Home Energy Management White House Message: ENERGY STAR Not Worth Saving

White House Message: ENERGY STAR Not Worth Saving

2235
0
SHARE
Glenn Hasek

In this column I have purposely dodged politics over the years but reports this week about the elimination of the ENERGY STAR program require comment here. In case you missed it, according to The Washington Post and other sources, a new White House proposal would kill the highly successful ENERGY STAR program. Hoteliers of all political parties should be concerned about this possibility. The ENERGY STAR is clearly a program worth fighting for.

According to Kateri Callahan, President of the Alliance to Save Energy, “ENERGY STAR is a hugely successful program—the most successful public-private partnership we’ve ever had, with more than 16,000 companies and organizations participating. To pull the rug out from under it is just beyond short-sighted. ENERGY STAR is giving American consumers literally billions of dollars in savings on energy bills while significantly cutting pollution. It’s sparking innovation in electronics, appliances, and building construction. It is an incredible success story that should be celebrated, not cast aside.”

Is ENERGY STAR expensive? Certainly not. Energy Star spends about $50 million through the EPA and $7 million through the Department of Energy, one report says. Since its inception, according to ENERGY STAR, it has saved consumers an estimated $430 billion on utility bills and avoided 2.7 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. An outstanding return on investment!

Portfolio Manager Used by Many

There are currently 29,882 ENERGY STAR certified buildings and plants, 515 of which are hotels. According to ENERGY STAR, 40 percent of U.S. commercial building space is already benchmarked in its online Portfolio Manager. Portfolio Manager is the tool of choice among cities such as New York, Seattle, and Boston that have passed mandatory benchmarking laws. Portfolio Manager is used by the Canadian Government as the platform for their national energy benchmarking program for existing commercial and institutional buildings. The elimination of Portfolio Manager would be a huge loss.

At any trade show in our industry you will see the ENERGY STAR logo just about everywhere. I attended NAFEM last month and that was certainly the case. There is a long list of product types that can earn the ENERGY STAR. The program, like any other, has not been perfect over the years but it has continued to change to meet the needs of suppliers and consumers.

According to Ben Evans, Vice President of Communications at the Alliance to Save Energy, the President’s proposal is just that—a proposal. More specifics will be coming very soon. Congress will be making the final decisions. What I have learned so far is certainly alarming. Be sure to contact your representative to convey your support of the ENERGY STAR program.

I contacted AHLA and several hotel brand representatives to get comments on this news. One person declined to comment at this stage in the budgeting process. A public relations representative for one major chain said I was the first to call about this topic. If I am able to get anyone to comment, I will share it on Green Lodging News. Will AHLA help fight to keep ENERGY STAR? A good question. Stay tuned…

Green Lodging News Adds Travelife as Trends Report Supporter

Green Lodging News welcomes Travelife as a supporter of the Green Lodging Trends Report. The Green Lodging Trends Report is the lodging industry’s annual exercise to assess and catalyze green innovation, best practices, and awareness regarding the state of sustainability across hotels worldwide. This year’s Green Lodging Trends Report will summarize the results of a second annual survey produced by Green Lodging News and Greenview.

Travelife is an internationally recognized sustainability certification scheme. It has been developed by the travel industry for the travel industry. Travelife is the only certification scheme to work in partnership with tour operators like TUI, Thomas Cook, DER Touristik, Virgin Holidays, Flight Centre UK and Barrhead Travel and many others—including over 50 of their travel brands, all of whom promote the adoption of Travelife by their contracted accommodations. Travelife assists hotels and accommodations in showing that they are serious about sustainability. In order to achieve the Travelife Gold certification, hotels and accommodations must submit to an independent audit every two years and meet 163 criteria.

Travelife started with around 100 hotels; currently Travelife has 1,500 member hotels in over 55 countries with 800 gaining the Travelife Gold certification. Since Travelife’s inception in 2007 the certification has grown to be recognized and used by all major European tour operators. In addition, the scope of the Travelife certification has widened; the scheme was initially based on an environmental criterion. The scheme now encompasses aspects such as: labor conditions, community integration and guest engagement. Travelife Gold helps its members globally improve their environmental, social and economic impacts. Call +44 (0) 20 3693 0160, fax +44 (0) 203 117, e-mail info@travelife.org, or go to www.travelife.org.

Earth Hour and Earth Day

Are you planning activities around Earth Hour (March 25) and/or Earth Day (April 22)? I would love to know about them. Call (813) 510-3868 or e-mail editor@greenlodgingnews.com. Nathaly Stanley, Sustainability and Certifications Manager at Bucuti and Tara Resort in Aruba, says the resort is planning on joining in on Earth Hour once more this year. “We have previously informed/educated our guests and asked them to participate by turning off their room lights and notified that we would be turning off non-essential lighting. This year we are looking to engage them a little more,” Stanley says.

How to Search on Our Website

Similar to other search engines you find online, a search using one word will produce articles with that word included. If you would like to search for something that is more than one word long—ozone laundry, for example—you will need to put quotation marks around the words or phrase. Ozone laundry would then be “ozone laundry” in the search.

Who is Your Sustainability Champion?

Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Looking for Guest Columnists

Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Planning Advertising for 2017?

Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for 2017. Many excellent spots are available on our new website, in the weekly e-mail newsletter, and Green Lodging Survey. Many Green Supplier Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2017 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. Media kits can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.

Newsletter & Green Supplier Spotlight Circulation

The circulation of our weekly e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight currently stands at 9,550. Thank you to our new subscribers for signing up. Be sure to encourage your colleagues to do the same. There are “subscribe” links on the Green Lodging News home page. You may also e-mail editor@greenlodgingnews.com to be added to our list.

Green Lodging News & Social Media

Green Lodging News now has 1,740 Twitter followers. Thank you to all of those who follow our tweets. In addition to following us on Twitter, be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also on Facebook. Be sure to “Like” us there. Green Lodging News now has 832 Facebook followers.

As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

LEAVE A REPLY