It is likely the most visited page on the Green Lodging News website: the Hotel & Management Company Green Pages. Since being added to the site a little more than five years ago, it has racked up 22,183 page views. The page simply includes a list of all the hotel and management companies that have a page, or pages, on their website dedicated to the steps they are taking to reduce energy and water consumption, reduce waste, improve their local communities, etc. If a company’s overall sustainability program has a specific name, I have listed it. For example, the name of Delaware North Companies’ program is GreenPath. If your company is not listed and deserves to be, please let me know.
This past week I featured a company from that long Green Pages list: Innisfree Hotels. Be sure to read the article. Based in Gulf Breeze, Fla., the name of their corporate social responsibility program is The Hive. Innisfree Hotels owns most of the 22 hotels that it manages. What caught my attention about the company is its recent stepping up of its sustainability initiatives. In August Innisfree hired Brittney Barnett as Director of Sustainability and a little more than a year ago Rusty Branch was named to the position of Vice President of Community Engagement. There are not a lot of companies the size of Innisfree hotels that have full-time employees in such positions. It is certainly indicative of the seriousness of their commitment.
I spoke with Brittney Barnett for my article. After her hiring Innisfree bolstered its companywide sustainability policy that is focused on people, planet, and profit. A Green Committee was formed with eight people representing operations, marketing, retail, and other areas. Brittney leads that committee. At each property, “Arise” teams were formed. These green teams meet regularly but also all together annually. It is so important to the success of a sustainability initiative to have someone leading the charge, pushing forward best practices, and documenting their progress. It is just as important to get associates involved as part of green teams. They feel more connected to the company’s goals, they contribute constructive ideas, and they carry out the actual work.
Focus on Green Key Certification
While many of the Innisfree properties participate in the sustainability programs of the brands they represent, they are doing much more. For example, one of the first steps under Brittney’s watch was to begin getting each property certified as part of the Green Key Global Eco-Rating Program. The goal of the company is to get every property certified this year.
For 2022 it is also the company’s goal to focus on climate action, resource preservation, ecological balance, and health and wellbeing. Initiatives within these goals align with some of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. With many of its hotels on the Gulf Coast Innisfree Hotels is particularly vulnerable from a climate risk standpoint. Hurricane Sally in 2020 damaged many of the company’s hotels.
“We are planning for sea level rise,” Brittney says. “We are taking a deep dive into how we are most vulnerable. I hope it will inform the development side as well.”
On the road to reducing its environmental impact, Innisfree is having energy and water audits conducted. “Every property is different,” Brittney says. “We tackled the low-hanging fruit first. We purchased Energy Star appliances and made sure our HVAC systems and dishwashers use as little energy as possible. We wrapped boilers with insulation, freshened up our preventive maintenance programs and a couple of hotels installed variable frequency drives. We also have Honeywell systems for most of our common areas.”
Innisfree Hotels is considering renewable energy systems for its hotels and is currently getting estimates. “We have a geothermal loop at one hotel,” Brittney says. “We are looking at solar canopies.”
Serious About Water Conservation
To minimize water consumption, low-flow aerators, toilets, and showerheads are in place. Daily housekeeping is not offered, and Brittney says Innisfree Hotels would like to keep that permanent. One device currently being considered: shower timers.
To reduce waste, the company is working on a food waste composting program and doing little things such as providing straws only upon request. To ensure a high level of indoor air quality (IAQ), entry mats are being checked, MERV filters with at least an 8 rating are being installed, paints with low or no VOCs are used, and any other item purchased must not contain VOCs. Innisfree Hotels is also working towards a green cleaning program to further improve IAQ.
On the community development side, Brittney says Branch has been instrumental in working with Parent University in Pensacola. This university equips parents with the tools they need to be successful parents. Innisfree Hotels employees teach some of the classes. “We partnered with the city on it,” Brittney says. Additional community initiatives include participating in the Equity Project Alliance which brings together business leaders to focus on equity and inclusion, and The Bail Project which focuses on assisting those in jail with bail assistance.
Kudos to Innisfree Hotels for stepping up its commitment to corporate social responsibility.
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 greenlodgingnews@gmail.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 greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.
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Green Suppliers Spotlight is published weekly on Thursdays to general managers, owners, management companies, directors of sustainability, directors of engineering, facilities managers and many others who are either in purchasing positions or who influence purchasing decisions. Suppliers of green products and services throughout North America and beyond are invited to participate in the e-blast. (Minimum two suppliers per e-blast.) Green Suppliers Spotlight was created to give vendors an opportunity to reach a high number of industry purchasers at a very low cost—as low as $200 per e-mail. (Click here for rate sheet.)
Those advertising in Green Suppliers Spotlight can include up to 100 words, one image, contact information and multiple links to their website in their ad. At the end of each week, a report will be sent to each supplier with information on delivered e-mails, opens and click-throughs.
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