ATLANTA, GA, July 3, 2014 -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a global hotel company, has announced that its patented Green Engage® program is helping hotels address the drought conditions in California. IHG is targeting a reduction in water usage in water-stressed areas by 12 percent globally by 2017. To support this global effort, IHG Green Engage Water Conservation Kits were sent to 230 IHG hotels in California.
The resources in the kits include details on how hotels can actively participate in conserving water, with tips on IHG Green Engage Green Solutions to implement, as well as examples of how other hotels have been successful in their water conservation efforts. The kits also include aerators to easily install on water faucets to contribute to the potential savings of over 77 million gallons of water per year in California. Guestrooms are the primary source of water usage in hotels (estimated 30 percent), and aerators can help save water used in guestroom sinks.
The program was built to provide a comprehensive environmental management system that helps hotels leverage data to drive results through Green Solutions. Research shows that over 70 percent of frequent travelers prefer hotels that are engaged with their environment, and the IHG Green Engage program assists with driving guest preference. Earlier this year, the program became aligned with two well-known, third party certifications -- LEED® and Green Key Global (GKG) -- to help streamline the process for IHG hotels to achieve these certifications.
The IHG Green Engage Green Solutions underwater conservation include energy-efficient appliances such as washers, dryers and dishwashers, low-flow showerheads, toilets, and waterless urinals. Others include water zoning for irrigation, rainwater harvesting and treatments and native plants. The Hotel Indigo® San Diego-Gaslamp Quarter property, for example, has a garden with native plants, requiring little water, covering nearly 40 percent of the rooftop to create a greenhouse effect.
See also:
"Californians overwhelmingly support desalination during drought, finds study"
"Funding to help CA communities stretch water supplies, deal with drought"
About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group is one of the world's leading hotel companies -- it has 688,517 rooms in over 4,700 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The company operates nine hotel brands -- InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels and Resorts. For more information, visit www.ihgplc.com.
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