BOULDER, COLO.—St Julien Hotel & Spa announced that it has attained a 70 percent diversion rate, indicating that 70 percent of the waste produced by the hotel is diverted from landfills for recycling, re-use or composting.
“This is a significant achievement that keeps us on track with our goal of becoming a ‘zero waste’ property,” said Peter Walstra, general manager of the hotel. “We have worked tirelessly to identify opportunities to reduce consumption, recycle materials or eliminate needless waste—all without impacting the exceptional environment and experience the St Julien brings to guests. It has been, and continues to be, a very rewarding endeavor.”
Nowhere has it been more rewarding than at the Spa at St Julien, which recently received the 2011 Spa Finders Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Environmental Practices,” Walstra said. The honor was presented to 10 international awardees—chosen from more than 80,000 spas worldwide—whose dedication to the local environment epitomizes eco-friendly, sustainable practice.
A True Team Effort
“This award represents the coordinated efforts of our world-class team, who worked together to come up with ideas—some turnkey—to prevent unnecessary waste and promote re-use,” said Candis Ayers, director of the Spa at St Julien. “We’re really proud to be recognized as a leader in the spa industry in this way, particularly since this is such a strong focus of the St Julien.”
In addition to the use of compostable cups and containers, Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper and other environmentally friendly products, the Spa at St Julien maintains an organic garden at the hotel that provides fresh herbs for treatments throughout the spa. The 10,000-square-foot Spa at St Julien maintains a focus on local products as every treatment utilizes signature ingredients based on Colorado’s indigenous plants and elements. In addition, the Spa donates worn sheets, towels and robes to Red Apple Recycling, which sells the textiles and uses these proceeds to fund grants for sustainability projects at local schools.
Committed to reducing its impact on the environment, the 201-room St Julien has been working closely with Boulder-based UHG Consulting to set and achieve various environmental goals including becoming a ‘zero waste’ property by 2012. From recycling and composting throughout the hotel to the use of energy efficient lighting, programmable thermostats and eco-friendly cleaning products, the St Julien is constantly investigating ways to reduce its impact on and improve the local environment.
As part of this effort, and in honor of America Recycles Day, the St Julien Hotel & Spa, will stage a Sustainability Summit at the hotel on Friday, November 18 in conjunction with UHG Consulting. Designed to help companies and individuals realize results from their environmental and sustainability efforts, the Sustainability Summit will include expert discussion sessions on the following topics:
• “0-80” (How a company can go from zero sustainability to 80 percent);
• “Leveraging Technology to Make Green Go” (Technology tools to help a business reduce, re-use and recycle);
• “Trash Talk” (The sales tactics and marketing ploys of “greenwashing” and how to avoid it); and
• “Worm Warriors” (The benefits of worms, what they do and the ease and popularity of composting).
Scheduled from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on November 18, the Sustainability Summit will feature a keynote presentation, four expert discussion sessions and a panel discussion. For more information, contact James Farrell at JFarrell@UHGConsulting.com. For more information about the St Julien Hotel & Spa, visit www.StJulien.com.
