Fairmont Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions by More than Eight Percent

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (Fairmont), a collection of hotels and a member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Savers program, announced that it has reduced its carbon footprint by 8.4 percent as part of its ongoing climate change strategy.

Being a member of the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers program, Fairmont had pledged to reduce its operational carbon-dioxide emissions by 20 percent below 2006 levels by 2013. The decline by more than 8 percent, based on 2010 year-end data, indicates that the hotel company is almost halfway to its ambitious reduction target, stated sources.

Sarah Dayboll, director of environmental affairs, Fairmont, said in a statement, "Looking ahead, we're confident that we can reach our 20 percent reduction target in 2013 by continuing to focus our efforts on improved energy efficiency, increased conversion to low carbon technologies and solutions, and by promoting conservation practices among our 30,000 colleagues worldwide."

As the world's first luxury hotel group to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), Fairmont had identified and implemented a number of key initiatives to help reduce its carbon footprint.

Some of the key initiatives taken by Fairmont to reduce carbon footprint include creation of an internal framework to track, monitor and report on key energy and carbon data; appointing regional champions to oversee audit and data controls; and the introduction of a new Engineer of the Year award to recognize and reward outstanding environmental performance.

In addition, the Fairmont adopted a formalized sustainable design and construction policy and relocated its corporate offices to a LEED NC Gold-certified building, according to a press release.

Chris Cahill, president, Fairmont, said in a statement, "The business community needs to step up and take a leadership position if we're going to affect any real, transformative change, and I'm very pleased that Fairmont has been able to take some positive steps in curbing its energy usage and lowering GHG emissions around the globe. From the daily efforts of our engineers to the determined conservation practices of our hotel-level green teams, we remain committed to persevering and protecting the destinations we call home."

According to Fairmont, several of its hotels have already succeeded in decreasing GHG emissions. For illustration, Fairmont’s Dubai hotel has optimized its temperature control and building humidity settings, resulting in a 17.1 percent reduction in greenhouse gases over the last four years; the Quebec's Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu converted two boilers from oil to electric, thereby reducing the GHG by over 75 percent.

Apart from Fairmont’s Dubai hotel and Quebec's Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, Fairmont also succeeded in reducing GHG at Fairmont San Francisco by 12.1 percent by adding occupancy-sensing guestroom thermostats and by adjusting daily HVAC scheduling in meeting rooms.

Additionally, Fairmont also succeed in reducing GHG at the London property by installing new energy efficient boilers, smart meters, and a waste management system that recycles up to 90 percent of the property's waste and converts it into an energy source, and more.

In recent news as reported by TMCnet, Verizon (News - Alert) has also considerably reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions at 24 of its U.S. data centers.

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