With the ´green´ property movement gaining traction locally and globally, a Cape Town hotel is incorporating all kinds of interesting environmentally friendly practices into its design.
All masonry used in Upper East Side Hotel in Woodstock has been sourced from a local supplier who uses recycled aggregate. The hotel´s ´eco-etiquette´ will be defined according categories such as accommodation, transport, food & beverage, conferencing, location, etc.
Some of the numerous green initiatives include:
- Guest room recycling i.e. low-flow showerheads, reduced packaging on toiletries, energy saving devices in rooms to regulate and control air conditioning, lights and power apart from one dedicated plug. This reduces power consumption in the room by up to 60%.
- The use of bio-degradable guest amenities, made from 100% green and eco-friendly ingredients.
- Water reduction to include tap controls, water re-use/reclamation and encouraging the guests to participate in our “we care about our environment programme”, thus reducing water usage in the laundering of bed linen and towels.
- Heat exchange system: lessens energy used to heat up the central water distribution system.
- Procurement of indigenous plants and flowers instead of imported species.
- Local procurement of supplies (i.e. uniforms, linen, joinery, etc.), from the surrounding area thus reducing carbon footprint on transport.
- Green training and green teams supervised by a ´green committee´.
- Sourcing of local seasonal fruit and vegetables, free-range chicken and meat, organic rooibos tea, etc.
- Use of eco-friendly, inks and paper as well as the recycling thereof.
- Implementation of an eco-friendly waste management and recycling programme.
- Conferencing organisers encouraged to participate in the greening initiative by using on-line registration, locally manufactured conference bags, car share and limiting waste.
- The conferencing facilities have been specifically built to allow natural light to filter into the conferencing rooms.
- Community upliftment projects. The hotel has become a member of the Woodstock Improvement District in order to participate in the rejuvenation of the greater Woodstock area.
“Not only is ´going green´ good for sustainable development, it also impacts a business´ bottomline. This could be in the form of lower energy bills, reduced laundry costs, lower F&B costs, savings in marketing and conferencing material, etc.,” says Andrew Hubbard, CEO of Queensgate, the owner of the hotel.
“Every area of our hotel will benefit from our green strategy and this will result in a higher long-term value of the property,” he says.
The 176-room hotel is currently under construction and set to open in April 2010.
Source: Property24
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