BOSTON – October 22, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Saunders Hotel Group, based in Boston, was recognized by EPA as one of the nation’s top purchasers of Green Power. As part of EPA’s Green Power Partnership, more than 1,300 organizations are purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually, avoiding carbon pollution equal to that created by the electricity use of more than 2.5 million American homes.
The Saunders Hotel Group (SHG) launched its environmental program in 1989 and has demonstrated industry leadership and a genuine commitment to comprehensive environmental stewardship ever since. Over the last 26 years, the hotels they own and manage, including their flagship Lenox Hotel, have implemented myriad environmental initiatives. These include electric vehicle charging stations at all of their properties a CNG airport shuttle, elegant waste-saving amenity dispensers, LED roof signs and guestroom lighting, waterless urinals, high efficiency HVAC systems and a CoGen plant at their Comfort Inn & Suites in Revere, MA. Their efforts are both visible and behind the scenes – three of their hotels started offsetting their carbon emissions as early as 2001.
“The Saunders Hotel Group and EPA’s other Green Power Purchasers are driving the development of new renewable energy sources and demonstrating that green power makes good environmental and business sense,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “We applaud their efforts and look forward to many other organizations following their lead.”
One of the Saunders program’s main pillars is renewable energy use. After learning that its locations were not well-suited for on-site green power applications, SHG started purchasing green power in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs) in 2001. By 2014, SHG had increased its green power purchase to more than 6 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green-e certified, wind-sourced RECs for 100 percent of its electricity usage.
In addition to extensive efforts to reduce the hotels’ energy usage, SHG empowers guests and corporate clients to understand and minimize their own carbon footprints. In 2013, SHG unveiled the “Travel Lightly” package, which is an opt-in option for guests to offset their travel, food, and water emissions for the duration of their trip. SHG educates hotel guests about its green power use and other sustainability efforts via slide shows on guest room television channels and elevators.
“Our whole team at Saunders Hotel Group is thrilled with this prestigious recognition and proud of our efforts to date. We value our partnership with Energy Star and promise to live up to and exceed the expectations that such an award would create for us. Tackling climate change is the greatest challenge and opportunity of our generation. We are committed to doing our part to find solutions which will affect every business and family,” said Tedd Saunders of The Saunders Hotel Group.
Along with sustainable purchasing policies and green power offerings, SHG strives for more energy-efficient operations. For example, the group’s Comfort Inn & Suites Boston Airport hotel installed a cogeneration unit that provides dramatic energy and greenhouse gas reductions through super-efficient on-site power.
EPA’s Green Power Partnership provides quarterly updated lists of partners using green power in the following categories: K-12 schools, technology and telecommunications, local government, and retail, among others. More information on EPA’s Green Power Partnership can be found at: http://epa.gov/greenpower
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017
