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Taking the Eco-Lead: Hotels Jump On Green LEED Certification Bandwagon

by barbarab | July 16, 2007 at 4:34 PM | 0 Comments

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which is the greenest hotel of them all? Heck, is there anyway to gauge a hotel's green bona fides, period? In that regard, help might be on the way.

A recent article in the NYT on the greening of the hotel industry noted that numerous hotels were seeking certification by the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) program. LEED's certification is a rigorous process whereby hotels, and all buildings for that matter, meet strict standards for everything from recycling to water efficiency.

Will LEED Certification be to hotels' green efforts what the Good Housekeeping Seal is to, well, gazillions of consumer products? Details after the jump.

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First, a little more on LEED. From its website:

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. ... LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The certification also includes a credit system, ways for buildings to earn points to earn certification, for everything from water-efficient landscaping and overall energy conservation.

The NYT reported that there were two LEED-certified hotels, a Marriott in Maryland and a Hilton in Washington. As it turns out, there are actually five LEED-certified hotels, and many more in the works. Four of the certified hotels are in the U.S.: The Inn & Conference Center in College Park, Maryland (a Marriott property), The Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco, The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, CA and the Hilton Vancouver Washington.

The fifth, the five-star Kandalama Hotel, is in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Also of note, the Gaia and Orchard Garden made our Best U.S. Green Hotels List back in April.

Hotels are playing up their LEEDS Certification with superlative abandon. The Gaia Napa Valley claims on its website to be the "World's First and Only" Gold LEED Certified Hotel. That makes the Gaia the hotel with the highest LEEDS certification level. There are four levels of LEED certification: certificate, silver, gold and platinum.

We'll be monitoring this as the LEEDS certification expands. There are dozens of hotels in the midst of the LEEDS certification process. Notably, The James in Miami Beach, Starwood's Element in Lexington, Mass., The Ambrose in Santa Monica and, farther afield, Hotel Posada Del Mike Rapu on Easter Island. Mirror, mirror?

Related Stories:
· Enjoy Your Green Stay [New York Times]

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