InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has become the first hotel chain to have all of its IHG corporate-managed restaurants in the U.S. and Canada reach green certification.
The brand’s effort to gain certification came out of support for the IHG Green Engage program, an online sustainability platform used by more than 2,500 IHG-branded hotels worldwide that allows properties to chart their progress towards energy, waste, and water efficiency. Collectively, 26 certified green restaurants at InterContinental properties implemented 1,180 environmental steps-earning them 3,341 Green Points in the Green Restaurant Association’s environmental categories of energy, water, waste, food, packaging, chemicals, and building materials.
“We are proud to be the first hotel company in the world to have all of our managed restaurants under one brand meeting the 2-and 3-Star certified green restaurant standard,” says Jean-Pierre Etcheberrigaray, vice president, food and beverage, the Americas, IHG. “In 2011, we set out to achieve this goal, and we are thrilled to have exceeded it.”
At the InterContinental New York Times Square, Todd English’s Ça Va Brasserie diverts 95 percent of its waste from landfills through recycling and composting. The InterContinental San Francisco hotel’s Luce restaurant reached the 3-Star certified green restaurant level with more than 180 Green Points, including 100 percent renewal energy credits and superefficient spray valves using less than 1 gallon per minute. InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta hotel’s Southern Art earned more than half of its 137 Green Points by taking 49 environmental steps to conserve energy and eliminate waste.
“The Certified Green Restaurant accomplishment of the InterContinental brand is a wonderful example of IHG’s commitment to environmental sustainability,” says Paul Snyder, vice president, corporate responsibility – environmental sustainability and public affairs, IHG. “We are excited to see these hotels using our program, IHG Green Engage, to work with the Green Restaurant Association in making our brand the first hotel chain to have all of its corporate-managed foodservice facilities become certified green restaurants. The IHG-managed InterContinental Hotels & Resorts have set a great precedent, and we are proud of their accomplishments.”
