Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced it would adhere to a new Sustainable Design Policy that applies to all 60 hotels worldwide.
The company has led the hospitality industry on environmental sustainability and responsible tourism for over 20 years.
The policy directs Fairmont to get LEED certification for all renovation and new buildings. It also includes new environmental criteria and checklists for renovation projects and property retrofits, environmental consultation during the design brief and construction process, and the creation of a green build best practices repository for use by its hotels, engineers, developers, project leads and architects.
"We literally wrote the book on hotel sustainability and have been focused on making our properties as environmentally sound as possible, says president, Chris Cahill. "Now, we’re instituting formal design and construction guidelines for our pipeline of new hotel projects and ongoing capital agenda. Environmental stewardship is part of Fairmont’s DNA and we want to ensure it’s evident in all phases of our business."
Fairmont Pittsburgh, a new hotel that opened last year, and The Savoy, a Fairmont Managed Hotel, which completed a multi-year restoration program this past October, were the first completed projects under the new policy.
As the brand’s first LEED certified hotel, Fairmont Pittsburgh achieved a Gold certification by incorporating sustainable design features such as energy efficient lighting and appliances, enzyme waste systems, furnishings and other guestroom amenities made from recycled, organic or other sustainable material, and the use of paints, adhesives, sealants, carpets and fabrics with no or low emissions of volatile organic compounds.
In London, the Savoy restoration included several new environmental technologies including a waste management system that recycles up to 90% of waste from the hotel and a new heat and power (CHP) plant that reduces the hotel’s reliance on the national grid by approximately 50%.
Fairmont has pledged to reduce operational CO2 emissions from its existing portfolio of hotels 20% below 2006 levels by 2013.
Over the past two decades, Fairmont’s Green Partnership has minimized the impact of hotel operations on the environment. Initiatives include recycling and organic waste diversion in hotel kitchens, purchasing sustainable seafood, a green conferencing solution dubbed Eco-Meet, creating rooftop herb gardens at properties, and redistributing gently used goods and food to those in need.
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