Bare with us as we attempt once again to understand not only how they work, but what their tangible benefits to the environment are. Jurys Boston will pay a 6% premium to Constellation NewEnergy, which will purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from renewable generation souces in the U.S. So, the offset doesn't reduce the electricy the hotel uses. (Though it's been doing that through other green initiatives. More on that in a moment.)

Okay, then what? This is where these offset programs lose us. Are the credits essentially chits that represent an investment in renewable energy sources? Chits, not shares that are traded in some renewable energy secondary market?

Whatever the answers, the initiative sounds like a worthy move, since its pumping money into renewable energy. And apparently, few hotels have done this.

Separately, Jurys Boston has reduced its electric consumption and, as a results, costs, in a lighting retrofit. The hotel replaced incandescent and halogen lighting with compact fluorescent lighting in the majority (seven out of nine) of guestroom room fixtures. It did the same for its hallway lighting as well. If you haven't already noticed, consider yourself forewarned: Going green often means more fluorescent lighting.

Jurys Boston opened three years ago in a 1920s landmark building that was once the Boston police headquarters. That seems fitting, with the hotel industry policing itself on many things green, yuck, yuck. Okay, lights out!

Related Stories:
· Jurys Boston Hotel's Latest Offsetting Decision Just One of Many Green Initiatives [Green Lodging News]