel in Colorado.

Go to the Hyatt Regency Denver.

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