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Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,
Our next Boston Green Tourism meeting will be Thursday March 6, from 2:30 to 4:00 at the Lenox Hotel, City Room. Directions are here.
The meeting will conclude with a trip to one of the Lenox's newly renovated guestrooms to identify and discuss the renovation's sustainable aspects; and a cocktail reception in the hotel's City Bar.
Thank you to our hosts: Tedd Saunders, Scot Hopps and Marcella MacKenzie!
I hope to see you there.
Dan Ruben
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SPEAKERS
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Tedd Saunders, President, EcoLogical Solutions & Chief Sustainability Officer, 
The Saunders Hotel Group
Scot Hopps, Director of Sustainability, The Saunders Hotel Group
The Saunders Hotel Group is among the world's greenest and most innovative forces. Tedd and Scot will tell us about its achievements in 2014 and their plans for 2015 including, and
not limited to: the installation of combined heat and power at The Comfort Inn; new
 ventilation controls that reduce energy use; SHG's approach to food waste management; improved heat pumps; their use of "energy treasure hunts" to uncover cost-saving opportunities; strategies to reduce energy for refrigeration; carpet recycling; and their new, efficient cooling tower.
Philip will discuss what hoteliers need to know about disposing of hazardous and universal waste products; and how to reduce the amount of such waste that hotels need to dispose.
Kevin will discuss the 2014 Mass Save program incentives.
Mihir will speak about the  Challenge for Sustainability. In its 5th year, the Challenge is a one-on-one technical assistance program that helps businesses reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint. Businesses have the opportunity to network and share best practices at monthly meetings, workshops, and the Challenge network. |
| IDEAS | |
Dishwasher Heat Exchanger Wins the NRA's Kitchen Innovations 2014 Award;
Company Offers it ½ Price to First Boston Hotel Customer
The National Restaurant Association recognized a dishwasher heat exchanger for their Kitchen Innovations 2014 awards. This product, Novotermic's NVX 2060, recovers heat from the dishwasher drain water and uses it to pre-heat the incoming water for the next dishwasher cycle. It's compatible with most commercial dishwashers.
The unit costs roughly $3,500, excluding installation. The ROI depends on many variables, including dishwasher use and energy prices. The company says that most hotels and restaurants in high energy cost states like MA will have ROI's of under two years. Novothermic has not yet applied for Mass Save program incentives, but will do so shortly.
The annual energy reduction for a restaurant with one dishwasher, serving 3000 meals per week, is roughly 18,000 kWh's, or more than 600 therms.
The unit is small and installation takes about an afternoon.
Novothermic has installed their dishwasher heat exchanger in 15 restaurants so far. Installations are planned for Hyatt Regency Montréal and Hyatt Regency Chicago. The company wants to establish a hotel case study in the Northeast. If your hotel wants to be that case study, Novthermic will sell their product for only $1500. The hotel staff will install it under the free supervision of one of Novothermic's engineers.
If you want to learn more about this offer or the product, contact Novothermic's Richard Turgeon (rturgeon@novothermic.com, (514-777-7398).
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| OPPORTUNITIES | |
WaterSense Webinars 
I encourage you to enlist your property in the WaterSense H2Otel Challenge. Even if you don't, you can still participate in the six webinars. Information about the first two is listed below.
If you have questions, contact the WaterSense Helpline: watersense@epa.gov or 866-WTR-SENS (987-7367).
Do You Need Help Calculating Your Property's Portfolio Manager Score?
Recently, several hoteliers have asked me to help them calculate their hotel's score. If you need help,
too, I recommend that you watch this recorded webinar. Also, I can put you in touch with an EPA expert who will answer your questions at no charge.
There is a third option, too. The City of Boston has posted resources on its Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) website that help mangers calculate their building's Portfolio Manager score, including a step-by-step guide.
I encourage you to visit the BERDO website if your hotel is in Boston, because it has has all of the information you need to comply with the ordinance.
Dispose of Furniture for Less with IRN and Food for the Poor
Do you have surplus beds, chairs, storage cabinets or kitchen appliances to dispose? Local recycling hauler IRN is helping Food for the Poor outfit two schools and three clinics in the Dominican Republic. The disposal cost for participating businesses is subsidized and very low. Contact IRN (www.irnsurplus.com/generators-request.html, 866-229-1962) to schedule a pickup, or to answer your questions.
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ARTICLES
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6 Steps for Major Energy Savings via HVAC & Central Plant Peak Performance
Manny Rosendo, Energy Manager Today, February 13
The author describes how advanced analytics, data science, optimization and continuous commissioning can improve HVAC performance and reduce energy use.
Biodigesters And Dehydrators - Operational Experiences
Zoë Neale, BioCycle, January 2014
This is the 2nd article in a two-part series about these emerging technologies. It provides case studies and lessons learned from several sites that use them, including Boston Marriott Quincy.
The author suggests that facilities look at biodigesters with caution. "Increasingly, wastewater enforcement officials interviewed believe that biodigesters should be looked at in a similar light as commercial pulpers (that discharge directly to sewers), which are not favored by many wastewater districts due to concerns about hydrogen sulfide buildup and slugs in the pipes, and total solids and BOD content." Hence, I recommend that hotels that opt for biodigesters rent or lease the equipment.
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All of the following BGT meetings will be 2:30 to 4:00. Please mark them in your calendars!
March 6: The Lenox Hotel
April 17
June 5
July 24
September 18
October 23
December 4
See you Thursday at the Lenox!
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