Mar 18: GOING GREEN – PART 3

(For part 2, See March 5th article)

Our Chapter recently participated in the online educational HSMAI program on “Going Green”. We were so very fortunate to have the Webinar sponsored by the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB who also hosted at their downtown offices. I was able to attend the first one-hour seminar (“The Cost of Both Going and Not Going Green”) of the three-part series held on March 4th.

Barry Giles, a member of the Leadership in Energy and Environment Development (LEED) faculty and the company, Building Wise, outlined several key selling points for why our companies should “go green”. We know that this is the right thing to do; however, it will also make you better than your competition, it will improve your building with potential increases in property value, and you will experience significant economic returns by reducing your overall operating costs. Mr. Giles provided some background on the United States Building Council’s program and the certification process for LEED.

Most importantly, to get you started in the right direction, it was suggested that you do an analysis first of where you are – for example, look at your current energy use. Work together with your engineering and operations departments. Specific examples of a building and its savings were outlined. Whether you commit to the program or not, you should know what’s actually going on in your building to help you better manage it. And if you do some sort of new program, make sure you put it into your advertising and marketing. Tell everyone (on your website as well) what you are working on doing to “go green” and give an outline of current and future steps.

There are two more parts of the HSMAI webinar series, and space is limited. The second part, “The Green Customer Voice Program”, will be held on March 20; the third part, “So What’s Your Next Step in the Greening of Your Hotel?” will be held on April 3. There is no charge to attend (as the CVB is sponsoring), but reservations are a must. Hoteliers, if you are interested in attending, contact Christine Tascione at ctascione@broward.org for more information.