Home News & Features AH&LA Seeing ‘Major Increase’ in Sustainability Programs Being Used by Its Members

AH&LA Seeing ‘Major Increase’ in Sustainability Programs Being Used by Its Members

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—With its history going back more than 100 years, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has long been the voice and gathering place for those in the U.S. lodging industry. Recognizing the explosion in interest in sustainability over the past several years, AH&LA, under the guidance of Patrick Maher, partner, The Maher Group, has beefed up the Green Resource Center on its website and increased its participation in and leadership around industry-wide green initiatives.

“In 2011 and 2012, AH&LA saw a major increase in sustainability programs being used by members,” Maher says.

It was a little more than four years ago that AH&LA released its 11 Minimum Green Guidelines— guidelines targeting effective energy, water and waste management that have since been adopted by about 1,600 properties. One of the AH&LA’s goals for 2013 is to increase the total number of properties using the Guidelines by an additional 1,500 hotels. The Guidelines include practices such as forming an Environmental Committee and installing 1.6-gallon toilets.

Goal is to Revamp Guidelines

Maher says the guidelines will change from time to time as their industry penetration rate reaches 85 to 90 percent. The guidelines are determined by the AH&LA Green Task Force, a group of environmental point persons from a dozen large hotel companies. One of the AH&LA’s 2013 goals is to revamp the core 11 Minimum Green Guidelines and increase them to at least 15.

While the 11 Minimum Green Guidelines remain the core of what AH&LA is suggesting that hotels adopt, AH&LA currently has many other additional guidelines on its website in the areas of energy, water, and solid waste. Some of these guidelines have case studies associated with them. For example, one of the guidelines is to replace incandescent and fluorescent exit signs with LED exit signs wherever possible. Its case study details the required investment and annual savings.

The updating of the Green Guidelines is one of four levels of emphases for 2013. The others include increasing participation in Green Key Global, Energy Star, and LEED.

As part of AH&LA’s current partnership with Green Key Global, AH&LA members receive a discounted fee on the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. There are currently more than 1,500 U.S. properties Green Key certified. The AH&LA’s 2013 goal is to add an additional 500 properties.

Few Hotels Becoming Energy Star Rated

Following in the footsteps of the 11 Minimum Green Guidelines and Green Key Global, AH&LA’s next step is to encourage properties to increase their level of certification by becoming EPA Energy Star-rated. By the end of 2010, a total of 420 properties had received an Energy Star rating. AH&LA’s 2011 goal was to increase this number by 10 percent, or 42 properties. It fell short of this goal with only 29 additional properties—for a revised total of 449—receiving an Energy Star rating. AH&LA’s 2012 goal was to increase the 2011 number by 25 percent, to a total of 573 hotels.

“There are currently only 495 hotels that have received the Energy Star rating, which is again short of our goal,” Maher says. “We missed our goals because of changes in the Energy Star rating system and poor acceptance in the industry. Since that time, we have gathered all the major hospitality leaders along with the Energy Star team to work together to resolve the issues. The 2013 goal is to increase the number of Energy Star-rated properties by 10 percent.”

AH&LA’s 2013 goal is to increase the number of LEED certified properties by 25 percent. According to AH&LA, there are currently 96 LEED certified hotels.

“Our 2012 goal was a 25 percent increase, to 90 U.S. hotels,” Maher says. “We surpassed this goal.”

Long List of Other 2013 Goals

In addition to its four levels of emphases in 2013, Maher says AH&LA will aim to partner with the National Restaurant Assn. to launch a waste reduction challenge, push companies to participate in President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge, promote the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative, present four free environmental webinars to members, expand the Green Key Meeting certification program by 100 percent, and develop a checklist for green IT practices in hotels and lodging properties along with answers to frequently asked questions.

Maher says AH&LA is also collaborating with the EPA to develop a hotel directory of green certified hotels.

“It is one of the things we are trying to help them with but funding keeps getting cut,” Maher says. “We thought we would have had it in place by now. We are keeping it on the table.”

In addition, the AH&LA Green Task Force has been in discussions with GSA on specific proposals for enhancing the Fed-Rooms travel-lodging database to incorporate additional information for federal travelers and travel planners on the environmental sustainability of participating hotels.

To learn more about all of the AH&LA’s green initiatives, click here.

Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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