IHG sustainability system accredited by green building council

InterContinental Hotels Group has announced that IHG Green Engage, the online sustainability program used by more than 2,600 IHG-branded hotels worldwide, is now recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council under its LEED(R) Volume program and Green Key Global (GKG) as providing streamlined pathways to certification.

IHG is the first hotel company to provide an approach to precertification for new-build hotels under the LEED 2009 for New Construction rating system.

"Our research shows that over 70 percent of frequent travelers prefer hotels that are engaged with their environment, and we expect a growing number of guests who want to book greener hotel rooms," said Paul Snyder, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, IHG. "We are the only hotel company to build a comprehensive environmental management system for our hotels, helping them drive revenue through sustainability, and, ultimately, traveler preference. LEED and GKG are well-respected industry certifications and a ‘stamp’ of approval that highlight hotels’ ‘green’ achievements. We are proud to be recognized by both organizations for helping our hotels obtain certification."

The IHG Green Engage program assists IHG-branded hotels in meeting and tracking several of the LEED and GKG metrics, providing an expedited pathway to certification. LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle recognizing best-in-class building strategies. The Green Key Global certification is an Eco-Rating Program that evaluates, inspects and certifies hotels based on their commitment to sustainable "green" operations.

"On average, energy is the second largest cost to hotels, and we need help managing this challenge," said Robert Lamoureux, general manager, Holiday Inn(R) & Suites Windsor. "Through IHG Green Engage, we have been able to easily track our progress in becoming more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable with the added benefit of achieving significant cost savings. The Holiday Inn & Suites Windsor is also a GKG certified hotel, which is recognized by government and corporate clients, and has helped us grow our group bookings business."

A key feature of IHG Green Engage is over 200 Green Solutions that hotels can implement to reduce their environmental impact and achieve energy savings of up to 25%, approximately $90,000 a year for an average hotel. IHG recently announced that IHG Green Engage hotels exceeded the three-year target (2010-2012)(1) to reduce energy, per available room, by between 6% and 10% in the managed and owned estate with a reduction of 11.7%. IHG also reduced the carbon footprint across the global estate by 11.7%, per occupied room, over a two-year period. (The new IHG Green Engage targets for 2013 — 2017(3) include reducing carbon footprint, per occupied room, by 12% across the entire portfolio; and reducing water use, per occupied room, in water-stressed areas by 12%.

There are currently five LEED certified and 124 GKG certified IHG-branded hotels. IHG Green Engage hotels can now take advantage of this streamlined pathway to GKG certification, at a discounted application cost. Hotel general managers can enroll in IHG Green Engage at greenengage.ihg.com. IHG Green Engage is suitable for IHG’s 4,600 hotels, across its nine hotel brands, including InterContinental(R), Crowne Plaza(R) and Holiday Inn(R). More than 50% of IHG’s global hotel portfolio is already enrolled in IHG Green Engage.

Valere Tjolle

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