CONCORD, CALIF.—The Hilton Concord Hotel, located in the East Bay of San Francisco, is incorporating environmental and sustainable systems into its multi-million dollar hotel renovation anticipated to be fully completed in early 2012. The hotel is owned and operated by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the largest U.S.-based global management company. “Reinvesting in a leading hotel such as the Hilton Concord ideally positions the Company to take full advantage of the anticipated recovery in the lodging segment,” said Jim Abrahamson, CEO of Interstate.
In addition to a redesign, the Hilton Concord is a leading example on how to successfully integrate sustainable programs to reduce waste and conserve natural resources. “This renovation is allowing us to become a product of intuitive design and contemporary upgrades,” said general manager Jack Hlavac. “It also gives us the opportunity to have a positive impact on the environment by instituting sustainable practices into our operations that conserve natural resources and reduce waste, pollution, and the hotel’s carbon footprint. We are able to create efficiencies and cost savings to the hotel operation while also enhancing guest services.”
From the food and beverage service to the guestroom bathrooms, the Hilton Concord’s renovation has reconditioned the hotel specifically to promote waste and energy reduction and includes the following programs:
Recycling—The property currently recycles a wide variety of materials including paper, glass, aluminum, metal, plastics, cardboard, paperboard, batteries, electronics, light bulbs, cooking oil/grease, toner/ink cartridges, newsprint, and magazines.
Lower temperature dishwasher: The property is now able to use eco-friendly disinfectants while also consuming less water and less therms of natural gas.
Pillow renovation: With the ability to sterilize, renovate, and reuse most of its pillows through the innovative Pillow-Vac system, the property is able to reduce wasteful disposal of older pillows.
Food waste reduction: The hotel’s food and beverage service uses the environmentally friendly Eco-Safe Digester to convert food waste into liquid, reducing its contribution of food waste into landfills.
Water conservation: The hotel has installed 1.28 gallon per flush toilets into each of its guest bathrooms which use water more efficiently and minimize noise. Additionally, the hotel uses well irrigation to hydrate its external landscaping to conserve the use of treated water as well as an ozone laundry system that uses less total water allowing for additional savings on water and sewer costs.
Lighting efficiency: A significant portion of the hotel lighting, both in guestrooms and public spaces, has been converted from standard CFL lighting to ultra-efficient LED bulbs and high efficiency fluorescent lighting.
Article taken from Green lodging News. Read original version here.
