Sustainable Design Takes Shape at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, an industry leader on environmental sustainability and responsible tourism for more than two decades through its Green Partnership Program, has announced it will further its commitment to greening with the introduction of a new Sustainable Design Policy. Establishing a formalized, worldwide policy, which addresses highly recognized environmental certifications such as the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) for new development projects and renovation programs, also supports the brand's larger pledge to reduce operational CO2 emissions as a member of World Wildlife Fund's Climate Savers program.

"When it comes to greening the hotel industry, we've never been a brand that has rested on our laurels," says the company's President, Chris Cahill. "And while we literally wrote the book on hotel sustainability and have been focused on making our collection of heritage and world-class properties as environmentally sound as possible, we continue to look for new ways to expand our ecological scope. Instituting formalized design and construction guidelines for our robust pipeline of new hotel projects and ongoing capital agenda adds a new dimension to our pioneering environmental mandate. Environmental stewardship is part of Fairmont's DNA and we want to ensure it's evident in all phases of our business."

In addition to promoting the use of highly recognized green building certification systems, Fairmont's Sustainable Design policy also includes new environmental criteria and checklists for renovation projects and property retrofits, environmental consultation during the design brief and construction process, and the creation of a green build best practices repository for use by its hotels, engineers, developers, project leads and architects.

Fairmont Pittsburgh, a new hotel that opened last year, and The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, which unveiled a multi-year restoration program this past October, were the brand's first completed projects under the new policy. As the brand's first LEED certified hotel, Fairmont Pittsburgh achieved a Gold certification by incorporating sustainable design features such as energy efficient lighting and appliances, enzyme waste systems, furnishings and other guestroom amenities made from recycled, organic or sustainable material, and the use of paints, adhesives, sealants, carpets and fabrics with no or low emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds. In London, the restoration of The Savoy included the addition of several new environmental technologies including a waste management system that recycles up to 90 per cent of waste from the hotel and a new heat and power (CHP) plant that reduces the hotel's reliance on the national grid by approximately 50 percent.

In addition to LEED guidelines, a number of other green rating systems and programs will influence Fairmont's activity in this area including the BREEAM (British Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) program in Europe, Estidama Pearls in Abu Dhabi, and China's Three Star program.

With the adoption of its new Sustainable Design Policy, Fairmont continues to be at the forefront of environmental action within the hospitality industry. Most notable is the luxury hotel brand's commitment to address its carbon footprint by pledging to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Working alongside the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world's largest conservation organization, Fairmont has pledged to reduce operational CO2 emissions from its existing portfolio of hotels by 20 percent below 2006 levels by 2013.

With a long standing commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible tourism, Fairmont is a sponsor of the National Geographic Society as well a member of the WWF global Climate Savers program. For more than 20 years, Fairmont's Green Partnership has been the company's award-winning environmental program focused on minimizing the impact of hotel operations on the environment. In addition to publishing "The Green Partnership Guide", a "going green" handbook used by its hotels and others in the hospitality industry, initiatives include recycling and organic waste diversion in hotel kitchens, purchasing sustainable seafood, a green conferencing solution dubbed Eco-Meet, creating rooftop herb gardens at properties, and redistributing gently used goods and food to those in need. For more information on Fairmont's Green Partnership program and the company's industry leading environmental initiatives, please visit www.fairmont.com/environment.