Thrivability SUS TAINABILITY REPORT

Transcription

1 Thrivability SUS TAINABILITY REPORT

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3 T H E C A R B O N I M P A C T A S S O C I A T E D W I T H T H I S R E P O R T H A S B E E N O F F S E T, A N D I T I S T H E R E F O R E % C A R B O N N E U T R A L.

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5 A certificate issued by impactchoice, proving that the carbon impact associated with all 300 printed reports has been offset

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7 Why Thrivability? Thrivability incorporates all that is implied with sustainability but expands beyond its limitations. (Madigan and Delaney, 2014, p. 6) It encompasses three core values that are assimilated with the triple bottom line: people, profit and planet. According to Jean Russell (2013) the language of sustainability is about neutralizing. Thrivability is about succeeding. This is why we see thrivability as the new frontier of the hospitality industry and ultimate goal of environmentalism. The concept is also on the rise. The words thriving, thrivable and thrivability are now used in multiple articles published in very serious reviews, such as the Harvard Business Review and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. People Profit Planet Thrivability incorporates all that is implied with sustainability but expands beyond its limitations. Madigan and Delaney, 2014, p. 6 At Verde Hotels, we are passionate and committed to our journey towards developing thrivable hotels. We aim to see every facet of hotel operation and project management through a sustainable lens. As climate change and environmental degradation has become more pressing, sustainability reports have become common practice not only among JSE listed companies, but many other companies, hotels and lodges who wish to show their commitment to the environment. We chose to do things slightly differently, as we always do here at Verde Hotels. This is why we have chosen to publish a thrivability report, due to our commitment to this new concept on the rise. We are proud to call Hotel Verde our flagship model, a model from which we have gained invaluable experience and knowledge and will grow our brand, develop and manage future hotels. Thank you to everyone who has made and continues to make it possible to confidently showcase Hotel Verde as one of the greenest hotels in the world. This report outlines our thrivable hospitality model and the interventions and actions performed by the flagship property of Verde Hotels: Africa s greenest hotel, Hotel Verde, Cape Town Airport. All of our practices have been audited through LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), Green Star SA, Heritage and our Green House Gas emissions and inventory audit. *All figures in the report are based on calculations from the Financial Year March 2014 to February 2015.

8 For many years my life-motto and the belief of my family, has been that we have a responsibility as a company, as employers and as visitors on this planet to live as sustainably as possible. The seed of Verde Hotels has germinated from this very thought. What we have achieved over the last three years is a testament to the passion and dedication of a team of people who have made it their business to be the change. The mighty willpower of our team to tackle the seemingly impossible exceeded my every expectation. I quickly realised that my dream to provide something luxurious and truly sustainable was not only possible, but was also a business model worth sharing, with the potential to change lives and the industry as we know it. Thanks to our partner, Ecolution Consulting and a number of other hardworking individuals, we were able to achieve several prestigious certifications and awards, proving the extent to which we have gone to be thrivable. We attempted to leave no stone unturned when planning and implementing our initiatives. The seven sins of green washing are rife in business today because the area of sustainability and now thrivability is still developing. We aim to fight green washing through legitimate interventions, education and honest and transparent communication. We also acknowledge that we are on a perpetual road paved with hard work, constant lessons (and victories). Many people are wary of the cost implications of being sustainable. But it has become apparent to me that if one makes the right, ethical choice the return will follow. I hope that people will see all of our cumulative efforts and that they will be inspired to implement small changes in their lives and businesses too. Mario Delicio

9 The Delicio Family From left: Romina, Mario, Anika, Annemarie and Svenja Delicio The entire Delicio family has played a huge part in making Hotel Verde what it is today. For example, Annemarie s love for art, décor and landscaping resonates throughout the hotel and has given the hotel its home-away-fromhome character and charm. She was the counterpart to Les Harbottle designs who is known for his excellent work on interior design. It was Anika who came up with the name Hotel Verde and contributed significantly to the procurement and processes during construction. Svenja conceptualised and created some of the art and was part of creating the beautiful mosaic wall that stands at the entrance, whilst Romina was influential in conceptualising and refining the values and mission statement of the hotel.

10 CONTENTS VERDE HOTELS AT A GLANCE 1 THE VERDE VALUES 1 Caring 1 Honest 1 Passionate 2 Respectful 2 Sustainable 2 THE VERDE PRINCIPLES 4 Responsible Tourism 4 Lifestyle and Community 4 OUR CORE LEADERS 5 A TURNKEY SOLUTION 8 FIRSTS FOR AFRICA 9 LEED PLATINUM FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION 9 CARBON NEUTRAL HOTEL EXPERIENCE 12 About the Kariba REDD+ Project 12 Making it Personal Green House Gas Audit 14 Environmental Savings of our Clients 15 LEED PLATINUM FOR EXISTING BUILDING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 16 GREEN STAR SA EXISTING BUILDING PERFORMANCE 17 OTHER FIRSTS FOR THE AFRICAN CONTINENT 18 WORLD S BEST CITY HOTEL FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISM 21 AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS 23 PEOPLE 25 THE AVANTI PROGRAMME 25 The Energy Challenge 25 In-Waste-Tigate 26 Birthday Celebrations 27 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE 28 EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT 28 SECURITY 30 GUEST INVOLVEMENT 30 GUEST SATISFACTION 33 EDUCATION AND AWARENESS 34 IPTV Screens 34 Book Exchange 36 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 37 The Art of Environmental Responsibility 37 Donations, Sponsorships, and Hosted Events 39 Stationery Drives 40 Etafeni Centre 40 Blood Donation Drives 42 Haven Night Shelter 42 Eco-Outings 43 Green Tours 43 Arbour Month 45 Earth Hour 47

11 PROFIT 49 RETURN ON INVESTMENT 49 QUANTIFIABLE ROI S 50 Water and Sewerage Saving Interventions 50 Energy Saving Interventions 50 Utility Costs 50 In-house Bottling Plant 51 Press Exposure 52 NON-QUANTIFIABLE ROI S 54 PLANET 55 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION 55 SUSTAINABLE SITE 56 INTEGRATED DESIGN (ENERGY MODEL) 56 ACTIVE SYSTEMS - ENERGY (TECHNICAL INSTALLATIONS) 59 Hotel Verde Mains Consumption Showing Renewable Energy Contribution 59 Photovoltaic Panels on North Facing Roof and Façade 60 Energy Generating Gym Equipment 62 Elevators with Regenerative Braking 63 Intelligent Building Management System 63 Efficient and Intelligent Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning System 64 Demand Controlled Ventilation to Bedrooms 64 Main Power Isolation Switch to Each Bedroom and Meeting Room 65 Motion/Occupancy Controlled Lighting 65 Hotel Verde Energy Consumption Split 65 Hotel Verde Energy-Use Intensity 65 ACTIVE SYSTEMS - WATER (TECHNICAL INSTALLATIONS) 66 Grey Water Recycling Plant (from baths and showers) 66 Water Usage Overview 68 Sub-Soil Drainage and Rainwater Harvesting 68 PASSIVE DESIGN 71 De-Materialisation 71 Other Renewable Products 71 Energy Efficiency in Passive Building Design 72 Water Efficiency in Passive Building Design 75 OPERATION 79 RESPONSIBLE PROCUREMENT 79 Equipment 80 WASTE MANAGEMENT 80 Percentage Waste Diverted 80 Average Monthly Waste 82 DEPARTMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 86 Reservations 86 Kitchen and Bar 86 Housekeeping 89 Time of Use (Off-Peak, Standard and Peak) 89 Conferencing 90 Maintenance 91 ECO SYSTEMS 92 The Wetland 92 AREA UPLIFTMENT 92 On-Site Food Garden 92 The Eco Pool 94 OUR ENVIRONMENTAL VISION STATEMENT 95 REFERENCE LIST 97 CREATIVE TEAM 98

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13 VERDE HOTELS AT A GLANCE THE VERDE VALUES Caring Caring for our guests, community, employees and the planet is something that comes naturally to us. We treat each individual and our environment with the utmost consideration and compassion. Care, however also extends to our commitment to provide protection, health and welfare to our employees. We believe the smallest acts of care have the potential to change one s day and ultimately one s life. One of the five "Core Value Clocks" at reception showing various time zones around the world Honest Honesty in this sense does not just mean telling the truth, but also to be sincere, transparent and honorable in everything that one does. Crucial to any kind of relationship, be it business or personal, honesty is the basis of trust. It is our vision that these sincere relationships are formed with our guests, employees and stakeholders, creating a place where employees are proud to work and guests feel at home

14 Passionate We strive to inspire others through our commitment and drive to deliver service that is outstanding and engaging. We hope that our employees will see their responsibility at Verde Hotels as far more than just a job. That they will take pride in each and every duty that they undertake, follow a passionate pursuit regarding their career, sustainability and their personal lives. Respectful Respect is an attitude that outweighs mere tolerance for another's culture, gender, belief, opinion or race. We wish to show respect for our employees and guests as individuals for the value they can add to our hotels and our company by building a relationship through continuous acts of consideration and regard. Sustainable We aim to mitigate our environmental impact as much as is possible. We believe in creating a harmony and synergy with our natural environment where each and every hotel is located. We embrace sustainability as our culture and strategy, not just a part if it. It is in our DNA as a brand and governs each and every decision that we make. The clock representing the value "sustainable" - Cape Town time Our Mission Statement - To develop thrivable hospitality solutions that meet credible third party certification criteria, whilst incorporating the Verde principles through design, project and operation management and training

15 A view of the five clocks in reception displaying our value and the different time zones around the world - 3 -

16 THE VERDE PRINCIPLES Responsible Tourism Being a responsible and ethical company is of the utmost importance to us. Responsible tourism is a well-known concept that has been adopted by many destinations, tourism bodies and hotels worldwide and is something that we feel synergises with our beliefs and goals as a thrivable hotel management group. In 2002, Cape Town became the second destination in the world to adopt a Responsible Tourism declaration. In 2009, this expanded into a Responsible Tourism Policy and Action Plan adopted by the city. The initial declaration outlined standards under which tourism should be governed. We will utilise these standards going forward as a further guideline to build, retrofit and operate our hotels. We therefore always aim to: Minimise negative economic, environmental, and social impacts Generate greater economic benefits for local people and enhance the well-being of communities Involve local people in decisions that affect their lives Make positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage Provide more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues Provide access for physically challenged people Promote local pride and confidence (City of Cape Town, 2002, pg. 3) Lifestyle and Community For us, lifestyle is more of an aspiration towards better, more conscious and sustainable living expressed in all activities by individuals. It s about touching everybody in the process of going green and providing a platform for behavioural change and mind-set moulding. Our investors/owners and managers, our team and guests should all be offered the opportunity to embrace a sustainable lifestyle from their own point of view; by doing business, by working at a green hotel or even just by staying at a green hotel as a guest. We believe that sustainable business projects depend upon our ability to ensure that our relationship with our clients, guests and employees is more than merely a business relationship. They should feel a sense of belonging to the Verde community and expect relationships within that community to continue whilst holding each other accountable for effort in sustainability

17 OUR CORE LEADERS O W N E R S A N D D I R E C T O R S D I R E C T O R Mario and Annemarie Delicio Mario and Annemarie Delicio are the owners and directors of Verde Hotels and Hotel Verde Cape Town. Whilst hospitality is not Mario s primary expertise, he is a seasoned traveller who holds a sound knowledge of the different African markets. He is a joint shareholder of a hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and CEO of the South African companies In2Bev (Pty) Ltd and Dematech (Pty) Ltd which has industrial agencies for several European companies based all over the African continent. It is through Mario s extensive travel experience that he was able to recognise the needs of international travellers, ensuring Hotel Verde has all the necessary additions to ensure convenient and comfortable travel. Annemarie was key to the interior design of the Hotel as a counterpart to Les Harbottle. She was a teacher in a children s home in Germany before she came to South Africa in 1993 with Mario and their 3 daughters. She has always been very artistic and her creative touch can be seen everywhere in the hotel. She loves gardening and has contributed most to the beautiful landscaping of the uplifted gardens and plants found throughout the hotel. Anika Delicio Anika has worked as a chartered accountant in South Africa and abroad before she joined the Hotel Verde team in She was responsible for managing the preopening logistics around fit-out of the hotel as well as procurement and finance functions. Having returned to the finance industry, Anika has specialised in tax, wealth management and financial planning and is involved with Verde Hotels from a strategy, finance and tax perspective. It is incredibly inspiring to see how two people s vision for a better future for our planet has taken a physical form with Hotel Verde, and now, even more with Verde Hotels as a hotel management company. The possibilities of what can be achieved are endless if one has the right people with the right passion working toward the right goal. We are not inheriting the world from our fore fathers, rather we are borrowing it from our children. That is the view we must take to live more sustainably. We have, as individuals and as a company, a responsibility towards our current and future generations

18 G E N E R A L M A N A G E R O F H O T E L V E R D E Samantha Annandale TECHNICAL AND FACILITIES M A N A G E R David Pollock With 23 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Samantha is highly tuned in to the need for constant innovation, which shapes the industry. She played a huge role in the successful launch of the Hotel and is now an instrumental part of the expansion of Verde Hotels. Samantha is passionate about helping others. She personally assisted in the placement of approximately 1000 youths through the Hospitality Youth Initiative. She has the ability to see the potential in people and projects, and most importantly, is able to harness and develop those potentials. David has intensive knowledge and skills in project management with specific reference to construction and post construction technical maintenance. Before joining Hotel Verde, David managed PV Twine and Sons Construction for four years. He was the originator for the importation of electric golf carts to South Africa. David s degree in architecture has been extremely beneficial throughout the planning process of Hotel Verde. He worked closely with Ecolution and Atvantage as the client representative, overseeing the entire construction and fit-out of the hotel. As an experienced hotelier, Verde Hotels has opened my eyes to the extensive possibilities that lie within the sphere of green building and the need for hotel chains to alter the way they operate. Continuously challenging the conventional methods of hospitality, the team at Hotel Verde has learned the ins and outs of building and maintaining a high performance, ecological building. The experiences made have been instrumental in forming and fine tuning the thrivable concept, which makes the hotel the perfect flagship model for future green hotels. It has been an honour and a privilege to see this concept to completion and witness the great feedback from guests and industry professionals alike. Many people feel that going green is just too expensive but we have seen that the payback period is better, to that of a normal hotel because the green innovations make such a difference to your bottom line. Hotel Verde has proved this through its 30% lower operational cost. Once the payback period is complete, you will continue to reap the rewards and financial gains of your wise investment decision

19 FINANCIAL MANAGER OF HOTEL VERDE Maresa Pretorius ' Marésa s career spans over 30 years of financial management in private, commercial and parastatal companies. In depth knowledge and experience in computer systems including software and peripheral devices, Marésa is able to analyse and assess any company operation in its totality and she has positively affected the bottom line of the companies she was involved in. Forecast and Risk Management has been an integral part of her portfolio during her career and her astute focus and attention to detail, effecting procedures and strategies benefited Hotel Verde during her tenure as opening Financial Manager and now also within Verde Hotels. The first step in achieving prosperity and wealth is learning to appreciate what you already have. In my dealings with Verde Hotels I have become all the more conscious of the precious resources that our beautiful earth has to offer us and just how limited they are becoming. The time has come for a shift in consciousness. We are merely but stewards of the planet. Stewardship is an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. We can all make meaningful contributions by simply getting involved. SUSTAINABILITY ENGINEER AND FOUNDER ' Andre Harms -Ecolution Consulting André is an electro-mechanical engineer; Green Star accredited professional and qualified Commissioning Process Provider. In 2011, André founded Ecolution Consulting; a consultancy practice specialising in sustainability and green building design and construction. He is largely responsible for the success of Hotel Verde as africa s greenest hotel for which he conceptualised and co-ordinated the entire sustainability project. Previous to this project, André spent 14 months in Antarctica as a mechanical engineer and team leader of the South African National Antarctic Expedition s overwintering team. Travellers, especially from overseas, are becoming more and more attuned to green accommodation and often specifically search for it. Many of the other green building principles result in a more pleasant living and working environment for guests and employees; this directly translates to happy guests that want to return to the hotel, as well as more productive, longer retained and less absent employees. From a development point of view, green buildings have a higher value and can fetch higher rental rates, an important factor when the owner-operator business model is not a definite or in case it should change

20 A TURNKEY SOLUTION Our hotel management model is purposefully designed to deliver leading hospitality solutions with a turnkey approach for: Design, construction of a new hotel; or Retrofit of an existing building or hotel; and The management of the hotel in accordance with the Verde thrivability objectives to guarantee a sustainable and commercially viable business case. Our approach includes some of the following elements: Site Audits and feasibility studies An externally moderated environmental impact assessment LEED/Green Building Council Consulting, energy modelling and building commissioning process Design, project and strategies management Installation of efficient energy and water saving technologies Asset management: sustainable operation and maintenance of hotel On-going training and Human Capital Investment - 8 -

21 Hotel Verde opened its doors in August Since then, our hotel has become known as Cape Town s iconic green darling, loved by locals and those abroad. We were officially rated by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa in March 2014 as a four star hotel. Based just 400m from Cape Town International Airport, one might think this to be an unlikely location for one of Africa s most innovative hotels but Hotel Verde provides the prefect eco-friendly portal to Cape Town. Guests receive a combination of luxury, convenience and sustainability and are introduced to local culture and the concept of responsible tourism. Hotel Verde has brought to the South African and African hospitality market, a number of proud firsts. LEED PLATINUM FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION LEED is the triple bottom line in action, benefiting people, planet and profit. (United States Green Building Council. 2015) In order to guide the design and construction process towards international best practice and ensure true credibility in our efforts to be sustainable, our team with assistance from Ecocentric, applied for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) registration with the certification goal of LEED Gold right from the outset. Our expectations were finally exceeded in May 2014, when we became certified with LEED Platinum for New Construction the highest rating possible. This made Hotel Verde the first hotel in Africa to be certified with LEED Platinum and one of only six hotels worldwide at the time. LEED is an internationally recognised green building rating and certification system. This system, developed by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) and administered and audited by the GBCI (Green Building Certification Institute), provides independent third party verification that a building was designed and built to be sustainable. It is considered globally as the premier mark of accomplishment in green building. Sustainable in this sense refers to a comprehensive list of factors including, but not limited to, energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 and other greenhouse and harmful gas emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts

22 With each new LEED-certified building we get one step closer to the USGBC s vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation. As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, Hotel Verde is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement. Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of USGBC Hotel Verde utilised a holistic approach in which we considered all LEED categories in order to guide our processes and implementations. The following score card outlines the points awarded to Hotel Verde for each category in achieving LEED Platinum for New Construction. LEED Category Hotel Verde Score Card Sustainable Sites Water Efficiency Energy and Atmosphere Materials and Resources Indoor Environmental Quality Innovation in Design 19/26 9/10 31/35 7/14 9/15 6/6 Some of the aspects that were considered during the design and construction phase in order to qualify for a LEED Certification

23 Our first LEED Platinum plaque proudly displayed at the entrance of the hotel

24 CARBON NEUTRAL HOTEL EXPERIENCE In May 2014, Hotel Verde became the first hotel in Africa to offer accommodation and conferencing that is 100% carbon neutral. We chose to absorb the cost of offsetting the guests carbon emissions, in order to demonstrate our dedication and commitment to reduce our environmental impact. We wished to go one step further and showcase the way in which hotels can hold themselves directly accountable for the carbon emissions generated by the hotel for a guest s stay or conference as opposed to simply giving guests the option to pay extra to offset their emissions. In order to ensure that we correctly and effectively offset the carbon emissions of our guests, we teamed up with environmental sustainability specialist impactchoice. The impactchoice solution enabled us to provide tangible proof to our guests that the emissions attributable to their stay have been offset, whilst also allowing our business clients to reduce their own Scope 3 Corporate Travel emissions be it via company accommodation or conferencing. We are happy to report that the financial benefits of our carbon credit purchases have gone to financially benefiting the Kariba REDD+ Project in Zimbabwe. About the Kariba REDD+ Project The Kariba REDD+ Project is located on the shores of Lake Kariba in Northern Zimbabwe spanning an area of hectares. It connects several game reserves and national parks including Mana Pools National Park and Chizarira. Over the past few years, Northern Zimbabwe has lost 3% of its forest cover, whilst wildlife populations have become threatened and effected. The project aims to combat these negative effects and uplift the local communities in the process with financial support from project supporters such as Hotel Verde. The benefits to the local community have included: Providing year-round food security Protecting local biodiversity and conserving natural resources Creating employment opportunities Facilitating new sources of sustainable income generation Promoting gender parity and the empowerment of women Strengthening social infrastructure through education and healthcare Upholding indigenous cultural identity whilst providing a platform for training and knowledge transfer (impactchoice, 2014). Some of the community members working on the farm in the Lake Kariba area pose for a photograph

25 Making It Personal... After each stay or conference, our guests receive an auditable, trackable carbon-offset certificate via . This records the personal carbon offset of their stay. They can share this via social media or and it can also go towards company audits and sustainability reports. The Micro-Carbon Mitigation Certificates provided by impactchoice allow individuals or companies to make mini investments in accredited projects that have a real social element and reduce the Carbon emissions that result from activities such as travel and accommodation. The chosen project has emissions reductions that are real, measurable and permanent. The Carbon Offsets are validated by recognised verification bodies such as the Verified Carbon Standard, the Gold Standard and the Plan Vivo. All guests receive a Micro-Certificate after their stay at Hotel Verde The total carbon offset by Hotel Verde for the financial year was metric tonnes of CO2-e, which is equal to just over 5.3 million kilograms of coal burned. Green House Gas Audit Assessment report, impactchoice

26 Green House Gas Audit An emissions inventory and audit of our greenhouse gas emissions was compiled and conducted by impactchoice for the 2014 financial year, proving that we had provided a carbon neutral experience for all our guests and conference facility use clients. This was based on, and as a result of, offsetting our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The company audit and assessment was done in accordance with the GHG Protocol s Corporate Accounting and Reporting Guidelines. The Hotel Carbon Management Initiative methodology was used to calculate guest facing per room night, and per hour of conference facility use emissions intensities. All carbon credits utilised were sourced from internationally recognised and certified projects which have been fully retired on the relevant climate registries. Due to the fact that the carbon offsetting initiative only began in May 2014, we chose to offset the outstanding two months through the purchase of an additional carbon credit, in addition to compensating for the shortfall between use of the HCMI methodology for our guest facing / conference facility use carbon offset certificates and our actual operational Scope 1 and 2 emissions as determined by the GHG Protocol. Since we now have a differentiated environmental sustainability model ingrained into our core operations to compensate annually for our direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions, we will now be targeting our supply chain emissions. We will do this by approaching our suppliers and proposing that they too choose to offset their direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions. This will reduce the indirect Scope 3 emissions incurred by us as a result of supplier engagement. The different types of carbon emissions and their relevant scopes (impactchoice, 2015)

27 Environmental Savings of our Clients Thanks to our carbon offsetting programme our clients have benefited. Companies and airlines are able to utilise our carbon offsetting certificates directly towards their own sustainability reports. The following diagrams show an example of the actual environmental savings of an airline crew staying at the hotel on a three year contract: Representation of a one night stay for the entire air crew: 493 KG CARBON DIOXIDE AVOIDED 1368 KWH ELECTRICITY REDUCED L WATER SAVED 37,8 KG WASTE TO LANDFILL DIVERTED During their three year contract, the airline will have offset the following:

28 LEED PLATINUM FOR EXISTING BUILDING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Our sustainability strategy as a hotel Management Company sees the necessity of following through on green building practices with operating a building in a holistically sustainable manner. This was ultimately what drove our need to benchmark our own operations using LEED Existing Building Operation and Maintenance. In July 2015, we achieved a Platinum certification, making Hotel Verde the first hotel globally to have double LEED Platinum certification from the United States Green Building Council, proving the sustainable management of our hotel is of the highest global standard. The LEED for Existing Building Operation and Maintenance tool allows for companies to benchmark their on-going performance, making sure ones existing building is performing as intended. (USBC, 2015) Specifically, the rating system addresses exterior building site maintenance programmes, water and energy use, environmentally preferred products and practices for cleaning and alterations, sustainable purchasing policies, waste stream management, and on-going indoor environmental quality. (USGBC p. 14) Once again, Hotel Verde used an inclusive approach with regards to creating and maintaining hotel operations in a sustainable manner. This is an imperative achievement to us at Verde Hotels as it showcases our ability to maintain a truly sustainable operation, which is fundamental to our case for the commercial viability of green hotels. LEED Category Hotel Verde Score Card Sustainable Sites Water Efficiency Energy and Atmosphere Materials and Resources Indoor Environmental Quality Innovation in Operations Regional Priority 21/26 12/14 32/35 7/10 8/15 5/6 4/4 HOTEL VERDE Cape Town, South Africa HOTEL VERDE Cape Town, South Africa LEED FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION LEED FOR EXISTING BUILDING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE May 2014 July 2015 Certificates for LEED Platinum for New Construction and Existing Building Operation and Maintenance

29 GREEN STAR SA EXISTING BUILDING PERFORMANCE In June, Hotel Verde was also awarded the highest accolade of a six star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa for the Green Star SA Existing Buildings tool. This provided yet another third party verification of Hotel Verde s status of world leadership in green building operation, ensuring our hotel is continually operated with stringent efficiency and sustainability targets. Hotel Verde came on board as a pilot project (only hotel to be rated in South Africa) and co-operated with the GBCSA in order to assist in making the tool more applicable and accessible for various types of buildings, including hotels. We want many more hotel owners and operators to follow the example set by Hotel Verde. The hotel management have shown that green innovations and implementations are not only possible in the tourism industry but add an additional dimension to their service offering. Brian Wilkinson, GBCSA CEO Green Star SA rating tools include nine separate environmental impact categories: Category Hotel Verde Score Card Management Indoor Environment Quality Energy Transport Water Materials Land-use and ecology Emissions Innovation 83% 74% 78% 100% 33%* 76% 100% 71% 90% *Due to a lack of suitable benchmarks to utilise, there was difficulty in rating the water saving aspect of the hotel within the tool

30 OTHER FIRSTS FOR THE AFRICAN CONTINENT Power generating gym equipment Industrial scale Vertical geothermal loop system Regenerative Drive elevators Cobiax Void Formers The innovation of our flagship model has given us the opportunity to share our story through a variety of platforms, be it through speaking opportunities or educationals with important delegations within government and tourism. Some of the many speaking opportunities afforded to Hotel Verde have included: African Utility Week in Cape Town, the Hotelier Summit Africa in Morocco, the Hotel Investment Conference Africa in Johannesburg, World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town, the Hotel Conference in Addis Ababa and the Hotelier Middle East Sustainability Summit in Dubai. Geothermal Header found in the plant room, the heart of the hotel

31 Hotel Verde boasts three regenerative drive elevators - a first for Africa

32 Roxanne Norman accepts the World s Best City Hotel for Responsible Tourism award at World Travel Market London. (November 2014) During their eco-tour, Secretary- General, Dr Taleb Rifai and President and CEO of WTTC, David Scowsill, being informed by Sarah Farrell, that the menus were made from the wooden crates that the regenerative drive lifts came in

33 WORLD S BEST CITY HOTEL FOR RESPONSIBLE TOURISM On November 5, 2014 Hotel Verde was awarded the World Responsible Tourism Award for Best City Hotel at World Travel Market Landon. The hotel was nominated by Cape Town Tourism in recognition of our preservation of, respect for and benefit to the City of Cape Town and its local community. The Responsible Tourism Awards were founded in 2004 to recognise and encourage change in the tourism industry. In its 11th year, this event has grown to be the largest and most respected Responsible Tourism Award in the world. The principle behind the awards is that all types of tourism, from specialised to conventional, should be organised in a way that preserves, respects and benefits destinations and local people. Consequently, General Manager, Samantha Annandale was invited to speak about Hotel Verde as a model for responsible tourism at the 13th annual Responsible Tourism Conference held in Cape Town in The Responsible Tourism conference gala event was also held at Hotel Verde whilst many of the responsible tourism delegates stayed at the hotel during their visit to Cape Town. In addition, Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom organised for United Nation World Tourism Organisation Secretary-General, Dr. Taleb Rifai, and President and CEO of World Travel and Tourism Council, David Scowsill, to attend a site inspection at the hotel during their visit to South Africa to deliberate with government and public sector stakeholders around the topics of responsible and sustainable tourism growth. I am very impressed by Hotel Verde and even though their environmental impact may be considered very small on a global scale, the fact that they are able to inspire their staff s behaviours and spirit, in terms of being a leader in Responsible Tourism, make them stand out above the rest. Coupled this with the fact that they have proven on the triple bottom line, that going green can be economically, viable, profitable and sustainable, makes Hotel Verde an inspiration for the tourism sector and the African continent. Dr. Rifai, United Nations World Tourism Organisation

34 Hand over of the Responsible Tourism time capsule at the launch of World Travel Market Africa 2015 containing the promises made by all Responsible Tourism Delegates to conserve the environment in their work and personal capacity. From left: Anton Groenewald (City of Cape Town), Dr Harold Goodwin (Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University); Patricia de Lille (Mayor of Cape Town); Samantha Annandale Hotel Verde employees gather to celebrate LEED Double Platinum (2015)

35 AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS Hotel Verde Awards Save, the Energy Efficiency Forum for Commercial Buildings Winner 2013 City Improvement District Award 2013 Eco-Logic Awards (by Enviropaedia) Water Category Winner 2013 Internorga, Hamburg Trendsetter Category Winner 2014 Eco-Logic Awards (by Enviropaedia) Energy Category Winner 2014 Lilizela (Imvelo) Award Best Overall Environmental Management System Winner, 2014 World Travel Market London World Responsible Tourism Best City Hotel Winner 2014 Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Award (Top 1% of hotels on Trip Advisor) 2015 Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2015 Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2016 Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence 2017 Green Hotelier Award for Africa and the Middle East Winner 2015 Skål International Global Sustainable Tourism Award Urban Accommodation Hotel Verde Certifications 5 Star Master Builder Association Certification star hotel accreditation delivered by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa 2014/2015 Certification for the implementation of best practices in Water Conservation and Water Recycling by the City of Cape Town 2014 LEED Platinum for New Construction (by the US Green Building Council) 2014 Green Star SA Existing Building Performance 6 Star Certification 2015 LEED Platinum for Existing Building Operation and Maintenance 2015 Fair Trade Tourism Certified Business 2017 Hotel Verde Memberships Heritage Platinum Member 2012/ % Green Pilot Project 2013 Federated Hospitality Federation of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) Member 2014/2015 World Design Capital Official Project WDC South Africa Tourism Services Association Member SATSA Chamber of Commerce Member Cape Town Tourism Member

36 Eco-Logic Awards (by Enviropaedia) Water Category - (2013) Save - The Energy Efficiency Forum for Commercial Buildings - (2013) Internorga, Hamburg - Trendsetter Award - (2014) Eco-Logic Awards (by Enviropaedia) Energy Category - (2014) Lilizela (Imvelo) Award - Best Overall Environmental Management System - (2014) Green Star SA Existing Building Performance 6 Star Certification - (2015)

37 At Verde Hotels, we always place people at the forefront of the thrivability model. This is because we believe that people are the core of our establishment and the driving force behind the success of Hotel Verde and ultimately Verde Hotels. We believe in improving the health and well being of our employees, providing opportunities for growth and learning and training them to be multi-skilled. We hope to make sustainability inherent in job performance, but also to become the lifestyle our employees takes back to their homes and communities. We also believe that part of our responsibility, as a company, is to make a positive impact on the communities in which we operate. Extending our reach beyond our doors, we are attempting to transform and benefit our local community, support local entrepreneurship and sustainable development. THE AVANTI PROGRAMME All employees at Hotel Verde receive induction training, not just on their role, but also on all of the sustainability initiatives. It is important to us that all employees are well-versed on the key elements of sustainability within the hotel in order to correctly and passionately communicate with guests on all the sustainable touch points in the hotel. We do, however understand that in all cases there is a need to bridge educational gaps (some big and some small) with regard to sustainability as a whole and the intricacy of the sustainability initiatives within the hotel. This is why the Avanti programme was born. Avanti, which means moving forward in Italian was created in May 2014 with the aim to empower, educate and train employees through awareness and event participation and help the hotel to improve environmental savings through behavioural change and incentivising employees through departmental competitions and team building. A back of house wall was dedicated to the programme in order to communicate progress news and performance with employees. Since launching, Avanti has focused on two main drives to improve efficiency and expand our reach: The Energy Challenge After learning about the ins and outs of energy saving, departments had to come up with checklists to adhere to that would help their department to take more responsibility and save electricity. These checklists were designed, printed and laminated to provide departments with a checklist white board to be reused and ticked off each day. Whilst checklists mostly consisted of many small reminders, this drive proved that small changes in behaviour can make a difference. At the end of the energy drive, housekeeping was named the winner of the energy challenge, making the biggest contribution to the improvement in the hotel s energy consumption

38 In-Waste-tigate The first set of waste training consisted of mind-set changes around reducing waste and rethinking what one can do with waste. The employees were trained on up-cycling and given the opportunity to compete in the up-cycle competition. This meant using hotel or home waste to re-invent an item of interest to potentially be sold. The second set of waste training consisted of all employees sorting general waste into the 12 recycling streams utilised by Hotel Verde. Each team was given one general waste box and 12 small bins with the different recycling labels. Once all teams were complete they were given feedback on where they went right or wrong in their waste separation. The overall winning team was rewarded with a week s worth of employee meal vouchers. Whilst during the initial stages of our waste drive, our waste to landfill diversion was at its best, we noted a significant drop in that statistic over the busy months. Whilst this can be attributed to high occupancy and our inability to control the items brought in by guests, waste remains an issue for Avanti and a big operational focus going forward. More training and provisions will be put in place to focus on firmly implementing our waste reduction and management strategies. The Avanti In-Waste-tigate competition taking place in the basement of the hotel Some Awareness Days Supported by Avanti SHINE A LIGHT ON AUTISM HERITAGE DAY MANDELA DAY YOUTH DAY WETLANDS DAY BANDANNA DAY EARTH HOUR COASTAL CLEAN UP DAY

39 Birthday Celebrations As part of the Avanti programme, in order to incentivise our team, all employees (apart from management/ executive employees) had one wish fulfilled for the hotel s first birthday in August Hotel Verde invited a network of influential supporters of the hotel to donate what they could to this initiative. All employees' wishes were displayed on a board anonymously with each party-goer getting the opportunity to pin their name on a wish with the commitment to fulfill it. Owners Mario and Annemarie Delicio taking part in the pinning of names to the birthday board to fulfill some birthday wishes The birthday celebration saw the entertainment of a number of school and youth groups displaying their talent

40 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE All Heads of Department form part of the hotel green team to monitor sustainability performance within departments and in the hotel overall. The team meets monthly to discuss and report on the latest performance and consumption statistics, assess progress and provide feedback. Sustainability goals and targets are then created, and new ideas are brought forward for implementation. All of this information is then utilised for Avanti training purposes. Since working at Hotel Verde, I put in more effort utilising what I have learned. I believe that if we live it at the hotel, how can we forget everything in our daily life at home? That would be very contradicting! So, at home we have now started to recycle glass and newspaper again. We are also more aware of turning off dripping taps, switching off lights that are not needed and using more natural light rather than switching on lamps. - Miriam, Front Office Supervisor It s important that every individual part of the Hotel Verde team whole heartedly understands the importance of actively contributing towards sustainability in each of our daily lives. Working as a whole/team is the essential ingredient in achieving this. Once everyone is on the same page, we will ensure every corner is covered in cultivating, securing and educating. That s why the Environmental Committee is the core key at Hotel Verde in ensuring our sustainability traditions and visions. Wahieb Allie, Front Office Manager EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT Hotel Verde has an internship programme which allows for the development of young hospitality professionals during the early stages of their careers or whilst they are completing their studies. We are passionate about providing a platform for education for our interns and permanent employees, which is why a number of opportunities have been offered for employees to further their education and training. We also provide a platform for succession planning in which we develop and cross-train our employees through different departments, affording them the opportunity to broaden their skills

41 E M P L O Y E E D E V E L O P M E N T

42 SECURITY The hotel boasts a number of high-end CCTV cameras and state of the art access control with secure parking. In order to ensure the safety of all our guests and employees, an independent security firm is contracted in order to maximise security on the property and guarantee that guests and employees have peace of mind. In addition, all floors have key-card access controls to floors, venues and rooms to ensure optimal safety for our guests. The hotel has an impressive fire detection and fire suppression system, which is linked up to the hotel s intelligent building management system (BMS). There are a number of fire escape routes and procedures to ensure safety of guests and employees, whilst weekly fire detection checks are done as a part of the preventative maintenance policy. Health and Safety procedures have been created and a Health and Safety manager has been appointed to oversee all procedures are adhered to throughout all departments. GUEST INVOLVEMENT An in house currency called a Verdino has been developed to involve our guests in sustainability and make them feel engaged and rewarded. One Verdino is currently equivalent to R5 and can be used anywhere in the hotel instead of real money to pay for things such as drinks at the bar or curios and snacks from the deli. Our guests can earn a Verdino for any of the following activities: Re-use the towels in their room instead of having them washed daily Refrain from additional air-conditioning usage over the already preconditioned air supplied to guest rooms Use power generating equipment in gym Jog around the eco-trail Utilise split bins in rooms correctly Arrive by public transport, bicycle or electric vehicle While Hotel Verde consumes a fraction of a normal comparable hotel s water and energy and has a far lower environmental impact, the greatest impact is its effect on guest and other stakeholder mindset. Thus creating a shift towards a more sustainable economy, work- and personal-life for those who visit the hotel. From energy reduction techniques, full recycling and almost zero waste-to-landfill policies, to an innovative Verdino reward currency that encourages guests to help save energy and reduce waste, this is truly Africa's Greenest Hotel. Africa's Greenest Hotel is Down-to-Earth, TripAdvisor comment from JasonJLFiddler (Durban)

43 Verdinos, Hotel Verde s in-house currency

44 Tony M Australia The best airport hotel In my 40 years of travelling I can say that this is the best airport hotel I have ever stayed in or seen. The effort and capital invested to recycle waste water and other waste products; the use of solar and wind to provide power is an example to other organisations. The rooms are of a high standard both in cleanliness and design. Stayed May 2015, Travelled on business Guests love our 320 metre jogging track

45 GUEST SATISFACTION In 2015 we were awarded with a Travellers Choice Award, as well as a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence based on our guest reviews. Many guests reported on their experience of the sustainable lifestyle and interest in the sustainability initiatives of the hotel whilst the biggest trend in positive comments was the friendliness of our employees. We believe that our most unhappy customer is our greatest source of learning. We pride ourselves on our friendly service, passion and dedication to always go the extra mile. Since inception, we have received a total of 334 reviews on TripAdvisor, with 247 reviews rating us as excellent and 77 rating us as very good with an average score of 9.4 out of 10. We maintain an average of 4.4. out of 5 on Booking.com and were also awarded in 2015 for our commendable rating. Our in-house customer service survey has received an average satisfaction score of 9.2 out of 10 with 99% of our guests reporting no negative comments during their stay. Using online analysis of our customer reviews, we were also able to pull out the few negative comments and suggestions to build a better service model going forward. We have also been delighted to note a significant portion of returning guests and a number of locals who choose Hotel Verde as a regular meeting point. Laetitia C, Mossel Bay Total Average Positive Rating on TripAdvisor Clean,Green, Friendly, Fantastic Hotel Experience Ticked all the boxes, fantastic hotel with best service, food, to prepare you for the next leg of your journey. Rooms are great, clean and quiet. Best hotel for sure and is green, good for our environment and country. Stayed July 2015, Travelled as a couple 94% 93.5% Mamanbebe Saint Leu la reunion Great A new hotel very close to the airport, where everything is designed to improve comfort, encourage energy saving, environmentally friendly, sweet! Very comfortable queen bed, separate sanitary shower, air conditioning, short but positive. I recommend to keep in mind for all stays in Cape Town when you have a very early flight in the morning. Breakfast starts at 4 h30! Free underground parking, if needed a shuttle to the airport. Stayed August 2013, Travelled as a couple In-house Customer Satisfaction Survey Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March 2014 to Feb

46 EDUCATION AND AWARENESS We believe that our hotel should be a point of greater learning and involvement for our guests. We encourage our guests to get involved through many interfaces within the operation of the hotel. Strategic signage has been placed throughout the building, offering guests a further point of learning about the many sustainable interventions at the hotel. Some signs encourage the use of stairs whilst our gyms signature What the Watt signage engages guests with the concept of how difficult it is to generate electricity versus how easy it is to squander it. IPTV Screens In addition to the educational signage, we have information available on our in-house televisions. We have developed a sustainability channel, which pulls figures from the Building Management System to illustrate the resource consumption and avoidance, as well as the savings of the hotel to our guests. We wish to give our guests easy access to educational information on the hotel and so a summary of all sustainability information is available on the guest TV screens under the menu section as well. PERFORMANCE STATISTICS HOW WE COMPARE AVERAGE WATER CONSUMPTION Litre per room-night* TO THE SANS CODE MWh saved since inception AVERAGE ENERGY CONSUMPTION kwh per room-night* R TO THE AVERAGE CAPE TOWN HOTEL MWh saved since inception WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILL last month (kg) per room-night* TO THE AVERAGE CAPE TOWN HOTEL Money saved since inception AVERAGE CARBON EMISSION CO2 in kg per room-night* *Hotel facilities' consumption is incorporated into the these averages, not only room usage 1 kwh = LED (Unit of energy) 167hrs CFL 77hrs Incandescent 17hrs Hotel Verde s Interactive Green Screen, including information about the sustainable operations of the hotel, as well as some fun facts The room was more than I expected and had absolutely everything a person needs. The interactive TV(room service etc) was a nice touch. Pleasant stay, a TripAdvisor comment from Karlasik (Pretoria)

47 The hotel has several green tips and informative signage strategically placed around the hotel to help remind guests that they are in a sustainable environment and to educate them about sustainability

48 A great showcase of some of the interactive and up-cycled artwork created for the hotel Book Exchange Our book exchange initiative is one that allows guests to swap a book of their own for one in the book exchange library. This prevents the purchasing of brand new books, saving the associated carbon footprint whilst also promoting a culture of reading and sharing

49 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY The Art of Environmental Responsibility It is not only the designers, architects and hoteliers who have left their mark of innovation on Hotel Verde, but also artists. Our walls are filled with South African art that communicates concepts of environmentalism. It is our belief that the message of sustainability can be captured and communicated effectively through art in the messages and content, as well as the medium and materials used. It is through this that Hotel Verde has become a platform for the showcasing of local art. For example, the basement of the hotel acts as a work of art on its own. Artist Haroon Gun- Salie and four muralists from the Cape Flats area, along side three painting assistants created a wrap around graffiti mural using environmentally friendly spray paints. Involving students and community: Before the hotel opened, owners Mario and Annemarie Delicio initiated and funded an art project whereby 45 learners from various schools were given the opportunity to research, conceptualise and produce artworks in a variety of media. It was primarily Annemarie s passion for art and social upliftment that brought about the project with the hope to help students, who have limited, if any, access to art studies at their schools by giving them the best tools, teachers/mentors, and facilities available to do what they love and what they are good at. The project was facilitated by the Frank Joubert Art Centre in Newlands, Cape Town and driven by Niklas Zimmer, art consultant to Hotel Verde and masters graduate of the Michaelis School of Fine Art (UCT). The learners' finished artworks were then taken to local, specialist crafters, who, according to Zimmer, took the children s works so seriously and dedicated up to 3 months to turn the works into various final pieces" ranging from mosaics to woven and beaded pieces which now adorn the passages of the hotel. A true testimony to remind us that art lives and works in this world. Community artworks are displayed on all floors of the hotel

50 The graffiti artwork that can be seen in the basement parking of the hotel Learners conceptualising and producing artwork in a variety of media for display in the hotel

51 Donations, Sponsorships and Hosted Events As an ethical and green hotel, we aim to seize each and every opportunity possible to offer what we can to help members of the local community. This has resulted in a significant number of projects whereby the hotel has donated specific items of need, offered the hotel as a venue for functions and sponsored meals and accommodation or donated vouchers as prizes for fundraising purposes. To this end Hotel Verde has sponsored over R in donations. Some beneficiaries of these have been: SOS Children s Village Sunflower Fund Local schools such as Tafelberg and Valmarie Cornelius SANCOBB (South African National Conservation of Coastal Birds) Bothasig Baseball Club Imizamo Yethu Special Education (Cape Mental Health) WWF (World Wild Life Fund) Baphumele Children s Home and Edu-centre Beaconvale Community Frail Care Centre The Verde Team participating in The Sunflower Fund 7km Fun Run/Walk for Charity

52 Stationery Drives In collaboration with donations from our employees and Fedhasa, (Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa) collected during the Fedhasa year end function at Hotel Verde, we managed a number of stationery drives whereby schools within our host community received a collection of pens, schoolbooks and other stationery in upcycled milk bottle containers. Ready for the school year. Local school receiving their collection of stationery Etafeni Centre Hotel Verde has embarked on what we hope to be a long-standing relationship with the Etafeni Centre in Nyanga. Etafeni focuses on providing sustainable community-based care to children and caregivers affected by aids. The visions and values of the Hotel Verde greatly align with those at the Etafeni Centre. We hope to continue to build our relationship and brand synergy with regular interactions. Hotel Verde participated in the following initiatives in conjunction with the Etafeni Centre: The hosting of two school groups for an eco-outing at Hotel Verde Youth Day sustainability and hospitality workshop Dedicated ourselves to the needs of the centre for Nelson Mandela Day. Needs ranged from spring cleaning all of the class rooms to story telling and educating Playing with the children from Etafeni Centre Some of the treats in store for Baphumele Children s Home

53 Having some fun, reading stories and playing with the children of Etafeni Centre in Nyanga PICTURE Entafeni Centre in Nyanga - playing with the children and spending time to fulfill to the needs of The Verde Team spending minutes (plus the centre for Nelson xmandelatheir Day, some) helping out at the Etafeni Centre

54 Blood Donation Drives 30 employees became bone marrow donors and donated blood through the Sunflower Fund initiative, which aims to recruit a viable source of well-informed potential bone marrow and stem cell donors who are ethnically diverse. This is done in the effort to save the lives of those needing transplants to survive life-threatening blood disorders. Haven Night Shelter In support of the Haven Night Shelter in Bellville, Cape Town, we began donating left over food from the kitchen shortly after opening. The left over food is now weighed, recorded and sent on a regular basis to the shelter for their use, totalling in an amount of: In addition, we have placed a clothing bank in the reception area of the hotel in order to give guests the opportunity to donate all of their unwanted clothes or items that have made their baggage too overweight for travelling. The Haven Night Shelter Welfare Organisation provides temporary shelter, physical care, social welfare and family reunification services to adult homeless persons. Bags of clothing collected to give to the Haven Night Shelter

55 Eco-Outings We first opened our doors for the eco-outings in the quieter season of 2014, offering green tours to schools at no cost. This resulted in more than 2500 school children educated about sustainability. Tours include a green tour of the hotel, video presentation and take-home tips on how to be more eco-friendly at school and at home. All school children are given an information booklet made from recycled card, consisting of the Verde World newsletter, hotel information, sustainable information and a slip and pencil to write down their promise to the Earth. These promises include ways that they will try to be more sustainable upon returning from the hotel to their school or home. These promises are then collected in a time capsule jar a reused jar from the kitchen, which is taken back with the teachers as a token of their experience. Learners recording their promises to the Earth Green Tours Site inspections of the hotel and its green features are offered and encouraged to the public. We aim to be transparent and share our efforts with anyone interested with the hope to inspire others, highlight the importance of responsible tourism and promote sustainable business and lifestyle practice. We have trained a number of employees specifically to facilitate site inspection tours of all of the sustainable interventions put in place at the hotel. Site inspections began even during construction phase of the hotel

56 Team building while planting trees with the learners at local schools

57 Arbour Month Arbour month was a training and CSR initiative, which saw a mix of hotel employees on tree planting projects at local schools. The primary focus of this initiative was to provide a platform for employee team-building and learner education. Four under-greened schools in the Western Cape were targeted, taught about sustainability. Trees were gifted and planted with the learners to take ownership of and care for going into the future. Tree planting at local schools in Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Macassar Teaching the local schools about the importance of planting trees and the environment

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59 Earth Hour Earth Hour is celebrated worldwide, once a year in March. Hotel Verde holds an Earth Hour event for this celebration and extends the support by celebrating an Earth Hour dinner weekly. The evening aims to show support for the global movement started by WWF to educate people on the energy crisis that we face. Every Wednesday evening, all non-critical equipment and lights are switched off for the entirety of dinner service. We offer a specially selected menu for the evening, which uses no electricity in the cooking of meals. Solar jars and eco-friendly candles set the mood for guests to enjoy the night whilst live music plays in the background. On International Earth Hour in 2014, we held an Earth Hour night market. Local small traders, who aligned with the ethos of the hotel, were given the opportunity to showcase their products and not have to pay a fee for the space. Raffles were held and the money collected was donated to WWF. Trash Cabaret, a community based circus troop, showcased their skills for the entering guests. Local bands Touch Wood and Grassy Spark performed acoustic music during Earth Hour for more than 500 Capetonians who arrived to show their support. HOTEL VERDE EARTH HOUR N I G H T M A R K E T Opposite page: Earth Hour Night Market activities Above: Advertising our Earth Hour Night Market event SATURDAY 29 MARCH 2014 FROM 6PM HOTEL VERDE, 15 MICHIGAN STREET, AIRPORT INDUSTRIA, CAPE TOWN facebook.com/pages/hotel-verde/ #africasgreenesthotel Beer Tastings, Organic Wine, Arts and Crafts, Fresh Produce, Artisinal Traders and more... FEATURING LIVE ACOUSTIC MUSIC FROM

60 picture here? Earth Hour Night Market at Africa s Greenest Hotel

61 Though this report covers each aspect of the triple bottom line as per the concept of Thrivability, it is important to note that this section does not stand as a financial report. As such, the financials of Verde Hotels and Hotel Verde Cape Town will not be discussed. The purpose of this section is rather to discuss the financial benefits of some of the sustainable interventions utilised at our flagship property. Its purpose is to raise awareness around the commercial viability of sustainability within hospitality and construction in general. RETURN ON INVESTMENT Through the successful operation of Hotel Verde, it has become clear that a sustainable project offers much commercial viability and a healthy return on investment. Many investors and hoteliers are wary of the cost implication of going green but we have found the initial premium to be small in comparison to the long term cost savings and additional return on investment (ROI) projected. The total investment for the construction of Hotel Verde was R187 million, including land. 10.8% or R20.2 million of this investment was allocated to the sustainable interventions of the hotel. Payback calculations for the entire additional sustainability capex are impossible as there are many benefits that are difficult to quantify. It was due to this that we decided to analyse our return on investment into returns that are both quantifiable and difficult to quantify. The utmost was done to ensure an efficient and effective building, systems and equipment during design and installation. But just as much care was also taken to conserve unnecessary capital expenditure, which resulted in several strategies. The first was to utilise the building energy model to accurately and carefully evaluate the sizing requirements of, for example, the heating and cooling system. This approach is typically more accurate than conventional mechanical engineering sizing methods. In this case it resulted in a 45% smaller cooling system than would have otherwise been selected. Another strategy was that of de-matrialisation - achieving the same or better result with less. This manifested in, for example, the Cobiax void former utilisation (*refer to page 71), which cost approximately as much as the avoided concrete to procure and install. This resulted in a significantly lightened structure with follow-on benefits of slimmer structural elements, reduced need for down stand or upstand beams, spanning father distances between structural elements and a higher headroom height. These resulting benefits (crucial to a hotel needing to maximise space and people-flow) would have been significantly more costly to achieve through conventional methods. Further strategies to reduce capital expenditure was to include targeting synergies. For example, by installing efficient and effective lighting and lighting control, less waste heat is produced which then does not need to be negated through air conditioning. This is not just a operational cost saving for less lighting or air conditioning energy but also results in a smaller cooling system. Similarly by installing water saving fittings one also saves energy as less hot water has to be produced. As this was multiplied across the whole building including all 145 guest rooms, this results in a reduction of the hot water generation system sizing and cost

62 Quantifiable ROIs We looked at specific sustainable categories, their initial cost and their isolated return on investment based on their savings alone. This would also give us the knowledge and analysis of our interventions for the future proofing of new hotels. Water and Sewerage Saving Interventions Water Sewerage Initial Cost Average Monthly Saving Expected Payback on this intervention alone R R years Energy Saving Interventions Energy Initial Cost Average Monthly Saving Expected Payback on this intervention alone R R years Utility Costs The total budget when divided into cost per room was a sensible R1.3 million per key. Without the sustainable interventions, the room cost would have been R1.15 million per key. We thus, analysed the hotel s monthly costs compared to that of a similar 4 star hotel, but without the installed efficiency interventions for electricity, water and sewage. On this basis, Hotel Verde had a monthly saving that averages at R

63 Monthly Utility Cost Comparison R ,00 R ,00 R ,00 R ,00 R ,00 R ,00 R50 000,00 Average Average Monthly Monthly cost cost at at Average Average monthly monthly cost cost at at Average Average monthly monthly saving saving Hotel Verde Average CPT Hotel Cost Savings Electricity Water Sewage Average Cost of Electricity Per Room Night Utility (electricity, water and sewage) Cost Per Room Night Hotel R 14,57 Verde R14.57 R27,39 R 27,39 R 46,49 R 90,20 Average Cape Town Hotel R46.49 R90,20 Average cost per room night at Hotel Verde Average cost per room night at average Cape Town hotel Average cost per room night at Hotel Verde Average cost per room night at average Cape Town hotel In-house Bottling Plant The in-house bottling plant allows for a R6 saving per litre of water consumed. Due to the fact that all water supplied in the guest rooms, restaurant and conference facilities is bottled on-site, this has attributed to an average saving of R for the financial year

64 Press Exposure Using an online clipping service, we were able to collect some of our local media mentions and calculate their value and circulation. Unfortunately, the clipping service is currently not able to track international exposure and it does not cover every single local platform. We therefore acknowledge and are happy to note that there is a significant amount of international and local exposure that was not factored into our calculations. During the financial year March 2014 to February 2015, we were reported on a total of 311 times over the different mediums. This totalled in R worth of free press exposure reaching an estimated 10,5 million people in South Africa. Whilst the value of the exposure would not necessarily have been spent in total by the hotel, it creates recognition of the Verde brand and directly increases word of mouth, room nights and revenue. Since inception the hotel has gained over R21 million in free press exposure. Total Media Exposure Combined 1 March 2014 to 28 February % 126 print publications 53% 21 broadcasting features 164 online articles 7% Media Exposure Breakdown for Financial Year Number of days Number of clippings (print, broadcasting, and online) Number of people reached Value in rands million R CAPE TOWN Hotel Thrivability ENERGY Management Responsible Tourism construction Verde Airport AWARDED PLATINUM greensustainableleed Innovation ART Design O GREEN STAR perating

65 Top 15 Publications from 1 March 2014 to 28 February 2015 Publications Clip count Circulation CAPE ARGUS (AM Edition) 5 HOTEL AND RESTAURANT 5 SA BUILDING REVIEW 5 RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLER 5 TRAVEL BUYER 4 CAPE TIMES (Second Edition) 4 TOURISM TATTLER 3 BURGER (Kaap), Saterdag Eiendomme 3 BURGER (Kaap Stedelik) 3 THE GSA WORLDWIDE TRAVEL INFORMATION 3 HOTELIER 2 BUSINESS TRAVELLER AFRICA 2 SOUTH AFRICAN PROPERTY REVIEW 2 SATURDAY WEEKEND ARGUS, Property 2 GREEN ECONOMY JOURNAL 2 284, , , , , , ,936 77,658 76,319 15, , ,518 90,228 69,976 55,697 Top 15 Stations from 1 March 2014 to 28 February 2015 Stations Clip count Circulation ENCA 8 Smile FM 6 SAFM 3 ANN7 1 Kaya FM SABC 2 1 Cape Talk 1 531,383 95,450 83, ,000 91,800 40,599 14,680 Top 15 Websites from 1 March 2014 to 28 February 2015 Website Clip count Circulation Bizcommunity.com - Biz Community 7 Hotelandrestaurant.co.za - Hotel and Restaurant 7 Greenbusinessguide.co.za - Green Business Guide 6 Mypr.co.za - My PR 5 Tourismtattler.co.za - Tourism Tattler 5 Capetown.travel/blog - Cape Town Travel Blog 4 Engineeringnews.co.za - Engineering News 4 Ioltravel.co.za - Iol Travel 4 Infrastructurene.ws - Infrastructure News and Service Delivery 4 Propertywheel.co.za - Property Wheel 4 Travelpr.co.za - Travel PR 4 Wcbn.co.za - Western Cape Business News 4 Hospitalitymarketplace.co.za - Hospitality Market Place 4 Pressportal.co.za - My Press Portal 4 Thegreentimes.co.za - The Green Times 3 972,672 85, , , , , , , ,950 97,355 43,570 37,721 29,563 21, ,

66 Non-quantifiable ROIs We noted some of the following financial benefits during the course of design and operation, as well as the proven benefits of running a sustainable operation as being difficult to quantify your exact return. Interest from many audiences; not only those in travel and hospitality but responsible travel, environment, construction and engineering professionals Slower building depreciation and lower refurbishment costs due to future-proofing of building and interventions, as well as implementation of thorough preventative maintenance Increased property value Increased word of mouth and return guests due to green guest experience, and therefore occupancy ratio increases Hedge against imminent utility price increases and carbon tax Health and well-being improvement of employees due to enhanced environmental quality and leading sustainable lifestyles in turn leading to increased productivity and reduced absenteeism Meeting and exceeding compliance with legislation and CSR requirements

67 Hotel Verde has been hailed to be sustainable from below the ground up. This is because basically every element of the building design is considered through the lens of being efficient and responsible. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION 3 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Regenerative Drive Elevators 220 Photovoltaic Panels Rain Water Capture and Storage Energy Efficient Lighting Cobiax Void Formers Building Management System Grey Water Recycling System Low-Flow Water Fittings Efficient Heating and Cooling System Double Glazed Windows During the development of Hotel Verde, the team included several considerations, active and passive designs, technologies and equipment into the design of the building. These ranged from the simple and obvious like recycling during construction, via passive designs like natural ventilation and night cooling to technically demanding and complex installations of equipment like photovoltaic (solar) panels, wind turbines and a grey water recycling plant. Other installations include an active intelligent Building Management System (BMS) that, among other functions, monitors and controls the super-efficient ground source heat pump based heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC). Hotel Verde has insulated roofs and doors, double-glazed and spectrally selective windows, as well as airtight windows and doors to minimise loss of conditioned air. Together with Ecolution Consulting, our sustainability consultants, who partnered with Ecocentric on the LEED certification processes, we ensured that the entire development process was sustainable from the onset and at every step. *Refer to page 9 for information on the LEED for New Construction certification which we stringently followed to ensure the holistic sustainability of the design and construction process. Passive design refers to architectural design and specification that results in minimised heating and cooling loads and maximises natural light ingress and propagation

68 Sustainable Site In order to have a sustainable building site, we implemented the following during construction: Hazardous materials reduction Traffic impact minimisation and public transport access Erosion sedimentation control Storm water quantity and quality control Protection and restoration of habitat and open space Minimisation of heat island effect Indoor air quality management plan Heat Island Effect Image right: A heat island is a built area that is significantly warmer due to human activity than its surrounding rural areas. At Hotel Verde, we used strategies such as reflective roof sheeting, solar panels, landscaping and a vegetative roof which assisted in absorbing less of the suns heat. Rural Farmland Suburban Park Urban Downtown Commercial Rural Rural Farmland Suburban Residential Park Urban Residential Downtown Commercial Rural Integrated Design (Energy Model) The design of the building was optimised through the integrated design process utilising a building energy model; this was also required to evaluate the energy efficiency of the final design of the hotel against the LEED benchmark for New Construction. The modeling process was managed by Ecolution Consulting and executed by Solid Green in order to optimise the building s efficiency and performance in terms of both active and passive systems. The energy model was used to compare the performance of different construction techniques, system installations, materials or products. Through this the optimal cost benefit ratio could be identified whilst achieving minimised long-term energy use. The same three-dimensional software energy model was also used to optimise the thermal comfort (optimum temperature) and day lighting within the building

69 Aerial view of Hotel Verde Property and surrounding area

70 Renewable energy generated at Hotel Verde over the year is kwh. This is the equivalent of playing an energy star rated LED TV (such those used by the hotel) for 165 years. One of the vertical axis wind turbines is 3kWh installed. This is enough to power two house hold geysers

71 Active Systems - Energy (Technical Installations) Hotel Verde has installed the following active technologies to optimise energy efficiency: Geothermal ground loops coupled to heat pumps for central heating/cooling and domestic hot water generation, as well as intelligent heating ventilation and airconditioning system Three vertical-axis wind turbines 220 Photovoltaic panels on North facing roof and façade Energy generating gym equipment Elevators with regenerative braking An Intelligent Building Management System to actively and continuously optimise efficiency and autonomously report malfunctions or inefficiently running equipment Motion/Occupancy controlled lighting in public areas e.g. corridors and bathrooms Main power isolation switch to each bedroom and meeting room Demand controlled ventilation to bedrooms Over the period from March 2014 to February 2015, 10.6% of the total electricity demand was met by renewables on site at the hotel: Wind power provided 1.1% Solar power provided 9.3% Regenerative elevators provided 0.2% Human-power gym equipment provided a nominal amount Hotel Verde Mains Consumption Showing Renewable Energy Contribution Mar -14 Apr -14 May -14 Jun -14 Jul -14 Aug -14 Sep -14 Oct -14 Nov -14 Dec -14 Jan -15 Feb -15 Municipal Electricity Renewable Energy

72 Photovoltaic Panels on North Facing Roof and Faç ade A total of 154 locally assembled Tenesol 240Wp photovoltaic (solar) panels are installed on the north-facing roof section and a further 66 on the northern façade. Combined, this system provides up to 52,8kW and an anticipated production of approximately kWh/year. It is also anticipated that in a summer month the system will produce approximately 65% more power than in a typical winter month. At peak performance the panels produce enough power to run 26 kettles simultaneously. 66 of the 220 photovoltaic panels are found on the roof of the hotel. The electricity saved by Hotel Verde per year ( kwh) is enough to power 215 mid-income Cape Town households (who use 774 kwh per month) for the entire year!

73 View of the North-facade photovoltaic panels, serving as shades for the rooms, as well as the Wisy rain filter

74 Energy Generating Gym Equipment Our gym is home to 3 different pieces of energy generating equipment, namely a bicycle, a recumbent bicycle and an elliptical machine. Each of these machines displays the amount of instantaneous power being produced by the user and a separate panel displays the cumulative power produced. The power produced is fed into the building grid. We were always aware that the power generating gym equipment would provide a negligible amount of renewable energy for the hotel. However, it serves far more as an educational platform for guests to interact with the concept of how easy it is to squander electricity versus how difficult it is to generate it. This is not to make guests feel despondent but rather to provide consciousness and a potential shift in mind set to how electricity can be conserved in their own personal capacity, or at work. Human powered gym equipment that drives energy back into the hotel when used by guests

75 Elevators with Regenerative Braking All three of our elevators in the building have regenerative braking technology which allows them to recover energy on their light cycles. If the lift goes up empty the counterweight is heavier than the carriage and the regenerative drive produces electricity for the building. Conversely if the lift goes down with 6.5 or more people inside it is heavier than the counter weight and it will produce electricity for the building. This technology saves up to 30% of the energy that a conventional lift would use. Intelligent Building Management System Our intelligent building management system (BMS) continuously receives information from systems, services and sensors throughout the building to actively and continuously optimise efficiency and autonomously report malfunctions or inefficiently running equipment. For example a sensor tells the BMS how bright the sun is and continuously compares this to the amount of energy produced by the photovoltaic cells. If this value drops it shows that the photovoltaic cells are not performing at their optimum efficiency. The BMS then sends a signal to our maintenance team to alert them that the panels require cleaning. The BMS monitors our consumption of resources such as water and electricity. Sub-metering also means that our maintenance team can see which areas of the building are using the most electricity and see if an area is using more than usual and go an investigate the cause. Other information such as the waste produced on site is also entered into the BMS to be tracked and monitored in order to assess progress and goals. The information gathered by the BMS is displayed on a screen for the public to see in the main lobby, as well as on our in house TV channel. This allows guests to see exactly how much energy the building is using in real time, the amount of energy being produced by the renewable resources and the amount of energy saved through various interventions and more. An interface of the Building Management System can be found in the plant room, the heart of the hotel

76 Efficient and Intelligent Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning System The heating and cooling system in any large building is usually the largest consumer of electricity. Our advanced system achieves extraordinary efficiency using a geothermal loop field coupled to ground source heat pumps for central heating/cooling and domestic water heating. The geothermal loop field is a closed system and is coupled to four heat pumps that do the active heating and cooling. Because heat pumps run on a refrigeration cycle they both cool on one side and heat on the other. This is similar to a household fridge where the energy from the compartment is extracted, making it cold, and dissipated from the radiator at the back of the fridge (which gets hot). If both the heating and cooling effect is utilised your efficiency is dramatically increased, as is the case at Hotel Verde. The heating is used for heating both conditioned air for the building as well as our domestic hot water. The cooling side is used for cooling conditioned air. Unfortunately the hot and cold sides are seldom equally needed; in winter there is a higher heating demand (more and longer showers, more space heating) and in summer mostly a higher cooling demand. This imbalance is what is rectified through our geothermal field. The ground temperature below the building site is a constant 19.4 C throughout the year while the outdoor temperatures can range from about 3 C to 35 C. Our geothermal field consists of 100 boreholes, each approximately 65m deep. Each hole contains a HDPE U-bend pipe. Combined there is approximately 13 km of piping beneath the footprint of the building. This intelligent system is able to pass water through these pipes to either dump heat (in summer) or gain heat (in winter) from the constant ground temperature thus using the earth as a thermal battery and gaining significant efficiency. This system is anticipated to save approximately 50% of the electrical energy that a conventional system would use. In many of our public areas, ventilation is controlled via occupancy sensors or key card readers which only automatically turn on the air conditioning when a room is occupied thus saving unnecessary energy in conditioning an unoccupied room. We have also strategically placed thermostats and separated areas into zones to maximise occupancy comfort whilst minimising energy use. Demand Controlled Ventilation to Bedrooms All of our rooms receive a supply of pre-conditioned air at a comfortable temperature whilst they are occupied in order to discourage guests from over heating/cooling their rooms. If a guests feels that they would prefer to have their room hotter/colder they have the option of turning on the individual fan coil unit in their room and adjusting the temperature, however they forfeit their Verdino in doing so

77 Main Power Isolation Switch to Each Bedroom, Office and Meeting Room Our bedrooms, offices and meeting rooms operate on a key card system. The user is required to insert a key card into the key card reader at the door in order to turn on power to the room and use the lighting, plug points and air conditioning. Conversely when the key card is removed the power to the room is cut preventing unnecessary electricity usage. Certain vital plug points however remain live for things such as refrigerators as well as one plug point at the desk in order for our guests to leave personal appliances on charge whilst away from their room. Motion/Occupancy Controlled Lighting Lighting in public areas such as bathrooms and corridors as well as most of our back of house areas and store rooms is controlled by occupancy sensors. This prevents lights from staying on continuously and unnecessarily. Both infrared and ultrasonic occupancy sensors are fitted depending on the application. Hotel Verde Energy Consumption Split Lifts 1% HVAC 46% Plug Loads 28% Critical Loads 4% Lighting 16% Power Distribution 5% Hotel Verde Energy-Use Intensity Hotel Verde LEED model benchmark CPT average (2008 study) SANS Code

78 Active Systems - Water (Technical Installations) The hotel installed the following active technologies to save water in the hotel: Rain water and subsoil drainage harvesting Infrared sensor activated taps Grey water recycling system Grey Water Recycling Plant (from hotel baths and showers) Water from the showers and baths as well as the condensate from most HVAC (heating ventilation and cooling) fan coil units is drained to the PONTOS grey water recycling plant where it is filtered and sterilised. The recycling process uses very little energy. The water is first filtered to remove macro particles. It is then passed through a series of tanks that are aerated for optimal conditions for bacteria that break down organic matter in the water. Lastly the water is sterilised by passing it over ultraviolet lights. The colourless and odourless processed grey water is then reticulated throughout the hotel and used for the flushing of the toilets saving up to 6000l of drinking water per day

79 The grey water collection and recycling tanks where the water is filtered and sterilised

80 Water Usage Overview Water Use (litres) Mar -14 Apr -14 May -14 Jun -14 Jul -14 Aug -14 Sep -14 Oct -14 Nov -14 Dec -14 Jan -15 Feb -15 Municipal Meter (kl) Subsoil & Rainwater (kl) Grey Water (kl) Occupancy The total water use avoided for the financial year was liters (this was equal to a saving of 6.5 Olympic swimming pools of municipal water) Sub-soil Drainage and Rainwater Harvesting The rainwater from approximately one third of the roof is captured and passed through a passive, self-cleaning mechanical Wisy screen filter before being channelled to a 40,000 litre stainless steel tank in the basement of the building. The basement extends below the water table and so all water that would otherwise want to migrate into the basement is filtered and collected in sumps before it also is pumped into the 40,000 litre tank. Most buildings basements that penetrate the water table are dewatered but sent straight to storm water and wasted. The water from the tank is then used for outdoor uses such as irrigation, car washing, aquaponics units and the cleaning of hardscapes. It is also linked to the grey water reticulation system so that rain water can also be used to flush the toilets in the future is desired or if the grey water recycling plant is required to be shut down for maintenance

81 The rainwater collection tank

82 View of the Living Wall from the main lounge area The installation of Cobiax Void Formers in the floor slabs of the hotel before concrete is poured

83 Passive Design We wanted to ensure our sustainable methods reached the passive design of the building. This meant considering the potential impact of every element of the building. De-materialisation Cobiax void formers, hollow balls made from recycled polypropylene, were used to displace the amount of concrete used in the building. A total of void formers were used during construction, displacing 1279 tons of concrete or 34% of the five floor slabs, whilst maintaining its structural integrity. This also eliminated the need for transfer beams in the many areas, gave the ability to span wider distances between columns and increased the headroom height. Other Renewable Products Other responsible, healthier, rapidly renewable, recycled and eco friendly products were used as far as available and feasible, whilst an on-site waste minimisation plan saw a 90% waste diversion rate for construction phase. Some of the products used include: Paints, coatings, adhesive and sealants with low Volatile Organic Compound concentrations Alternatives to Portland cement such as fly ash and corax slag Counter tops containing recycled content Wooden doors Use of alien wood from clearing projects Carpets containing a high percentage of rapidly renewable wool and underfelt made from recycled tyres or reconstituted old carpets A cross-section of a Cobiax void former encased in concrete Recycled tyres were used as underfelt for the wool carpets 1279 tons of concrete or 34% of the five floor slabs was displaced during construction

84 Energy Efficiency in Passive Building Design We utilised the following passive design strategies to optimise efficiency even further: Thermally (and acoustically) well insulated structure and services Double glazed, spectrally selective windows Insulated roof Insulated ductwork and piping Airtight windows, doors and entrances to minimise loss of conditioned air Northern facing windows shaded by photovoltaic panels Natural ventilation in strategic areas Skylight for natural lighting Utilising indirect sunlight for lighting, especially for corridors, lobby and other public areas Utilising light interior colours to increase light penetration Green Roof which provides improved insulation and reduces the heat island effect Living wall Shading by roof overhangs and canopies Double glazed windows Air gap Outside Outside Inside Inside The spectrally selective double glazing on the hotel windows not only assists with moderating indoor temperature but also blocks out the sound of aircraft noise and traffic making for a better, more relaxing guest experience

85 A view of Hotel Verde s living wall (left), lounge area (right) and reception area (middle), where the use of natural lighting can be seen

86 View of the roof garden

87 Water Efficiency in Passive Building Design Drip irrigation systems Drip irrigation systems are installed as opposed to the conventional spray systems that use significantly more water than the former. This system is fed from the rain water harvesting tank. Low-flow fittings All fittings throughout the building are low-flow allowing the same functionality but saving water by aerating it and limiting the maximum pressure. Dual flush toilets All toilets are dual flush allowing users to flush using only the amount of water required

88 Waterless urinals Waterless urinals in the building will save close to 1 million litres of water each year. Washing machines The hotel washing machines re-use the final rinse water from the previous cycle for the next loads pre-rinse cycle

89 Whilst only 8 rooms in the hotel have baths, reservations implements a strict "bath ban", only allocating rooms with baths if requested by guests

90 Our food is fresh and delicious, prepared with love The hotel has 7 state-of-the-art conference venues, seating 4 to 120 delegates An example of one of the hotels purple rooms

91 OPERATION Carbon Offsetting Waste Management Employee Training Guest Incentives Responsible Procurement Routine Maintenance Small Urban Farming Set-up Corporate Social Responsibility Biodiversity Management Green Conferencing On-Site Water Filtration and Bottling Responsible Procurement Sustainable procurement is a very important part of running Hotel Verde. In conjunction with Jeffares and Green, Envirosense and Ecolution, we implemented our own Operational Material Management Plan before opening. It aims at making Hotel Verde s procurement policy as responsible as possible. Utilising a scorecard approach to ensure the product is as responsible as possible, we make conscious purchasing decisions and attempt to alter supplier behaviour to fit with our sustainable ethos. Some of this is outlined in the departmental sustainability section to follow. The following four targets make up the basis of the Operational Materials Management Plan: Better for the Guest Better for the Community Better for the Planet Better for the Hotelier

92 Equipment All equipment procured for the hotel is as energy/water efficient as possible. The following list includes most of the equipment used by Hotel Verde: Indel B (K40 Plus) guest room mini bar fridges with energy savings of approximately kwh per annum Energy efficient, LED lighting is mainly used throughout the building Miele washing machines the virtually uncontaminated water from the final rinse cycle is captured and re-used for the pre-wash of the next load Energy Star rated office equipment, e.g. screens, computers, printers, copiers, etc. Energy Star dishwashers Water-saving taps, shower heads and toilets Carbon monoxide sensors switching on the basement ventilation system only when required Waste Management The hotel s zero waste to landfill goal is one of the biggest challenges we are still on our way to achieving. The following graph outlines the waste to landfill diversion of Hotel Verde from March 2014 to February 2015: Percentage Waste Diverted 100% 95% 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% Mar -14 Apr -14 May -14 Jun -14 Jul -14 Aug -14 Sep -14 Oct -14 Nov -14 Dec -14 Jan -15 Feb

93 Re-think, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle - Think before you purchase and again before you throw away. The hotel has bins demarcated for specific waste separating

94 Recycling Bedrooms have two bins each, one for recyclables and one compostables. There are also separate bins in sets of 4 around the building at strategic locations in both the front of house and back of house areas. In each set there is a bin for paper and cardboard, recyclables such as cans, glass and plastic, food waste and general waste. Once waste reaches the waste area, we have designated waste sorter who sorts the waste into even further waste streams and weighs each stream daily to keep a record. However, all employees are also scheduled to have a turn in the waste area. From this point a waste management contractor collects the waste and sells it to other recyclers. Collecting bottle caps and corks for up-cycling Average Monthly Waste 1% 13% 52% Food & Organic Waste composted Standard Recycled Material Recycled Oil Waste to Landfil 34%

95 Up-cycling An example of up-cycling found in the hotel - recycled tyres used as mirror frames

96 The hotel reception area and view of the living wall

97 Up-cycling is to reuse a material in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original. Up-cycled wall - coconut shells were cut into small tiles and used as a feature wall in our VIP Lounge area. Composting Food waste is removed by a separate commercial composting company who compost the food waste and sell it as their own product. A small portion of the food waste is kept and composted on site to provide the compost needed for the hotel s gardens. Another small portion of the food waste is composted using Bokashi which simply means fermented organic matter in Japanese. Food is kept in an airtight container and Bokashi bran is added in layers which causes the food to ferment without the presence of oxygen rather than rot. This reduces odours and a liquid can be tapped off and used as fertiliser. Once the food has fermented for two weeks it is buried where it takes one month to turn into rich compost. Any food can be composted using Bokashi, even meat and cooked food

98 Departmental Sustainability Reservations The building energy modelling was used to establish which rooms are most energy efficient at specific times of the year according to the orientation of the sun and the temperature. These rooms are then filled accordingly by the reservations team before the less efficient rooms. Whilst only eight rooms have baths, we have a bath ban. Reservations will only allocate a room with bath if requested or if all other rooms have been filled. Upon confirming a reservation, our team gives guests the choice of their milk preference when making their reservation. We believe that this adds a personal touch. However, it is more so based on the waste to landfill implication of disposable milk cartons and our strategy to minimise our impact by using reusable bottles. Kitchen and Bar We make use of a vertical aquaponic system that keeps 475 plants such as lettuce, herbs, spinach, leeks, peppers, tomato and spring onions. Tilapias (edible fish) can be found in the water tanks at the base of the system. They feed on the algae growing in the tanks, as well as small amounts of additional food. The nutrient of their waste, once broken down by a bio-filter, feeds the plants. We harvest the plants and regrow on a constant basis replanting every 3.5 months. The aquaponic system allows for virtually emission free, cost effective sustainable food production at a high density per floor area and saves water in comparison to traditional planting methods. We minimise the use of water when washing our vegetables and fruits by using a container that holds ±15 litres of water, changed ±twice a day (depending on business). The water gets strained into an 85 litre allocated bin in the kitchen and is re-used for watering the plants in the garden. We prioritise sourcing from small businesses and individuals, organic and fair trade labels where feasible and promote entrepreneurship, fair trade and seasonal cooking practices. Products are procured locally as much as is possible which means reducing the carbon impact associated with transport. By consciously choosing products and materials that contain less harmful additives and packaging, the impact of manufacturing and disposing these is greatly reduced. Most of our products get delivered in recycled crates and boxes that are immediately unpacked. The packaging is returned to the supplier for re-use. We are in the process of eliminating all non-recyclable packaging from all of our suppliers. The menus used in the hotel restaurant are made using pieces of wood from the shipping pallets that the regenerative drive elevators came in. Guests are encouraged to buy K-way drinks or one of our craft brewed beers on tap to avoid the environmental impact associated with packaging and the transport of conventionally packaged products. It is also an aim of the hotel to support local micro breweries in this endeavour, stocking number of organic wines available for guests. We have an on-site water purification and carbonation station and bottling facility whereby we bottle all of the water served in the restaurant and conference areas. This ensures that guests do not consume water that is laced with chemicals from the plastic used in the bottling process. It furthermore results in a massive environmental saving

99 The aquaponics area where we grow much of our own herbs and greens

100 Our guests love our selection of local craft beers on tap

101 For every 1l of water bottled in conventional PET packaging, 0.39l of water is wasted. We have thus saved roughly 8 580l since inception, as well as 4400 kg of PET plastic and 572 kg of carbon associated with the transportation of conventional bottled water. Bottling sparkling water for our guests Housekeeping All linen in guest rooms is hypo-allergenic ensuring a healthier stay for our guests. We are dedicated to a green cleaning policy. Using guidelines established by LEED, Green Star and Heritage we have devised a cleaning programme that ensures a high level of cleanliness standards whilst reducing the negative effects of chemicals to the guest, employees, the building and to the environment. In order to do this, we utilise our Operational Materials Management Plan to vet all products used. Guest amenities in bedrooms (shower gel, soap and shampoo) are provided in dispensers as opposed to the conventional small plastic bottles and soaps. They are also free of harmful chemicals whilst toilet paper comes from a FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) compliant supplier. Time of Use The following diagram showcases the time of use period for the financial year. Housekeeping especially makes an effort in order to utilise their most energy intensive operations during off-peak periods. This assists with taking a load off of the municipal grid, but also results in further cost savings as the hotel pays a time of use tariff where energy is more expensive during peak times. Off-Peak 48% Peak 16% Standard 36%

102 Conferencing As a predominantly corporate hotel, we pride ourselves in being able to offer our guests a sustainable conferencing experience alongside sustainable accommodation. To this end, we have ensured that our conferencing experience is also 100% carbon neutral. This is especially important for companies who wish to utilise this offset towards their sustainability report. We have become known for our green conferencing in Cape Town, offering a unique conferencing experience for those who choose our hotel for their meetings and events. The following aspects form part of the green conferencing experience: Recycled notepads and pencils not per person but rather available on the side should delegates require (keeping notepads out of doodle reach attributes to significantly less wastage) State of the art AV Equipment with chalkboards rather than white boards and flip charts Video conferencing to enable business meetings without travel and decrease emissions Team building options such as the Green Mile, based on Amazing Race concept, to enlighten delegates on all then Green Aspects and Technology of Hotel Verde Promotion of awareness, trying to change the behaviour of delegates when it comes to waste. Recycling bins that are visible and clearly marked are available in all venues for delegates to sort waste and to promote recycling habits All of our delegates receive complimentary mineral water, bottled on-site as opposed to conventional PET bottles Fresh fruit bowl are available in our venues with every conference to encourage healthy eating habits with healthier snack options served during breaks and lunch FSC certified pencils are used instead of ink pens, as well as recycled and FSC certified note pads

103 Maintenance Electricity and water usage is sub-metered, monitored and optimised. The intelligent building management system (BMS) monitors the consumption of resources such as water and electricity. Sub-metering also means that the maintenance team can see which areas of the building are using the most electricity and see if an area is using more than usual and investigate the cause. Other information such as the waste produced on site is entered into the BMS to be tracked and monitored in order to assess progress and goals. The building management system also interfaces with most systems for error and warning alerts which the maintenance team can then use for early warning signs and ensure that the systems operate optimally. A strict No Leak policy is held by the maintenance team and if a leaking fitting is reported it is repaired immediately. Photovoltaic panel cleaning An externally mounted, regularly cleaned irradiance meter indicates how bright the sun is. The BMS compares this to the amount of energy produced by the photovoltaic array. If this value is out of proportion it shows that the photovoltaic panels are not performing at their optimum efficiency. The BMS then sends a signal to the maintenance team to alert them that the panels require cleaning or maintenance

104 Eco Systems The Wetland The natural vegetation of the wetland adjacent to Hotel Verde is Cape Lowland Freshwater wetlands. The vegetation and faunal assemblages are a good representation of a wetland habitat of the Cape Flats. Prior to our intervention, the wetland was slowly degrading. Passers-by carelessly discarded refuse, businesses or contractors dumped rubble from renovation. The notorious Cape Town South Easterly wind also did not improve the health of this fragile ecosystem when it dumped copious amounts of packaging and dust. The City of Cape Town and Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) were open to the idea of placing their remote plots into the caring hands of our team. Now the two plots are joined, maintained, cleaned, landscaped and beautified on an on-going basis. The area is a green lung in the Airport Industrial precinct for all passers-by or hotel guests to enjoy. The wetland now boasts over 100 types of indigenous and endemic, water wise vegetation, an ecotrail, eco-pool, outdoor gym and two beehives, housing over Cape Honey Bees. In an environmental impact assessment, we were able to identify some of the flora and fauna found in the wetland area since the restoration process took place. Some of the vegetation found was: Vlei grass (Paspalum vaginatum) Buffalo grass (strenotaphrum secundatum) Waterbiesie (Pycreus nitidus) Some of the fauna found was: The Cape Sand Frog Tomopterna delalandii Cape Caco (Cacosternum capense) The Cape Skink (Trachylepis capensis) Common Brown Snake (lycodonomorphus rufulus) Cape Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus capensis) Cape Golden Mole (Chrysochloris asiatica) The four-striped grass mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) The Cape Dune Mole-rat (Bathyergus Suillius Red eyed dove(streptopelia semitorquata) Blacksmith Lapwing (Varnellus armatus) Common Fiscal (Lanius Collaris) Cape Wagtail (Motacilla Capensis) Cape Robin Chat(Cossypha caffra) Black Crake (amaurornis flavirostris) Cape Weaver (ploceus capensis) Area Upliftment We took to improving the area surrounding and adjacent to the hotel in terms of beautification and connectedness with surrounding regions. A 400m pedestrian and cycling path was built along Michigan Street, along with 110m of an irrigated planting verge, which is maintained by our grounds employees. On-site Food Garden Our gardeners have been cultivating their own garden, using the fertile soil of the hotel s restored wetland. In that little piece of protected land, they are growing several types of organic vegetables, such as tomatoes, artichokes, spinach and Swiss chard to be used alongside the aquaponic herbs and lettuces in the kitchen

105 The urban bee hive at the back of the wetland

106 The Eco Pool Our eco-pool considers the environment as the water is kept sparkling clean by circulating it through a living ecosystem of aquatic plants. The result is water, which is perfectly clean, soft on the skin and better for our guests and the environment in comparison to conventional pools. No salt, no harmful chemicals, and no sterilisation is used in the eco-pool. The pool s ecosystem is closely monitored to ensure that the plant and organism population within is controlled and functioning correctly

107 OUR ENVIRONMENTAL VISION STATEMENT Hotel Verde is a sustainable establishment run professionally with the aim to consciously acknowledge and manage the impact of its operations on the environment and local community. We are therefore committed on all levels to minimise our impacts on the environment and reduce our carbon footprint by: Preventing pollution, reducing waste, saving water and non-renewable energy Ensuring practical measures are implemented to protect and preserve natural habitats, flora and fauna Minimising our environmental impact through our sustainable building and operational practices Embracing and increasing a resource and material efficient zero waste to landfill strategy Ensuring effective and beneficial incident control, investigation and reporting Becoming as self-sustainable as possible, making use of renewable energy sources where practicable Promoting sustainable and environmental awareness amongst our guests, employees, suppliers and business partners by the implementation of positive operational procedures and showcasing the importance thereof Working in partnership with NGOs and the local community by behaving in an affiliated and socially responsible manor, involving members of the community in social upliftment programmes and hotel site tours. The management and supervisory employees have responsibilities for the implementation of this policy and must ensure that environmental issues are given adequate consideration in the planning and day-today supervision of all work. We will fully comply with the duties placed upon our business within the requirements of statutory legislation, whilst at all times complying with, as a matter of best practice, the requirements and duties set out within approved guidance as issued by chosen rating systems. Our employees and business partners are expected to co-operate and assist in the implementation of the policy, whilst ensuring that their own tasks, as far as is reasonably practicable, are carried out without risk to themselves, others or the environment. This includes co-operating with management on any environmental related matters. We will openly communicate our policies and practices to interested parties and invite comments and feedback on our performance against our stated objectives and goals. We will take all practical steps possible to ensure that potential hazards and risks to the environment are identified and that suitable and effective preventative and control measures are implemented. Our employees will be provided with the necessary resources, equipment, information, instructions and training to fulfill their requirements of this policy. The operation of this statement and the associated procedures will be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they remain current and applicable to the company s activities. We are committed to a process of continuous improvement over time in our efforts to meet our environmental targets

108 A view of the hotel and running trail from the wetland area

109 REFERENCES BBC NEWS. (2008) Factory gloom worst since [Online] Available from: [Accessed: 19th June 2012]. RUSSEL, J.M (2013) Thrivability: Breaking Through to a World That Works. Triarchy Press. MADIGAN, T. DELANEY, T. (2014) Beyond Sustainablilty: A Thriving Environment. McFarland. USGBC. (2015) This is LEED. Better Buildings are our legacy. [Online] Available from: 9C-KMQlJEkgfEhMZJaDwLhoCLs7w_wcB [Accessed 1st July 2015] USGBC. (2015) Getting started with O+M. [Online] Available from: [Accessed 5th July 2015] USGBC COMMITTEE. (2009) Green Building Operation and Maintenance, Reference Guide. USGBC HARMS, A. SHARP, D. (2014) Hotel Verde: Sustainability Overview. Ecolution Consulting. CITY OF CAPE TOWN. (2002) Cape Town Declaration: Cape Town Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations. [Online] Available From: Tourism/Toruism_RT_2002_Cape_Town_Declaration.pdf [Accessed 2nd July 2015] impactchoice, (2015), Green House Gas Assessment Report: Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Hotel Verde Financial Year

110 CREATIVE TEAM Sarah Farrell Working closely with André Harms and the Ecolution team, Sarah was primarily responsible for the written content of this publication and the editing process, as well as contributing to photography and over-seeing the design and layout process. Carin du Plessis After joining the team in 2015 as a graphic designer, Carin was able to bring her creative flair to the project. She was responsible for the design and layout of the report, as well as some of the copy editing and photography. Claire Devilard Interning for 6 months at the hotel during the second half of 2014, Claire was responsible for the initial and fundamental stages of this report, contributing to research, copy, the development of the concept of 'thrivable hospitality', as well as photography. Catherine Luyt A part of the Ecolution team, Catherine assisted André Harms with the collecting of data, figures and relatable examples found in the report, as well as copy editing in the final stages