Westin to give guests carbon footprint statement

Guests who chose the Westin Beijing Financial Street's green room will be handed an energy consumption balance sheet along with their bill while checking out.

This is to let them know how many kilowatt-hours of electricity have been conserved.

"The idea is to motivate guests to become conscious of energy conservation," according to Charlie Dang, general manger of the hotel and area managing director of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, North China.

Westin Beijing Financial Street claims it is one of the first in the world to launch the green room.

Guests who participate in, and beat, the hotel's green room challenge, can earn 500 SPG points. SPG is part of Starwood's loyalty program, that can be used in exchange for the hotel group's products and services.

Low carbon emission and high efficiency are the defining characteristics of the green room. A total of 47 rooms on 8th and 9th floor, the busiest in terms of check-in frequency, have been renovated with instant energy meters and monitors, LED lights, low-flow faucets, dual-recycle bins and dual toilet flush buttons.

After the successful trial for over half a year since last October, the green room provides guests with not only a new stay-in option, but an opportunity to adopt a green lifestyle.

According to Tay Thien Hui, senior manger of design and technical service of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the Westin Beijing Financial Street consumes over one million kilowatt hours of electricity each month.

Over three years, this translates as 35,731 tons of carbon emission, which requires the planting of 321,579 trees to offset.

The average daily water consumption is 700 cubic meters in this 486-room hotel and its affiliated 205-room apartment. "This quantity of water can give me daily showers for seven consecutive years," Tay says.

Going green is a prevailing trend in many hotels. In Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, the carbon emission in 2010 decreased 6.79 percent per night per room compared to a year ago, according to Earthcheck, an Australian-based sustainable tourism management system. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has introduced low-carbon conference rooms and laundry systems and environment-friendly personal hygiene products and tableware.