Luxury Sustainability Challenges: The Case of the Westin Lima Hotel
hace 9 year
Source: Westin
Can luxury and sustainability coexist, and when we aspire to the best services or products, do they have little to do with environmentally conscious and responsible companies?
Fortunately, what seemed to be a sad reality until a few years ago, is not necessarily true today. Many companies dedicated to the commercialization and production of high-end products and services have changed the “chip” and know that only by being sustainable they will be able to remain in time.
However, it is always a challenge to continue offering luxury products or services that are environmentally friendly, without affecting their quality. Recently, the Westin Lima overcame this and other challenges by achieving one of the most important environmental certifications recognized worldwide: LEED certification.
Known by its acronym in English (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design), and promoted and granted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED certification is one of the most demanding and that is why obtaining it is really a merit to be celebrated. In the case of the Westin Lima, the certification obtained is the one that corresponds to the operation and maintenance of existing buildings, the LEED EB:OM certification (Existing Buildings: Operation & Maintenance). This means that what the USGBC has certified is the day-to-day operation of the hotel.
The huge organizational structure of a hotel like the Westin implies a very complex standards verification, since it goes into detail with almost all the hotel's operations. This, perhaps, has been one of the biggest challenges, due to the large number of roles, people and suppliers that had to be involved and, therefore, managed in the certification process.
Among the things that the certification process has verified, we can detail, as an example, the following:
Environmental Sustainability
- More than 83% of employees' daily commutes to the hotel are made by sustainable transportation: (a) bicycle or (b) public transportation.
- The hotel has an exterior configuration that avoids the urban overheating of its surroundings.
Water Efficiency
- It has water saving and efficiency policies that allow it to consume 45% less than LEED International standards for buildings of the same size.
- The water used for irrigation is recycled from the laundry process through a treatment that allows it to be used for gardening.
- It has a comprehensive monitoring system, which is capable of launching real-time and continuous data on final water consumption.
Energy and Atmosphere
- It has a complete and exhaustive energy saving and efficiency program, identifying and analyzing more than 25 saving measures, which allows it to achieve a higher energy efficiency than 75% of hotels of the same size.
- Its refrigeration equipment does not use polluting refrigerants, improving the environment and its immediate surroundings by preventing leakage of polluting products.
- In addition, a comprehensive monitoring system has been established, which is able to continuously release real-time data on final energy consumption.
Materials and Resources
- 64% of the maintenance, cleaning and repair operations of the exterior spaces are sustainable. For example, garden waste is recycled; and only environmentally friendly products are used for cleaning, maintenance or painting of the building.
- It has a purchasing policy for sustainable products, and more than 76% of what it buys has this characteristic, as well as 75% of its electronic equipment. Detergents and products are carefully chosen to protect the health and comfort of guests and employees.
- It has implemented successful measures for the separation and recycling of most waste.
Indoor Environmental Quality
- The operation and maintenance of the hotel's equipment have been analyzed with the demanding standards of the ASHRAE norm, finding that they achieve a better operation of its air conditioning equipment, ensuring greater comfort and functionality for its occupants.
- Its public areas have a high percentage of natural lighting and views to the exterior, favoring that all its environments have high quality and comfort for its occupants.
- It has proven to work with sustainable cleaning products, which have no harmful impact on occupants or the environment.
- The room ventilation equipment has passed the stringent ASHRAE air quality standard, ensuring that occupants and guests enjoy a pollution-free environment with a high level of air quality.
Although the Peruvian market has yet to develop an offer of sustainable products and practices, which can be a difficulty in making the decision to go down this path, almost 18 months and more than 5000 man-hours later, we believe it has been worth it. The Westin Lima can safely say that it is the most sustainable hotel in Latin America. We have paved the way for other companies in the sector, and other sectors, to take this important step towards sustainability.
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