Element goes with LEED green hotels certification – brandwide

In the past year or so, being “green” has been all the rage in the lodging industry. Hotels have become a breeding ground for green soundbytes and marketing ploys – some with merit and most without much to show.

These individual hotels that market self-proclaimed green initatives to the general public are diluting any cohesion in consumer perception (and trust) of what is actually considered green. In an attempt to clean up this haphazardness, a multitude of organizations have made a disconnected effort to define and standardize what is considered green across the industry. The result thus far is the creation of countless independent certification labels and ironically the byproduct creation of only more consumer confusion. However, some have started to emerge from the rest of the pack. Of the hundreds of green hotels certifications, the following are some of the more prominently recognized in the industry:

Energy Star
An EPA program that rates energy efficiency not just in lightbulbs and refrigerators but in hotels as well. More than 150 properties participate, but just being a part of the program doesn’t necessarily indicate much. www.energystar.gov

EU ECO-LABEL
A rigorous new program that certifies hotels and campsites throughout the European Union’s member countries. More than 50 hotels currently participate-with more on the way. www.eco-label-tourism.com

Green Globe
Based on stringent Australian guidelines, it certifies properties primarily in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia but has begun to expand into the Caribbean and elsewhere. www.greenglobe.org

Green Leaf
A Canada-based label, run in association with Audubon International, this program has just begun to expand into the United States. (Thailand’s highly regarded, though unrelated, certification program is also called Green Leaf.) www.greenhotelsonline.com

Green Hotel Certification
Founded in 2006 by Guido Bauer, an entrepreneur and veteran in the hospitality industry, this program uses the baseline criteria of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Networks of the Americas, Agenda 21 and principles for Sustainable Development endorsed by 182 Governments at the United Nations Earth Summit in 1992, the Mohonk Agreement and International Standard Organization (ISO) to develop a green certification that is recognized by the global lodging industry. www.greenhotelcertification.com

LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Created by the U.S. Green Building Council to certify that buildings meet with standards of energy efficiency, conservation, and sensitivity to locale. LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. www.usgbc.org

Element Lexington - LEED certification applicant

This past April, Starwood leadership made an executive decision to gain brandwide LEED certification for its new Element hotels. This includes existing Elements under development as well as all properties in the pipeline.  Despite many Element hotels already under construction, Starwood came to agreements with property owners to retrofit existing plans for LEED certification. With over twenty-five Elements to emerge by 2010, all LEED certified, the strength of the LEED stamp of approval will certainly gain ground in the battle for green certification supremacy. 

The first Element in Lexington, MA (opened this past July) is in fact on track for certification. Experts advise it typically takes a full year of operations before the LEED audit can report measurable significance. It looks like Starwood is trying to set an example for the brand with its first Element by attaining Silver LEED certification when the brand standard is only at the basic level. This feat is small in comparison to the example Starwood has set for the U.S. industry as a whole.  With arguably the best known green hotels brand in the U.S. market, Starwood is helping increase the consumer perception of consistency and standardization of green hotels in the currently disconnected niche.

 

Source: Travel + Leisure, USGBC, Travel Weekly, 4hoteliers