Seven New York City Hotels Honored for Sustainable Hospitality Initiatives

November 9, 2015
Hotel Association of New York City presents second annual awards recognizing green lodging innovation, social responsibility

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Seven New York City hotels were honored for their environmentally friendly lodging practices and socially responsible initiatives as recipients of the second annual Sustainable Hospitality Awards, presented on Monday, Nov. 9 by the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. at HX: The Hotel Experience 2015, North America’s largest hospitality industry trade event.

The Hotel Association’s Sustainability Committee offered awards in two classifications to hotels with fewer than 250 rooms, and to hotels with 250-plus rooms. In the small hotels category, the Roger Smith hotel was presented the Social Responsibility Award for numerous charitable endeavors supported by its employees. The Hyatt Union Square was recognized with the Environmental Protection Award for implementing a comprehensive energy retrofit to minimize energy consumption and output. The Pierre – A Taj Hotel received the Sustainable Hospitality Award for its overall achievement in environmental and social sustainability.

Among the large hotels, Courtyard by Marriott Central Park was given the Social Responsibility Award for integrating an active social responsibility policy for its employees and promoting green initiatives. The Intercontinental NY Times Square was presented Environmental protection Award for implementing innovative waste management programs and energy efficiencies among other initiatives. The Westin New York Times Square received the Sustainable Hospitality Award for its overall commitment to environmental sustainability.

Also honored with the Featured Sustainability Award was the Holiday Inn Express, Times Square South for its unique program that recycles pillow cases to create handmade, color-dyed dresses for donation to young girls in Africa.

“As a leader in New York City’s thriving tourism industry, the Hotel Association of New York City recognizes our role in setting high standards for environmental stewardship and social responsibility,” said Joseph E. Spinnato, president, Hotel Association of New York City. “We are pleased to present the Sustainable Hospitality Awards to seven hotels that are leading the way in green design and corporate social responsibility. We congratulate all the winners.”

A panel of judges comprised of industry professionals conducted site visits and interviews in order to determine the winners. Great Forest, a leading sustainability consultancy and partner of the Hotel Association’s Sustainability Committee, helped to develop the awards and provided expert guidance in selecting the winners.

Hervé Houdré, chairman of the Hotel Association’s Sustainability Committee, explained: “We created the Sustainable Hospitality Awards to support and further New York City’s greater sustainable development goals through the promotion of strategies that encompass the triple bottom line of profit, people and planet. These hotels have successfully integrated sustainable practices into their business models, which are making a positive impact on the environment and on the communities around them.”

Vijay Dandapani, Chairman, Hotel Association of New York City, thanked the committee for its work, saying: “I want to congratulate Hervé Houdré and our Sustainability Committee for their hard work and vision in presenting the Sustainable Hospitality Awards, which we hope will have a lasting impact in promoting sustainability practices in hotels throughout the city. And a special thanks to the judges and to Great Forest for their excellent work throughout the process.”

Hotel Association of New York City

Established in 1878, the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. is one of the oldest professional trade associations in the nation. Its membership includes more than 270 hotels in New York City, representing more than 76,000 rooms and 50,000 employees. http://www.hanyc.org/

Great Forest

With over 20 years of experience, Great Forest is one of the leading sustainability consultancies in the U.S., having pioneered some of the first corporate programs in the country. Great Forest develops, implements and maintains strategies that reduce both environmental impact and costs for corporations and institutions across the U.S. and internationally, in areas that include recycling and waste brokerage and management, energy, LEED, metrics benchmarking and reporting, education, and carbon footprinting. Great Forest’s worldwide network of clients includes Fortune 500 companies in real estate and property management, financial services, insurance, retail and the hospitality industry. Great Forest is a strong supporter of its sister nonprofit Blacksmith Institute for a Pure Earth, an organization that works to clean up and solve pollution problems in the developing world. http://www.greatforest.com/

 

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