June 20, 2013 | Greening the Inn
Becoming a sustainable hotel doesn’t happen overnight. Unfortunately there are no wizardly spells or ancient rituals that will instantly green up your operation. So what can a hotel do to join the ranks of the many sustainable hotels that we’ve chronicled here in “In the Limelight?” You can start off by looking at the Sheraton Madison Hotel, which not too long ago was on the ground floor of sustainability…
Taking Baby Steps
Situated near Lake Monona and not far from the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, Wisconsin is the Sheraton Madison Hotel. You won’t find any solar panels mounted on its roof or an acid reducing beach, but make no mistake; this is a hotel that is going green. Beginning with an energy audit of the facilities, a highly recommended first step for any organization looking to improve sustainability, the Sheraton Madison has made several changes to promote environmental efficiency:
- All guestroom sink aerators were changed to 1.0 gallon per minute (GPM) aerators, a change that will significantly reduce the hotels water use.
- An Ozone Laundry System was installed, which will allow linens to be washed with cold water, reducing the hotels energy use.
- The hotel replaced their hot water heaters with models that are 99.9% efficient. Previous models were only 85% efficient.
- Lighting fixtures for the hotels exterior parking lot and building were converted to LED fixtures, while lights in guest hallways were converted to compact florescent lights, all improving energy efficiency.
- Guests are now given the option of forgoing guest room cleaning during their stay in exchange for reward points or a discount. This helps the Sheraton Madison conserve water and cleaning supplies, and engages guests in the sustainability efforts. Besides, who doesn’t love a discount?
- The Sheraton Madison has also established an Energy/Resource Conservation team which discusses ideas for energy reductions monthly.
Following a Wise Direction
As a part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts hotel portfolio, the Sheraton Madison has been able to incorporate Starwood’s sustainability initiatives into their own sustainability mission. One Starwood initiative that the Sheraton Madison is taking part in is the “30/20 by 20” initiative. This initiative is attempting to reduce Starwood’s energy use by 30% and its water use by 20% by the year 2020. The above improvements by the Sheraton Madison should certainly help Starwood towards accomplishing this goal.
The Sheraton Madison also practices Starwood’s sustainable meeting practices. These practices include promoting paperless meetings, utilizing supplies made from recycled content, offering sustainable food options, and even providing environmentally friendly transportation if possible. What do you know, meetings can actually be productive.
This spring, the Sheraton Madison began participating in the Clean the World Foundation, through Starwood. This program works to recycle open and partially used amenity bottles and soap bars. Not only does it keep these items out of landfills, but it helps promote hygiene and prevent disease across the world.
A Little Help from the Community
In the pursuit to become more sustainable, it also helps to get a little assistance. That’s exactly what the Sheraton Madison has and will continue to receive through Dane County’s Sustain Dane’s 2013 MPower Business Champion Program. This one-year program will work with the Sheraton Madison to creatively find effective and efficient solutions that will make the hotel a more sustainable place. Through establishing goals and facilitating ideas, this program will help the Sheraton Madison implement at least five sustainable projects by March 2014. What those projects will entail has yet to be determined, but there’s little doubt that they will push the Sheraton Madison further down the path of sustainability.
Under the active management of Marcus Hotels & Resorts, and with the aid of Starwood and Sustain Dane, the Sheraton Madison should progressively move through their green expedition and Greening The Inn will be sure to follow the journey.