Green Acres
Colorado’s resort industry embraces sustainable practices, spending money for upgrades in a time of economic uncertainty
By Susanna SpeierIn June 2008, ColoradoBiz published a story profiling Colorado companies embracing sustainable practices. The Boulder Outlook Hotel was highlighted for its initiatives toward becoming a “zero waste property.”
At the time, Colorado’s capital was gearing up to host its first Democratic National Convention since William Jennings Bryan garnered the nomination in 1908. Not only did Denver’s August convention successfully launch a nominee who went on to become the first African-American President of the United States, it continues to be lauded as the greenest convention in history.
Colorado sustainability advocates boast that the state — now well within striking distance of its highly publicized competitors — is already setting the precedent other regions seek to emulate.
The “DNC was a huge turning point,” says Janna Six, education and outreach director for the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. She attributes the current ubiquitous push to adapt more sustainable business practices to the momentum of the city and DNC’s collaborative green initiatives.
The Alliance collaborated with other nonprofit organizations, government agencies and businesses to host workshops on waste minimization, energy efficiency and water-saving methods for restaurants, hotels, event planners, printers and small-business owners. Businesses were inspired to implement green business practices that have endured a year after the convention.
Just as Colorado’s eco-friendly initiatives soared to new heights, one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history hit. Following the year Visit Denver referred to as a “banner year,” the travel and tourism industry plunged into one of its worst economic crises on record, with many corporate conferences canceled and workers facing layoffs cutting back on their vacation plans.
In Colorado’s new economic reality, should city and state government initiatives continue to encourage and reward costly retrofitting upgrades that municipal and state governments championed prior to October’s stock market plunge? If so, will Colorado’s newly greened hotels and resorts be able to sustain themselves, not to mention their costly upgrades, until the economy bounces back?
“It is difficult to find ways to make investments in a downturn,” Gov. Bill Ritter said when ColoradoBiz approached him on the topic. “The downturn does not preclude investments from being made” because in the “new energy economy,” investments are primarily initiated by “high-end places that rely on corporate travel.”
Green practices currently being adapted and developed will give hotels that maintain them an even more competitive edge over time because, Ritter said, “sustainability is part of our future.”
NO TIME LIKE TODAY
Bob Trotter, manager of Vail Valley’s newest luxury resort, The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, believes that time is now. Already, about 75 percent of event planners routinely request a list of the hotel’s sustainability initiatives prior to booking. Providing that list is not difficult for the Westin Riverfront; it’s now vying to be the first Colorado hotel to receive LEED certification. Trotter says some companies selected the hotel for a conference explicitly because of the resort’s sustainable practices.
Trotter cites Chipotle and Thule as examples of two Colorado-based companies whose dedication to sustainability is such an emphatic part of their mission that the companies’ credibility would be on the line were they to patronize a venue that does not address it. Booking at a resort like the Westin therefore helps the company maintain its brand, he said.
Westin anticipates receiving Silver level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the second level of a points-based rating system that includes two higher levels (gold and platinum).
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