I had an opportunity to chat with Bennett Thomas this past week. Bennett is vice president of Finance & Sustainability for Hersha Hospitality Group. Hersha Hospitality Group has over 80 hotels totaling nearly 11,000 rooms in its portfolio. Be sure to watch for a profile of Bennett soon on the Green Lodging News website. One of the most unique things about Hersha is its environmental program called EarthView. It was officially launched a little more than a year ago but was piloted starting in 2009. The initial goal of EarthView is to reduce the carbon, water and waste impact of Hersha’s hotels that are primarily located in urban and major metro centers along the Northeast Corridor of the United States from Boston to New York City to Washington D.C. to Miami and Los Angeles.
Implementing a program like EarthView across so many properties has got to be a challenge for Bennett given that many of the brands represented in Hersha’s portfolio already have their own green programs. In addition, he told me he has already had to work his way through some brand standards to carry out his company’s green initiatives. In addition to Bennett, who has other non-EarthView responsibilities with Hersha, there is one full-time person working on EarthView.
“In our efforts to institutionalize sustainability, it is becoming a part of all of our roles,” Bennett said. “Team members are excited to be a part of it.”
Hersha is not doing anything earth shaking from a sustainability standpoint—like investing in solar, geothermal or wind. What they are doing is the little things—energy-efficient lighting, recycled materials, towel and linen programs, in-room recycling—that when added up over 80 hotels equals a huge impact.
Successful Communication Strategy
Key to the success of EarthView is communicating effectively to the Eco Leaders at each property, the general managers (not all Eco Leaders are the general managers) and the employees. There is an internal “tweet” process for managers and a green reference guide has been provided for those involved in purchasing at each property.
For sharing ideas and posting news, Hersha has created a Facebook page for EarthView. Be sure to check it out. There are videos posted, photos, and descriptions of efforts ranging from volunteerism to tree plantings. The Facebook postings demonstrate Hersha’s triple bottom line approach (people, planet, profits). Last March, Hersha announced a partnership with Clean the World. Examples of Hersha’s participation in that program are on the Facebook page.
Being relentless about implementation and education is critical to the success of EarthView, Bennett said.
“Largely, when you have over 80 hotels and [almost 11,000] rooms it is about implementation and engagement. Continuing to educate and reiterate what the message is. We try to reach out to properties as often as possible. When team members understand the core principles and mission of EarthView, they are more likely to make an even greater impact.”
Be sure to watch for the Personnel Profile article on Bennett Thomas to learn more about EarthView. And, if your company or property is successfully using Facebook to share best green practices or green news, I would love to learn about it. I can be reached at (440) 243-2055 or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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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 (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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