TORONTO—Delta Hotels and Resorts, Canada’s largest independent hotel chain, today announced the launch of Delta Greens, an environmental sustainability program. Delta’s commitment is chain-wide—every one of its more than 8,000 employees at its 46 properties is tasked with changing the way they work in order to reach the targets set out in the program. What’s more, Delta will track the chain’s progress against targets online, so that Canadians can follow Delta’s progress in achieving its goals.
Delta Greens touches on every aspect of the hotel business—from guest services to construction to how Delta operates and maintains its properties to how it works with its suppliers and engages with employees. Under the program, all hotels in the chain will commit to decreasing their energy consumption, carbon emissions and water consumption by 30 percent within five years, as well as increasing waste diversion by 25 percent.
• The positive impact on the environment as a result of the program will be significant:
• The energy saved will be enough to power 21,000 homes for one year.
• The carbon dioxide reduced will be equivalent to taking 15,000 cars off the road for one year.
• The water saved will fill 900 Olympic swimming pools.
• The waste reduced will fill 500 dumpster trucks.
• The waste diverted will mean 140 fewer dumpster trucks going to landfill sites.
Radical Shift in Business Operations
“Delta Greens is nothing short of a revolution in how we approach our business,” explained Hank Stackhouse, president and CEO, Delta Hotels and Resorts. “We have examined every aspect of our operations and asked ourselves, ‘How could we do this more sustainably?’ We’ve started implementing these changes, both big and small, and hope that our employees and guests feel proud of the commitment we are all making to Canadian communities and to the planet.”
Delta is also committing to sharing its journey towards increased sustainability with the public—via the “IRIS,” an interactive tracking tool that stands for Integrated Rating Indicator for Sustainability. Delta’s IRIS will be posted prominently on the company’s website and updated three times a year in collaboration with Loop Initiatives, the sustainability integration and measurement consultancy that helped develop Delta Greens.
“Transparency is a critical part of this process,” Stackhouse says. “That’s why we’re inviting Canadians to follow our progress as we work towards achieving these ambitious targets.”
For more information please visit www.deltahotels.com/greens.
