Hotels Queuing Up to LEED Sustainability

(MoneyWatch)  Roughly one in five hotels plans to apply this year for a coveted green stamp of approval -- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification. Many companies, however, are already ahead of the game, because environmentally-conscious (and often affluent) guests are eager to lessen their guilt by reducing their carbon footprint.

According to Newsweek, more than 16,000 building projects of all types have indicated their interest in pursuing LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, up from 573 in 2000.

Owners are seeing the change on their bottom line. Henry Bose, capital managing partner of PFK Capital, told a group at a green hotels conference in San Francisco that the building council recorded huge savings in green commercial buildings: a drop of 30 percent in energy, 35 percent less carbon output, half the amount of water used and 90 percent less waste. Bose said the savings are probably higher for hotels since they're more "resource intensive" -- open seven days a week, 24 hours a day -- than most commercial buildings.

LEED isn't "greenwashing," like promising to issue employees plastic uniforms made from recycled bottles the way Wyndham Hotels and Resorts did. It's a comprehensive process that can take up to a year or more to examine a project's building materials, architectural and landscaping plans, and policies and procedures.

The list of those awaiting LEED certification is growing from luxury boutique hotels like the WestPac Investments' Base Village Hotel in Snowmass , Colo., to Starwood's new brand, Element, which aims to have its entire line of hotels LEED-certified.

Las Vegas, "where ecoconsciousness is suddenly as hot as Texas Hold 'Em," is home to the largest LEED building in the nation -- the 8.3 million square-foot Palazzo Resort Hotel and Casino. Because Nevada offers property tax rebates up to 35 percent for LEED certification, more resorts are likely to hop on board. But most hotels, like those owned by Marriott or others, seem to be hit and miss.

"It all comes down to the free market," said Brian Gitt, executive director for the Berkeley-based Build It Green. "You either plan for the future and be an innovator or be a follower and drag your feet the whole way."

Photo courtesy of Element by Westin