VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — (Marketwired) — 10/02/13 — Your visit to BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville just got a little greener. Today, the BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville, conveniently located in downtown Vancouver–s newly revitalized Granville area, officially joined the EcoStay program. EcoStay is a national initiative that helps hotels measure their carbon footprint, identify and fund reduction strategies and balance off their greenhouse gas emissions through carbon offsetting.
“We–re very excited to be part of the EcoStay Program,” said Anastasios Theodoropoulos, General Manager of BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville. “It–s a meaningful and effective way of demonstrating our concern for the environment.”
Under the program BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville will collect two dollars per night from hotel guests. Funds will be used to purchase carbon offsets in support of emission-reducing projects across the country such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, agriculture and recycling – balancing the impact from the hotel–s operations, and making each hotel night completely –carbon neutral–.
The guest–s contribution completely offsets the impact or their stay, and more. Carbon offsets are supplied by LivClean, a top ranked retailer by the David Suzuki Pembina. All LivClean EcoStay Carbon Offset Projects are listed on the CSA Group–s GHG CleanProjects Registry ensuring ISO 14064-2 reporting and independent ISO 14064-3 verification. In addition, each offset tonne is uniquely serialized by CSA Group to ensure proper retirement and avoid double counting. The use of a public registry such as GHG CleanProjects Registry is an important step for transparency and ease of access for users to review and confirm the ongoing tracking of the LivClean EcoStay Projects.
The program also supports on-site environmental upgrades and renovations. The hotel has already made many eco-friendly upgrades, and boasts a 4 Green key Eco-Rating. With the additional support offered through the EcoStay Program, they are planning to install lighting efficiency technologies such as dimmers and motion sensors and donate left-over amenities, all in an effort to further reduce the hotel–s impact. A typical 150 room Canadian hotel can produce three tonnes of greenhouses gases each day. That–s the same as driving 200 cars, heating and lighting 100 homes or taking 5,000 airplane flights. Guests at BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville can rest assured that their stay is helping to significantly reduce these emissions.
Measuring and reporting the hotels progress is an important step too. BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville will now use Green Hotels Global, the internationally recognized online dashboard and benchmarking tool that follows the new Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI 1.0) of the World Travel & Tourism Council and the International Travel Partnership.
“EcoStay is a terrific program,” Mr. Theodoropoulos continued, “we–re seeing both leisure and business travelers these days that are seriously concerned about their impact. This is our way of letting guests know that we share those concerns and we–re doing something about it.”
“We–re very proud of the EcoStay program, and the hotels who have embraced it,” said Christina deVries, Director of EcoStay. “These hotels are leaders in environmental consciousness and responsibility. They aren–t just talking about reducing green house gases – they–re doing it.”
Details of BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville–s carbon footprint, in-house initiatives and carbon offset purchases are available on-line at .
EcoStay Program supports Hotels across North America in their effort to take action against climate change. Through the purchase of carbon offsets, hotels support emission-reducing projects across the country – making each guest–s stay completely carbon neutral and good for the planet! The program also helps hotels make on-site energy efficiency and environmental improvement and measure their progress at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. More info at .
BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville, conveniently located in downtown Vancouver, places guests– moments away from Vancouver–s best neighbourhoods, including the trendy Yaletown district and famous shopping on Robson Street. Recent extensive renovations were executed in an effort to enhance the comfort and luxury of our 114- spacious rooms and suites. Further information on the hotel can be found at .
Contacts:
EcoStay
Christina DeVries
(905) 338-3113
Best Western Plus Chateau Granville
Julia Georlette
(604) 669-7070