San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, which has 50 properties, is in the process to become the first lifestyle boutique hotel company in the U.S. to attain 100 percent Green Seal certification at the silver level.
At present, 46 of the hotels have completed the rigorous application process for Green Seal certification, which includes an on-site audit. Half of those have already received certification. The rest are anticipated to be awarded certification within the next 90 days. The remaining four, including two opening this spring, will begin the certification process this year.
Green Seal certification is an important third-party validation of Kimpton’s more than 80 environmentally responsible operational practices under the company’s EarthCare program and allows Kimpton to more effectively measure its nationwide reductions in waste, energy, and water consumption. For example, at Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco in Chicago, which earned Green Seal certification in 2009 along with Kimpton’s Hotel Burnham and Hotel Allegro in the same city, tracking methods required for certification revealed that 116 tons, or 45 percent, of all of recyclables were diverted from landfill last year.
To qualify for GS-33 Green Seal certification, a hotel must demonstrate sustainable practices in the following areas:
- Waste minimization, reuse and recycling
- Energy efficiency, conservation and management
- Management of fresh water resources
- Waste water management
- Hazardous substances
- Environmentally sensitive purchasing
Certification requires an initial evaluation by Green Seal, including an extensive on-site audit of the property, and annual monitoring to ensure ongoing compliance. The GS-33 standard recognizes three levels of environmental achievement:
- Bronze: Entry level, meets essential environmental leadership elements
- Silver: Meets a more comprehensive level of required leadership operations
- Gold: Meets additional criteria demonstrating hotel is at the forefront of environmental leadership
