NEWH - July 2005 - (Page 26)

eye on the triple bottom line by Andrea Benner, Benner Group Interiors The motto says it all, “Nobody has ever done this before. With vision comes courage. The courage to lead. The courage to inspire. The courage to change.” The brainchild of the Canadian company Sustainable Valley Developments (SVD), Natura Hotels is an up-andcoming green hotel brand inspired by the “green” movement. SVD’s vision for the Natura brand of condo hotels is to be the catalyst for innovative hotel design, construction and management for the hotel industry. Rather than the incremental greening, the current predominate practice in the hospitality industry, SVD wants to integrate the triple bottom line into the construction and operation of their hotels. With their plan to build a chain of LEED Platinum hotels throughout North and South America, Sustainable Valley Developments believes that old practices can and will change. The goal of the company is make a positive impact on communities, with their employees, and significantly reduce our impact on the natural environment. They believe the time has finally come for a major change in the hotel industry as they plan to be the disruptive force in the industry, compelling other hotels to adapt to society’s increased concern for respecting the planet and people. 26 SVD is the brainchild of Boyd Cohen, Ph.D., a professor of sustainable business entrepreneurship at the University of Victoria, and Marc Storms, SVD’s Chief Marketing Officer. Discussing the opportunities to “green” existing condos, they recognized that there was a revolution waiting to occur in the hotel industry, where lights, water and heat flow 24/7 and where the concept of the triple bottom line had not taken root. “Among the good reasons to develop a truly green hotel chain, we did not have much discussion around profitability,” explained Storms. “With potential energy savings as high as 50%, any increased cost for building to a LEED level would quickly be offset by the significant energy savings. Combine the other aspects of the triple bottom line, the creation of Sustainable Valley Developments and the idea for the Natura Hotel Chain, was a no brainer.” With its planned flagship hotel, the Natura Dockside, SVD has stepped into a niche which is changing the hotel as we now know it. Natura Dockside is part of the Dockside Green project, a large mixed-use development in Victoria, British Columbia. The Dockside brownfield redevelopment project, located on the inner harbor of downtown Victoria, is being developed by Vancity Enterprises and Windmill Developments. In addition to the Natura Dockside Condo Hotel, SVD is currently in the process of securing land in Kelowna (a very popular resort destination in B.C.) for a hotel formatted for 22 stories, 200+ condo sized rooms. In addition, they are in the process of finalizing a joint venture agreement to begin co-development of two more hotels in Ottawa and Toronto. On the horizon are two sites in the initial review stages, one in Costa Rica. For more information about SVD, the Natura Hotel Brand or any specific projects please visit our website at www.naturahotels.ca http://www.naturahotels.ca http://www.naturahotels.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - July 2005

NEWH - July 2005
Letter From the President
Upfront
Contents
Hospitality News
Learning From the Leaders
NEWH Announces New Corporate Partners
Protecting Paradise
Who’s Leading Whom?
Eye on the Triple Bottom Line
NEWH Welcomes New Corporate Partner – Signature Hospitality Carpet
Hotec – La Costa, California, June 2-5, 2005
2005 ARDA Awards Recipients
Education and Scholarship
Coming Events
Hospitality Design Award Winners
Letters to the Editor
Contributors
InformeDesign

NEWH - July 2005