Fairmont introduces sustainable design programme

Savoy Hotel first to use new design and construction policy incorporating LEED and other green standards

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, has announced it will further its commitment to greening with the introduction of a new Sustainable Design Policy. Establishing a formalised, worldwide policy, which addresses highly recognised environmental certifications such as the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) for new development projects and renovation programmes.

“When it comes to greening the hotel industry, we’ve never been a brand that has rested on our laurels,” says the company’s President, Chris Cahill. “And while we literally wrote the book on hotel sustainability and have been focused on making our collection of heritage and world-class properties as environmentally sound as possible, we continue to look for new ways to expand our ecological scope.”

“Instituting formalised design and construction guidelines for our robust pipeline of new hotel projects and on-going capital agenda adds a new dimension to our pioneering environmental mandate. Environmental stewardship is part of Fairmont’s DNA and we want to ensure it’s evident in all phases of our business.”

In addition to promoting the use of highly recognised green building certification systems, Fairmont’s Sustainable Design policy 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.

Fairmont Pittsburgh, a new hotel that opened last year, and The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, which unveiled a multi-year restoration programme this past October, were the brand’s 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 sustainable material, and the use of paints, adhesives, sealants, carpets and fabrics with no or low emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds. 

In London, the restoration of The Savoy included the addition of several new environmental technologies including a waste management system that recycles up to 90 per cent 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 percent.
 
In addition to LEED guidelines, a number of other green rating systems and programmes will influence Fairmont’s activity in this area including the BREEAM (British Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) programme in Europe, Estidama Pearls in Abu Dhabi, and China’s Three Star programme.

Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite Special Offer HERE