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Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,
Our next Boston Green Tourism meeting will be tomorrow, Thursday January 16 from 2:30 to 4:00 at The Fairmont Copley Plaza in the St. James Room on the lobby floor. Directions are here.
Thank you to our hosts: Dragana Kovacevic, Eric Ulvila, Bre Gaetze and Rui Rego.
I hope to see you there!
Dan Ruben
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| MEETING AGENDA | |
Boston Green Tourism Meeting
January 16, 2014
Location: The Fairmont Copley Plaza
| 2:30 to 2:40 |
Introductions
| 2:40 to 2:45
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Update
Dan Ruben
| | 2:45 to 2:55 |
The Fairmont Copley Plaza's Green Program
Eric Ulvila, Director of Engineering
Bre Gaetze, Sustainability Team Co-Chair
| 2:55 to 3:20
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Power to Profit: Introduction to Combined Heat and Power
Barry Sanders, President and COO of American DG Energy
| 3:20 to 3:35
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The Environmental and Financial Benefits to a Sustainable Water Program
Dave Flanders, VP, Business Development, Vivreau USA
| | 3:35 to 4:00 |
How Hotels Organize Their Waste Management Programs to Reduce Costs
Dan Ruben, Boston Green Tourism
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| IDEAS |
A Resource for Furnishing Your Property with Sustainable Products
Do the purchasers for your facility favor sustainable products? How do they assess the sustainability of products when there are so many factors to consider, such as the impact on your hotel's energy use, water use and waste stream; the impact on the health of your guests and staff; and the impact of manufacturing and packaging the product on the environment?
The Hospitality Sustainability Performance Index (HSP Index) is a resource that helps hotels incorporate sustainability into their purchasing decisions. Their website lists products by category, and compares them on sustainability measures. The Index is based on rating standards such as LEED, the Global Reporting Initiative and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
The performance criteria for the Index was developed by a consortium of hotel suppliers, Marriott and the U.S. Green Building Council. They were led by MindClick SGM, a performance measurement and consulting firm. The consortium's mission is to, "create a marketplace for hoteliers to source products and services that help cost effectively improve their environmental footprint while delivering a positive guest experience."
Marriott committed to spend 75 percent of its 2013 furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) budget on products listed in the HSP Index, and recently said that they were on target to reach that figure.
I find the HSP Index to be useful, but not comprehensive. Given the staggering list of products that hotels use, and the rapidly changing marketplace, it's impossible for a single website to be comprehensive and fully up-to-date. But the HSP Index fills an important niche, and can help you green your property.
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| OPPORTUNITIES | |
Energy Star Training Sessions
Energy Star's free January webinars can be found here. Some of their more interesting ones include:
1. Getting to Know the New ENERGY STAR Buildings & Plants Website
January 15 at 1:00
2. Computer Power Management with ENERGY STAR
January 16 at 1:00
3. Portfolio Manager 101
January 21 at 2:30
"We'll introduce the core functionality of the Portfolio Manager tool, including how to enter properties, enter energy and water data, share data with others, and generate reports."
4. Portfolio Manager 201
January 22 at 1:00
"Take a deeper dive into the more advanced functions of Portfolio Manager such as managing changes in property uses over time, using spreadsheet templates to upload data, setting goals and creating custom reports."
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| ARTICLES AND OTHER INFORMATION |
2014 Climate Action Plan Update for Boston
This interesting PowerPoint presentation describes Boston's Climate Action Plan, which guides the city towards reaching its goal of a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. It describes the plan, the 2014 process to update it, how we can provide input and how we can help the city reach its goal.
Besides the strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the plan details the city's strategy for addressing the anticipated heat waves, flooding and coastal storms associated with climate change.
Since 2005, Boston has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5%, and is halfway to achieving the 2020 goal. The hotel sector has certainly done its part, and I believe it will continue to do so.
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UPCOMING MEETINGS
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The following BGT meetings will be 2:30 to 4:00. Please mark them in your calendar!
January 16: The Fairmont Copley Plaza
March 6: Lenox Hotel
April 17
June 5
July 24
September 18
October 30
December 4
See you tomorrow at The Fairmont Copley Plaza! |
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