NASHVILLE, TENN.—The Tennessee Hospitality Association announced the statewide availability of “The Tennessee Green Hospitality” certification program. The program has been adopted from “Chattanooga Green Lodging,” already recognized as a national model for sustainable tourism planning, and just announced as a winner of The Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award. “We already knew that this program was perfect for us to adopt statewide,” said Bill Mish, president of the Tennessee Hospitality Association. “The announcement of this prestigious award confirms that decision.”
The program encourages hotels, bed and breakfasts and other lodging facilities and restaurants to be aware of their impact on the environment and to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint while increasing the overall sustainability of their operations. “This voluntary program has been very successful in Chattanooga,” Mish said. “We look forward to advancing the environmental achievements of the statewide hospitality industry in the same manner.”
The program was conceived of and developed by Tom Cupo, general manager of The Chattanoogan, a Benchmark Hospitality International managed hotel. After being implemented by the Greater Chattanooga Hospitality Association in 2009, it gained rapid success. “The intent was for the Chattanooga community to become a greener destination for tourists and organizations that were considering bringing their business here, creating more opportunities for all of us,” Cupo said. “We wanted a program that was non-competitive among participating hotels, but that also would recognize individual accomplishments beyond the minimum requirements. We decided not to have a ‘tiered’ program, but to offer an opportunity for properties to provide a list of activities beyond the core requirements.”
Must Have Active Programs in Place
For certification, hotels must have active programs in place for recycling and for reductions in energy, water and materials usage, must have an optional linen program, must be able to provide “green events,” and must have a plan for continued improvement. The certification for restaurants is similar except for the linen service requirement.
“We encouraged this program because it exemplifies our city’s special brand of environmental leadership,” said Jim Frierson, vice chair of the Chattanooga Green Committee. “This is a purely private sector initiative, not a government mandate, showing the potential for collaboration among competitors. The energy savings of each hotel are significant, rolling up into meaningful reductions that will help the most committed cities in Tennessee get closer to their greenhouse gas reduction targets.”
Tennessee Green differs from many other statewide hospitality programs elsewhere in that certification requires that an audit be conducted by an independent third party. “A third-party audit gives a level of credibility that self-certification cannot achieve,” said Dobbin Callahan, president of Skye Con, the environmental consulting company that administers the program and provides audit services. “Hotels and restaurants that become certified have made and will continue to make proven operational changes that are real, significant, and are having a positive impact on our communities.”
“Adoption of this program will be good for our industry, good for Tennessee, and most importantly, good for the environment,” Mish said.
Go to Tennessee Green Hospitality.
