Zero Waste Zone Perimeter Just About to Launch: See Who Is Carrying the Torch!

So I'm walking back through the woodland path, past the waterfalls, to the parking garage after having lunch with the chairpeople of the Green Team at the Crown Plaza Ravinia the other day when I pass this sculpture of runners carrying a torch. I stand there in the speckled sun and think about how Crowne Plaza is now carrying the eco-torch for all of Georgia as the first and only Green Globe-certified hotel in the state. And it is right here in the PCID. Right here in Dunwoody.

The Green Team started because Elisaveta Dimova, director of services, moved to the United States from Bulgaria about ten years ago and was surprised by all the waste she saw. Elisaveta's passion for environmental change convinced Brad Moore, director of food and beverage, that there were things they could do to make a difference. All this positive energy enveloped Craig Hillyard, general manager, and the rest as they say, is history. The excitement these three feel about the changes they have made, and the results they have experienced, was palpable at lunch (a lunch at which I knew my unfinished salad would end up composted and returned to the earth as a valuable product).

Here are the green things the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia is doing:

Recycling:

• Printer cartridges, cell phones, batteries, CFL’s, name badges
• Paper, plastic, cardboard, glass – back of the house, meeting areas, guest floors (room attendants are separating the trash when cleaning rooms whenever possible)
• Composting – all organic waste is separated in the Kitchen and Banquets areas and sent off to a composting facility.

Lighting:

• Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL) has been installed in areas that are 24 hours lit (back of the house, public space, and guest hallways).
• Guestroom light bulbs are replaced with CFL’s as they expire.
• Dimmer system installed in meeting rooms

Energy, Water Savings and Waste Minimization Policy:

• Whenever possible, new and replacement equipment that is being purchased is Energy Star rated. This includes office equipment, kitchen and laundry equipment, and guestroom amenities (irons, hairdryers, refrigerators, etc).
• Furniture is reupholstered whenever possible, instead of buying new
• Bottled water for meetings is replaced with filtered water in glass carafes (Natura)
• Water bottles in Health Club and Admin Area have been replaced with filtered water coolers
• Coffee makers in guestrooms minimize waste – one-cup coffee maker, no heating plate, disposable brewing basket
• Automatic Soap dispensers and Automatic flush systems in public restrooms
• Ozone Purification system installed in Laundry to reduce use of hot water, chemicals, labor and energy
• Replacement windows are tinted and/or energy efficient
• Low flow shower heads (Crowne Plaza Standard)
• Low flow Sink aerators
• Low-flow valves installed in all guestroom toilets

Environmentally- Friendly Purchasing Policy

• Purchasing non-toxic cleaning chemicals for the guestrooms from Procter & Gamble
• Eco-friendly pest control and landscaping service
• Purchasing low or zero VOC paints
• Biodegradable guestroom amenities on Concierge Floors
• We have discontinued purchasing Styrofoam cups and are now using recyclable paper cups in the cafeteria and throughout the property.
• Bleached paper napkins have been replaced with 100% recycled paper napkins.
• Organic and/or Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee for guestrooms and lobby coffee shop
• Paper cups and other disposable paper products in guestrooms and in lobby coffee shop are biodegradable or have recycled content
• 30% recycled content office paper
• New notepads and comment cards in guestrooms have recycled content
• Recycled content paper towels, toilet paper and facial tissue
• Paperless billing and e-communication (Sales and Catering)
• Paperless Check In procedure
• Linen and Towel reuse programs in guestrooms
• Guestroom keys are 100% recycled and are recyclable
• 100% recycled trash bags used in Housekeeping Department

Others:

• Green Steering committee on property since November 2008
• Charitable organizations relationships – Our hotel is donating the partially used guestroom amenities and discarded bedding to local charity organizations
• Energy conservation policies
• Reducing deliveries, recycling shipping pallets and other packaging materials
• Mixing stations for cleaning chemicals to reduce chemical waste

The Crowne Plaza Green Team has applied for Zero Waste Zone designation from the Green Foodservice Alliance and is awaiting word of its acceptance. If so, then we will officially have a Zero Waste Zone: Perimeter.

My dream? To have every restaurant and hotel in Dunwoody participate in composting its pre-and post-consumer green waste (there are experienced companies to help with this). Then, we brand that finished product as City of Dunwoody compost and sell it to individuals and businesses for landscaping and gardening, with a percentage of each sale supporting school and community gardens. A closed-loop waste-stream repurposing with social benefits. I love things like that.

(Hey, we could even grow stuff at an urban farm to sell back to the restaurants--a truly closed loop.)

Oh, and wanna' know how I even found out about Crowne Plaza's Green Team? Holly Elmore, the founder and director of the Green Foodservice Alliance, told me I simply had to meet Elisaveta. Thanks, Holly! (See Holly's Zero Waste Zone blog here.)