TAA Awards for Excellence 2014

Transcription

1 TAA Awards for Excellence 2014 Category: Hotel Name: Category 03 Best Environmental Practices Crowne Plaza Terrigal Submission Contact Name: Hotel: Position: Ainslie Quilty Crowne Plaza Terrigal Human Resources Manager Phone: (02) Mobile: Address: Pine Tree Lane, Terrigal NSW 2260

2 Submission Contents Policies in place that support environmental best practice Use of energy saving devices or practices with regard to water, energy and waste Quality and quantity of in-house recycling programmes Environment committees to address environmental issues Employee understanding and education on the importance of environmental sustainability Other initiatives that demonstrate sustainable operations Any accreditation and/or memberships of sustainability/environmental organizations Synopsis of Crowne Plaza Terrigal s Sustainability Policy and Procedures Appendices Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Appendix 6 Appendix 7 Appendix 8 Crowne Plaza Terrigal partners with Gosford City Council on a stormwaterr harvesting project during Installation of 296 LED chameleon lights in the basement carpark and fire stairs at Crowne Plaza Terrigal. Minutes from one of the monthly Responsible Businesss Committee meetings at Crowne Plaza Terrigal. Example of Crisis & Fire Training at Crowne Plaza Terrigal. The installation of a new chiller at Crowne Plaza Terrigal is significantly reducing running costs and energy consumption. Crowne Plaza Terrigal s participation in IHG s global Green Engage programme. Synopsis of Crowne Plaza Terrigal s Environmental/Sustainability Policy. Nabers Rating certification

3 Category 03 - Best Environmental Practices Nominated: Crowne Plaza Terrigal Located on the beautiful Central Coast, bordered by a pristine beach and lush woodlands, Crowne Plazaa Terrigal has long respected its unique location by adopting and maintaining a range of environmental initiatives that are regarded as being among the best practice in the Australian hospitality industry. Policies in place that support environmental best practice Crowne Plaza Terrigal has, over a number of years, developed a range of strong policies that demonstrate its commitment to environmental best practice. This policy commitment starts at the top with the hotel s owner, Eureka Funds Management, which is very focussed on developing the property into a green hotel, and Eureka s intent is operationally embraced by IHG as the property manager and, importantly, the executive leadership team of the hotel. To support this commitment and to facilitate ingenuitive thinking, Crowne Plaza Terrigal formed an active Responsible Business Committee several years ago, and in 2013 it renewed the vigour of this committee in line with widespread community expectations on the environment. The policy platform for the Responsible Business Committee is the hotel s overarching Environmental Policy which focuses on energy and water usage awareness, concentrating in particular on many of the small things that make a significant difference such as turning off gas pilot lights and fixing leaking taps. The policy also places a strong emphasis on recycling. Further, the policy commits all employees to contribute to Escap, a reporting tool for maintenance and housekeeping problems and items to be repaired and a database management of all waste, water, energy and gas monthly bills, to monitor occurrences and fix problems to reduce waste. Escap is also used to support the hotel s Green Engage programme by utilizing this reporting data to develop action plans for future environmental initiatives. (see Accreditation and Memberships below) The policy also outlines strategic maintenance programs for servicing equipment such as refrigeration and kitchen equipment to ensure they run efficiently, minimize breakdown periods and reduce energy usage. The policy is technologically supported by a Building Management System, a key part of the Environmental Policy itself, which involves the continuous monitoring of time schedules to adapt to business levels/demands and reduce usage.

4 The sum total of enacting the Environmental Policy has seen Crowne Plaza Terrigal move from a 0 Nabers rating to a 1 Nabers rating. Whilst the actual rating is not high, the scale of the improvement is a significant achievement for a hotel that is 25 years old with ageing infrastructure, and provides a foundation for the hotel to invest and upgrade its equipment to the latest energy-efficient, cost-saving standards which it continued to do during Use of energy saving devices or practices with regard to water, energy and waste Throughout 2013, Crowne Plaza Terrigal implemented a number of initiatives designed to reduce energy consumption and drive cost efficiencies in both water and energy usage. Water Crowne Plaza Terrigal partnered with Gosford City Council to prepare and connect the plumbing work for a stormwater harvesting project at the hotel which will be fully implemented in early A projected 20% saving on the supply of non-potable water for toilets, irrigation, laundry and cooling towers on the ground floor and first floor is expected to be achieved as a result of this project. (Refer Appendix 1 for further details) The spa filtration system was changed during Previously 7,000 litres of water was dumpedd each fortnight; however, as a result of the new system, this discharge was reduced to bi-monthly, saving 150,000 litres of water per year. In addition VSD (variable speed drives) were installed in the spa and pool pump motors to reduce speed and energy use. Power An energy efficiency audit within the hotel led to an employee-driven suggestion to install 296 LED chameleon lights, activated by motion sensors, in the hotel s basement carpark and fire stairs in April (Refer to Appendix 2 for further details) The continued use of a Building Maintenance System (BMS) ensures the on- unnecessary energy usage through reducing timers. The BMS is monitored going adjustment of lighting and air conditioning controls to eliminate daily to ensure these minor adjustments are effective, and a more in-depth weekly review enables more significant adjustments to be made. An energy saving programme for guest-area lighting was implemented with watt hallway lights removed from the guest corridors and replaced with 5-watt globes, reducing wattage by 5W per globe during their 24-hour 7- day week operation.

5 Motion sensors were installed in all public area bathrooms to reduce the time lights are left on. An EP&T Edge energy metering system, consisting of 30 meters, was installed in July 2013 to monitor all hotel energy usage. Monthly teleconferences are held with the supplier to discuss results and identify areas for further improvement. As an example, a spike in demand for power usage on a cooling tower was identified through the metering system and the cause was subsequently investigated. Quality and quantity of in-house recycling programmes Through its Environmental Policy, Crowne Plaza Terrigal is committed to recycling initiatives to reduce landfill in local waste disposal tips and to encourage staff and suppliers to re-use materials where possible. All cardboard boxes used within the hotel, including food and beveragee outlets, are sent to Stores where they are processed through an on-site cardboardd baling machine and collected for recycling. All glass bottles used in food and beverage outlets, including the busy Florida Beach Bar, Seasalt Restaurant, Lord Ashley Lounge and the conferencing areas, are separated from other recycled materials and processed in an on-site glass crusher before being sent to recycling facilities. An aluminium recycling project was initiated in 2013, enabling aluminium cans from the food and beverage outlets and kitchens to be crushed and collected for recycling. Environment committees to address environmental issues Crowne Plaza Terrigal has an active Responsible Business Committeee (RBC) which meets monthly to fulfil KPO tasks and drive initiatives within the hotel ncluding hazard management and controls, workplace inspections, environmental training, sustainability activities, green engagement, and community engagement for responsible business. (Refer Appendix 3 for RBC KPOs and Committee Meeting minutes) Under the commitment to Crowne Plaza Terrigal, Our Safe Haven, the RBC has managerial and/or employee representation from all hotel departments. The Responsible Businesss Action Plan, which highlights all of the hotel s current and future action plans, is monitored through an active working document on Google Drive that is regularly updated with the latest hotel projects and maintains the focus on all areas of responsiblee business including environmental practices.

6 Employee understanding and education on the importance of environmental sustainability The influence of all employees in enforcing the hotel s environmental sustainability is a critical component of its Environmental Policy. This education starts at induction with a dedicated session on the hotel s environmental objectives, and continues throughout an employee s career with ongoing reinforcement and opportunities to contribute to new environmental initiatives. Commitment to the hotel s environmental integrity is included in the employee handbook, ranging from turning off lights around the hotel to participating in recycling teams and being part of the Responsible Business Committee, and on-line IHG training plus opportunities to attend external courses on environmentally-responsible hotel operations is the platform of the hotel s Green Aware programme for employees. Further, a responsible business presentation is made during the hotel s monthly All Colleague meeting, covering all areas such as updated status reports, new practices and procedures and general information in regard to any environmental information and changes within the hotel. Crowne Plaza Terrigal also issues a monthly Risk Management Calender highlighting current risk management and crisis management issues. The calendar also includes relevant 10-minute training sessions and posters on responsible business topics in regard to areas of environmental responsibility including water and energy saving. (Refer to Appendix 4 for an example of Crisis & Fire Training ) Other initiatives that demonstrate sustainable operations In addition to energy saving measures introduced into the hotel, Crowne Plaza Terrigal also undertook a number of capital works initiatives to further reduce energy consumption. A new chiller costing $300,000 was installed in August 2013, significantly reducing running costs and resulting in overall energy consumption savings of approximately 25% to date. (Refer Appendix 5 for further details). A CTI system, first installed in 2009 which cuts off air conditioning in the guest rooms if guests are out of their room or they have left there balcony door open, was upgraded in 2013 to allow for on-going adjustments and monitoring to reduce unnecessary energy usage. The hotel s Building Management System was also upgraded from the original 2009 system to incorporate current state-of-the-art technologies to improve efficiencies.

7 The hotel successfully obtained a grant from the Green Building Fund to purchase seven air handling units and two fan cooling units, reducing energy consumption by 20%. A project to upgrade the motors and carts of the hotel s three guest lifts commenced in 2013 with one lift fully completed, already leading to a 70% reduction in energy consumption. Any accreditation and/or memberships of sustainability/environmental organizations Crowne Plaza Terrigal actively participates in IHG s Green Engage program, a global measurement tool used to assess and benchmark the water, energy and waste performance of IHG hotels. The hotel has completed Levels 1 and 2 of Green Engage, moving it from Partner to Achiever status, and it is currently in the process of reaching Innovator stage through the adoption of additional goal setting, action planning and reporting and the development of a carbon calculator. (Refer Appendix 6 for further details) Synopsis of Crowne Plaza Terrigal s Sustainability Policy and Procedures Refer Appendix 7.

8 APPENDIX 1 Crowne Plaza Terrigal partners with Gosford City Council on a stormwater harvesting project which was prepared during 2013.

9 APPENDIX 2 An energy efficiency audit led to the installation of 296 LED chameleon lights in the basement carpark and fire stairs at Crowne Plaza Terrigal.

10 APPENDIX 3 Minutes from one of the monthly Responsible Business Committee meetings at Crowne Plaza Terrigal.

11 APPENDIX 4 An example of Crisis & Fire Training at Crowne Plaza Terrigal.

12 APPENDIX 5 The installation of a new chiller at Crowne Plaza Terrigal is significantly reducing running costs and energy consumption.

13 APPENDIX 6 Crowne Plaza Terrigal s participation in IHG s global Green Engage programme.

14 APPENDIX 7 Synopsis of Crowne Plazaa Terrigal s Environmental/Sustainability Policy.

15 APPENDIX 8 Nabers Energy Rating certificate