HONOLULU, HAWAII—The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa has won its second Green Business Award from the State of Hawaii. The award is sponsored by the following: State Department of Health; Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. The award is given to companies that employ innovative green practices and do their part to ensure that residents and visitors continue to enjoy a healthy environment.
The Hilton property has a long history in Hawaii. With close to 3,000 rooms, it is one of the Hilton Hotels Corporation’s (100 percent) flagship properties, occupying a 22-acre parcel of prime real estate along Waikiki’s widest stretch of beach. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are emphasized at the resort—so much so that the hotel was one of the first hotels in Waikiki to launch a Green Business Program in 2000 as a proactive effort to preserve Hawaii’s environment.
Today, Hilton’s Green Business Program is an integral part of daily operations with both team members and guests helping to contribute to a greener future. In the past seven years, the Green Business Program has made significant advances in the areas of conservation and recycling. Examples include:
• To encourage energy efficiency, the hotel has made improvements and changes to the appliances that are used.
• In the housekeeping department, changing out linen and towels are done on a request-only basis. That also goes for the turndown service, when towels are usually replaced.
• With 22 acres of lush greens and waterfalls, the landscaping department has found ways to adjust the irrigation of the numerous ponds and waterfalls to recycle and re-use the water.
• In kitchens, fat from deep fryers is recycled and converted into diesel fuel.
• Also in kitchens, food waste does not get wasted. Instead, it is sent to produce animal food.
• The resort recycled close to 220,000 pounds of cardboard in each of the last two years.
• The beginning of the HI-5 recycling redemption program gave the resort greater reason to ensure all of the recyclable beverage containers were being recycled. That totaled close to 160,000 in just one year.
• When it comes to paper recycling, the resort has consistently recycled more than 176,000 pounds of paper a year.
Go to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa.
