February 21, 2013

Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,

 

The minutes from the February 14 BGT meeting are below, with links to the presentations. See the other sections, too.

Our next meeting will be March 21.

Dan 
MEETING PRESENTATIONS

 Boston Green Tourism Meeting

                                              February 14, 2013                                                              

Location: InterContinental Boston                                    

Hosts: Tim Kirwan, Fabienne Eliacin and other InterContinental Boston leaders

 

Present: Tim Kirwan, Fabienne Eliacin, Michael Ditterline, Tony Masco, Joesph Kreis, Tamfara Collins, Arlete Burgo, Andre Rivas, Jeff Hanulec, Albert Tsaturyan, Al Vaughn, Alyssa Bunting, Kevin Lubinger, Wil Colon, Bill Scherer, Tim Blanchard, Michael Duffy, Conor Healey, Jennifer Berube, Amy Walker, Mike Rivers, Cindy Fitzpatrick, Adam Mitchell, Dan Ruben.

 

Presentations 

1. Welcome

Tim Kirwan, General Manager, InterContinental Boston  

 

Mr. Kirwan discussed the InterContinental Boston green program, and the issues posed by sea level rise in the Seaport District. He said that the area is already experiencing problems, and that flood prevention requirements have boosted real estate development costs by over 10%.  

 

2. InterContinental Boston's Green Initiatives: Let's Engage 

Fabienne Eliacin, Engineering Coordinator, InterContinental Boston

 

See this presentation of the hotel's remarkably diverse green program.  

                       

3. The Haulers Perspective: What makes the Intercontinental Hotel Recycling Program Work;   Cardboard: To Bale or Not to Bale

Adam Mitchell, Partner, Save That Stuff

 

There are many factors that hotels must consider when determining if it makes sense to buy a baler: the cost advantage of baled cardboard, the cost of running an electric line to the baler, space, the impact on labor costs, etc. Haulers can help hotels make this analysis.  

 

4. Low Pressure Drop High Efficiency Filters: Save Energy and Labor, Improve Air Quality

Cindy Fitzpatrick, Sales Manager, Filter Sales and Service

 

Low pressure drop high efficiency filters can make a dramatic difference in energy, waste and labor costs, and improve indoor air quality.

NEWS
Mayor Menino Proposes Building Energy Reporting & Disclosure Ordinance
As expected, and as reported in The Boston Globe, the mayor sent this proposal to City Council for approval. New York has a similar policy in place, and other cities are in the planning or implementation process.

Here are some of the key aspects of Mayor Menino's proposal:
  • Starting in 2014, all buildings 50,000 square feet or larger will be required to submit their prior year's annual energy use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The submission deadline will be May 15 of each year. 
  • This information will be posted on the internet. You can see how New York posts its buildings' data here.  
  • Buildings that score under the 75th percentile will be required to conduct energy audits or take other actions every 5 years.   
  • Tenants must report their annual energy and water use data to building owners.  
I encourage you to read both the one-page summary  of the ordinance, and the full eight-page proposal.

BGT will provide more information that will help hotels comply with the ordinance. Also, I am happy to help hotels boost their Energy Star scores by providing a 30-minute presentation on how U.S. hotels reduce their energy use. Please contact me if you want such a presentation--whether or not your hotel is located in Boston proper.
 

Lucrative Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Incentives to Continue Through 2015

On January 31, the MA Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approved a 3-year energy efficiency plan that, among other measures, ensures robust funding for commercial energy efficiency improvements. The programs will continue to be run by NSTAR and National Grid in our region.

 

NSTAR's Kevin Lubinger will discuss the 2013 incentives at our March 21 meeting.  

IDEAS

Does Your Hotel have a Sustainable Purchasing Policy? Does it Work Well? 

Every BGT hotel purchases green products and services. The impetus comes from various places--corporate headquarters, Engineering, Housekeeping, GM's, green teams and hotel purchasing managers. The best programs engage hotel purchasing agents in fostering their green procurement program.  

 

The Saunders Hotel Group uses a three prong strategy, according to Scot Hopps, SHG's Director of Sustainability. First, they developed a sustainable purchasing policy. The one that I linked is the summary version of a much longer document.   

  

Second, they send a letter to their suppliers stating the importance of green products and services to the company.


 

And third, SHG has its purchasing agents ask their suppliers about environmental attributes when the two parties negotiate the purchase. Scot believes that this is the most important step. It stimulates a dialog between the purchasers and the suppliers, and gets them to broaden their thinking about how to incorporate greener products and services into SHG properties.    

ARTICLES
Time to Fight the Rising Plug Load Monster                                      
This article is about how to reduce the electricity needed to support desk-workers.
Glenn Hasek, Green Lodging News, November 9.
2013 MEETINGS

March 21

May 9

June 20  

August 1

September 12

October 24

December 5