Hospitality Design - December 2011 - 33

sustainable studio

perspectives
By Alia Akkam

learning to leed
Just like minimalist guestrooms and celebrity chef restaurants off the lobby, there was a time when a hotel’s predilection for green amenities was perceived as yet another trend. Today, the advent of successful brands like Starwood’s Element built around an environmentally friendly credo, and the proliferation of compact ﬂuorescent light bulbs, sensors shutting off energy-hogging air conditioners, and low-ﬂow showerheads in hotels big and small conﬁrm that sustainability is not a ﬂeeting ideal, but rather a serious lifestyle transition being embraced. And many are looking at the complete sustainable narrative and creative solutions to really make an impact. “Green construction in hotels is deﬁnitely behind the curve when compared to ofﬁce buildings, but you can look at the lessons learned from ofﬁce buildings and know this is what’s coming,” says sustainable strategist Bill Browning of Terrapin Bright Green, with ofﬁces in New York and Washington, DC. The challenge for hospitality settings, he says, is that it can be difﬁcult changing design standards: “Modifying brands and messaging isn’t always easy.” Installing better performing windows, on-site water waste treatment facilities particularly at resorts, and easy-to-replace carpet tiles are among the forward-thinking steps Browning champions. “We always think bigger is better,” Browning points out, but instead of utilizing air conditioners that cycle on and off, he thinks smaller units should be employed from the get-go. He also predicts we’re on the cusp of seeing more LED lights in hotels. “It will be a major shift; they are good quality and last for years and years,” he points out. “Green doesn’t mean sacriﬁce. It inspires better design,” shares Eric Corey Freed, founder of San Francisco-based OrganicARCHITECT, who singles out the “high-end, gorgeous” Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle as an example of a mesmerizing eco-friendly property. “Hotels are realizing that we can use the sustainability narrative to design and reﬁne the guest experience.” At the eco-resort outside of Los Angeles Freed is currently working on, for instance, shower water will be recycled and leftover food will morph into compost. Why not ﬂood hallways with natural light and treat them as interactive spaces? Freed suggests. Or, engage guests by, say, printing out on their bill how much water they saved during their stay, or allow them to access an eco dashboard on the TV that reveals breakfast was prepared with honey made on the roof in addition to what’s available on Pay-Per-View. “Transparency is part of the experience,” he notes. The big picture for the hotel business, which will trend towards a more mixed-use approach, Freed believes, is that “it is becoming a real estate business. Like Ray Kroc of McDonald’s said, it’s not about hamburgers but about real estate.” Despite a shaky economy, those real estate stats are climbing. The Washington, DC–based U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) introduced its global green building certiﬁcation system, LEED, in 2000. Now there are 126 LEED-certiﬁed hotels and 1,171 registered for certiﬁcation. The LEED Volume Program, where brands planning to certify a large number of projects or existing buildings are rewarded with a streamlined certiﬁcation process, is also helping hospitality leaders get on the bandwagon. Nick Shaffer, manager of the USGBC’s commercial real estate sector, says that ultimately, he would like to see LEED standards integrated into how hotels are built. “Energy costs are only rising so we’re looking at opportunities for hotels to become more sustainable,” says Shaffer. “Look at everything coming in and going out. What are you trying to divert to recycling? We’d like to see a property’s linen conservation cards go a step further and tell guests a story about the carpets with no offgassing, healthy cleaning products, and safe paints used.” To put the spotlight on green vendors, USGBC has started working with Los Angeles sustainability research and consulting ﬁrm MindClick SGM on its newly formed Hospitality Sustainable Purchasing Consortium, which is changing the conversation with the Hospitality Sustainable Purchasing Index by aiming to establish sustainability performance criteria for suppliers in corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability, as well as product sustainability. Says MindClick CEO JoAnna Abrams, “To impact the kind of change we’re all going to see and need to take place it really comes down to what brands are doing with suppliers. Hotels will be able to substantiate that they are purchasing from environmentally responsible companies.” The consortium, currently 26 members strong, spans FF&E and OS&E suppliers and purchasing stakeholders, including brands such as Marriott, purchasing ﬁrms, architects, designers, and sustainability experts, and sheds light on “hotels that are going to the effort of understanding how products are made and delivering a superior level of customer service,” Abrams continues. “It’s not a single brand, but an industry solution. What you do in purchasing can ultimately impact a brand and RevPAR. This is not about how green is your product; sustainability is about recognizing resources are limited and how to use them in smarter, more efﬁcient ways.”

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December 2011

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - December 2011