SAN FRANCISCO—For nine hotel and restaurant managers at the Serrano Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in San Francisco, driving to work is now an eco-friendly effort. As the fourth part of a multi-phase rollout of the EarthCare Program, a companywide environmental effort launched in 2004 by the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, the Serrano Hotel has committed to offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from the cars owned by its top management.
This will be accomplished through a partnership with San Francisco’s DriveNeutral, a nonprofit that offers individuals and organizations opportunities to participate in market-based solutions to global climate change.
“We are committed to doing the right thing for our environment locally, while still preserving the Kimpton culture and luxury experience we offer our guests,” says Michael Pace, general manager at the Serrano, one of 41 Kimpton properties throughout the country. “Offsetting our carbon footprint is only the beginning. There are so many things to tackle that seem so small, but when you add them up it makes a significant difference in helping the environment and being socially responsible.”
Working with eco consultant Jeff Slye of Business Evolution Consulting, Pace has been instrumental in spearheading the Kimpton EarthCare Program. Starting when he was the general manager at the Triton Hotel, Pace identified the need to take the property from having just a block of 25 rooms that were green, to transforming the entire hotel to one that is green. From serving organic coffee and placing recycling bins in guestrooms, to using all recycled papers and soy-based inks, to using the kitchen grease to make biodiesel fuel, Pace saw the opportunity to do good and add value to his guests’ stay.
At first, there were skeptics. But slowly the results showed positive reactions from guests and employees alike, and soon the environmental initiatives he put into motion at his property became the model for Kimpton hotels everywhere. Within the first year of greening the Triton, Pace’s efforts were recognized by the California Green Lodging program as the template by which other hotels in the industry are measured for the seal of environmental approval.
Emphasis on Sustainabilty
The mission of the EarthCare Program is to reduce the impact on the environment and “lead the hospitality industry in supporting a sustainable world, by continuing to deliver a premium guest experience through non-intrusive, high quality, eco-friendly products and services.” Every Kimpton hotel has adopted a sustainability checklist of eco-friendly products and practices, from cleaning supplies to energy conservation, and just about everything else in between.
This is where the partnership with DriveNeutral comes into play. The DriveNeutral initiative helps drivers offset their greenhouse gas emissions by simply purchasing a carbon offset certificate and decal. DriveNeutral calculates the carbon output of a vehicle and neutralizes the impact by purchasing verified carbon dioxide reduction credits through the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the only American market for trading third-party-verified, legally binding, large-scale carbon dioxide reduction credits. CCX members earn and sell carbon credits on the exchange through energy efficiency, renewable energy and other verified projects that effectively reduce global warming emissions.
“Michael is taking the leap as a leader in the Kimpton organization to implement the DriveNeutral initiative at his property early on,” says Jason Smith, founder and director of DriveNeutral, experts in providing solutions for reducing carbon dioxide emissions for individuals, events, organizations and businesses. “Starting with offsetting emissions for the nine managers’ cars, we hope to see this partnership grow to include opportunities for offsetting the carbon emissions for the entire hotel, their guests, and ultimately for the Kimpton group as a whole.”
To find out more about the DriveNeutral initiative, for simple tips on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making everyday changes, and to calculate the carbon output of a vehicle, visit www.DriveNeutral.org.
