|
InterContinental Chicago's Commitment:
We, the staff and leadership of InterContinental Chicago, are committed to doing our part to preserve our most precious of resources - the world we share. We will strive to create harmony between our environmental responsibility and our financial responsibility to our owners. We believe this balance is essential to sustain prosperity.
Our commitment will be visible by our actions. We will…
- Continuously Improve our environmental performance through development of best practices, training and recognition of excellence
- Innovate and use technology to conserve energy
- Reduce the waste we produce
- Recycle the waste we produce
- Take action to become carbon neutral
- Purchase locally sourced products to reduce fuel waste to transport
- Purchase sustainable, non-toxic products wherever possible
- Promote effective environmental management by our suppliers and contractors
- Integrate environmental responsibility into daily operations and decision-making
We are united in working together to contribute to the prosperity of humanity and the protection of the world we share.
Current examples of InterContinental Chicago's commitment in action:
Recycling
- Hotel has a recycling program for hotel waste (recycling paper, plastic, aluminum cans, cardboard and grease). Trash is sorted at the hotel loading dock and again at our material recycling facility vendor.
- Paper Recycling program initiated with separation of recyclable paper in all offices
- Hotel has a battery and light bulb recycling program (also available for employee personal use)
Energy and Resource Management 
- Hotel purchases 'Green Sustainable Energy Credits' for 50% of the energy it utilizes annually.
- Hotel has installed a system with automated motion detection to conserve energy from lighting and HVAC when guest rooms are not occupied.
- Energy efficient light bulbs have been installed where possible throughout the hotel.
- Hotel has a towel and sheet re-use program, changing every three days unless requested otherwise by guest.
- Toilet 'Tummies' have been installed in all Historic Tower guest rooms to reduce the amount of water utilized when toilet is flushed.
- Aerators have been installed in all guest room sinks with expectation of reducing water use by 50%.
Waste Minimization 
- Housekeeping staff leaves partially used amenity bottles in guest rooms (new ones provided but partially used ones not removed).
- Hotel uses glass and china (non-disposable) serving ware with the exception of 'To-Go' orders for food service. Hotel is currently sourcing vendors and obtaining bids for recyclable 'To-Go' containers and has committed to replace all food and beverage 'To-Go' serving containers with recyclable materials by November 2007.
- Hotel uses cloth napkins wherever possible and is sourcing napkins made with recyclable paper for bar and 'To-Go' service.
- Hotel donates appropriate table scraps and leftover food to local farms or composting sites.
- Coreless toilet paper rolls introduced to reduce cardboard waste
Environmentally responsible purchasing 
- Hotel is sourcing cleaning products that do not introduce toxins into the air or water with commitment to replace existing products that are harmful by November 2007.
- Hotel does not use VOC paints
Education and Community 
- Introduced 'Green Weddings' and 'Green Meetings' options for event planners
- Bicycle rental and tours of Chicago neighborhoods made available to guests
- Organic wine available in ENO
- Culinary team purchases local produce and meats, organic where possible
- Seeds distributed for planting to more than 300 employees
- Green Resource Employee Action Team (GREAT) established
- Green Newsletter launched
Future Projects: 
- Newspaper recycling containers will be placed on each floor and/or separation containers placed on our maid carts to improve newspaper recycling in the hotel
- Increase our purchase of 'Green Sustainable Energy Credits' to 100% of energy utilized
- Create a Green roof on the historic tower
- Install solar thermal panels to heat hotel water (one of the greatest sources of energy use for hotels)
- Purchase and install advanced lighting controls from Lutron
- Achieve Energy Star rating for hotel
- Director of Engineering will achieve LEED certification
- Introduce recycling bins in lobby and public areas for guest use
- Identify options for non-toxic dry cleaning
- Develop and introduce a new 'Green Room' guest room concept that is allergen free, reduces waste and supports a sustained environment.
- Guest 'Green' communication brochure will be developed with 'Green Travel Tips'
- Provide secure bike storage area for our employees
Intercontiental Chicago Becomes FIRST Energy Star Rated Hotel in the Windy City Chicago, Ill. (May 20, 2008) – As of this month, InterContinental Chicago (505 N. Michigan ) has received an Energy Star award for superior eco-friendly initiatives and highly efficient energy use. As the first hotel in the city of Chicago to be certified with this sustainability merit, the InterContinental Chicago stands apart for its commitment to environmentally-friendly travel.
Energy Star ratings are awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy. Commonly recognized on household appliances, the rating of energy performance of commercial and industrial facilities is scored on a 1-100 scale and those facilities that achieve a score of 75 or higher are eligible for the Energy Star, indicating that they are among the top 25% of facilities in the country for energy performance. The InterContinental Chicago has been awarded a rating of 88, indicating it is within the top 12% of energy efficient buildings in the country. According to EnergyStar.gov, “commercial buildings that have earned the Energy Star use on average 35% less energy than typical similar buildings and generate one-third less carbon dioxide.” The InterContinental Chicago's most recent initiatives will include a green roof to be installed this summer. The hotel is also in the final stages of receiving LEED and Green Seal certification.
Click here to read about The InterContinental Chicago in green lodging news
What OUR city is doing
Chicago - Green City USA
Chicago wants to be the greenest city in America. Over the years, the nation's third-largest metropolis has
been called many things ("Windy City," "Second City", "City of the Broad Shoulders", to name a few), but for
people who don't live in Chicago, it always comes as a surprise to learn that this massive industrial town has a green heart.
It wasn't always so.
Chicago's history of stockyards, steel mills, and other heavy industry left scars and toxins on the landscape.
Even worse, the brash, raw energy celebrated in Carl Sandburg's ode to his adopted hometown seemed to have receded by the
late 1980s, leaving the populace tired and gray.
Enter Richard M. Daley, the man generally credited with transforming his city into a green capital of the
new millennium. Elected mayor in 1989, Daley (son of the late Richard J. Daley, who held the office for 21
years), started planting trees, thousands of them every year. In 1992, Daley created the Department of the Environment (DOE)
and chartered it with protecting human health and the environment, improving the quality
of urban life and promoting economic development.
The 100 scientists, engineers, lawyers, and administrators at the DOE now drive 10 major green initiatives,
from air quality to waste management. In 2003, the Mayor appointed a Special Assistant for Green Initiatives to
bring the DOE into all city agencies, ensuring every department considers the environmental impact of its activities and investments.
These days, the city is abuzz with environmental activity, with programs focused on rehabilitating brownfields,
protecting the Lake Michigan shoreline, developing a greenhouse gas emissions exchange, and planting green roofs.
The Green Building Agenda alone is a multi-pronged effort that includes the "greening" of the municipal building code,
guidelines for green municipal facilities and new home construction, and the one-of-a-kind Green Bungalow program,
where four classic brownstones were "greened" to prove what kind of energy savings were possible in older homes. (It ranged from 15 to 49%.)
The range and breadth of green-city projects is breathtaking, and the results are striking. The addition of 250,000
trees help keep temperatures cooler in the summer and clean the air year-round, while more than 80 green roofs do the
same and also reduce storm water runoff. More than 100 miles of bike lanes get thousands of commuters out of their cars.
Hundreds of community-managed parks and gardens, and dozens of farmers' markets, help families improve their health and diet.
City Hall's green roof alone saves thousands of dollars in energy costs every year.
Civic leaders want to make Chicago the hub of green manufacturing and design, with special emphasis on alternative energy,
organic food, and sustainable landscaping. Green Tech (the Chicago Center for Green Technology) landed these types of
businesses as its anchor tenants. Green Tech is a learning lab for homeowners, business people, architects, and builders
to see the latest green building technologies in action and be taught how to use them.
By looking for environmental impacts and opportunities in every aspect of city governance, Chicago is earning
the right to the "greenest city" title. It's also creating a roadmap other cities can follow to improve their own
ecological and economic health. Two important ingredients to the Windy City's success: a leader with the vision
and clout of Mayor Daley, and the sustained investment of money and staff to get the job done.
We look forward to having you experience the city of Chicago and the InterContinental Chicago.
Best regards,
Pamela Gilbert
Director of Sales and Marketing
InterContinental Chicago
|
 |
