Best Western Plus Chateau Granville

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Top Tips to Keep your Hotel Room Green

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The Ideal Green Hotel Room

Vancouver is one of the most sustainable cities in North America, it has a goal for 2020 to become the greenest city in the world. With this deadline approaching, Best Western Plus Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre has been successfully implementing many environmentally friendly features in our guest rooms to support this initiative over the years. We loved to see an increasing number in both leisure and business travelers becoming seriously concerned about their impact on the environment. Being a sustainable hotel, we live and breathe our green policy on a daily basis. Read on to see why our main focus in our guest rooms remains green and eco-friendly.

Here are some of our Top Tips to keep your Hotel Room Green:

Keep your Hotel Room Green Towel Re-use Program – For longer stay over guests, we have appropriate signage to keep guests informed that their linen is changed every third day, unless requested otherwise. We also encourage our guests to re-use their towels throughout their stay. Fresh towels are provided upon request. This process has helped us to drastically reduce water consumption.

Energy usage – We have motion sensored thermostats to help manage the energy usage in our guest rooms.

LED Bulbs – All the lighting in the hotel was upgraded to LED energy saving bulbs.
Low Flow Toilets – The hotel has plans to complete the installation of low flow toilets in all bathrooms to further save in water consumption.

Make up towels – We also offer make up towels on request to reduce the usage of bleach in our washing process.

Herbal Amenities – We are proud to offer herbal bath amenities along with bio-degradable toilet paper and recyclable paper cups in all guest bathrooms.

Bidet Toilets – Our executive king rooms have bidet toilets installed which is also less stressful on the environment.

 Keep your Hotel Room Green
Keep your Hotel Room Green Eco-Friendly Products – We use eco-friendly laundry products, washer & dryers to optimize our laundry process by combining the elements of low temperature and a smart wash process with reduced wash steps.

Housekeeping operations – The housekeeping department plays a very active role in contributing to our green efforts.  We use a smart washing process, whereby, the washing machines weigh the linens, before dispensing just the right amount of water and detergent. This way, nothing is wasted.

Noise pollution – All guest room are now double paned windows which helps keep out any noise pollution and reduces the time to heat and cool the guest rooms.

Non-Smoking Hotel – Travelers who want to avoid exposure to tobacco pollutants often search for hotels that are completely smoke-free. We are committed to providing our guests with a smoke-free environment in our guest rooms and across the hotel.

Our guests understand the importance of their input, their participation and their voice to help protect and preserve the environment. The hotel has invested in many green initiatives which allows our guests to be a part of our green story.

How can you help? Be sure to ask our Front desk team about our eco-fee upon check in (that is optional) and will contribute to our hotel’s green efforts and to the Ecostay Forestry Initiatives.

The Ideal Green Hotel Room

The future of the hospitality industry must be green, would you agree? We would love to hear your suggestions about how you, as our guests can help us achieve our green goals!

2016 Progressive Green Steps

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We are proud to be a green hotel and to be able to highlight our 2016 progressive green steps.

Ecostay is one of the many green programs that we participate in. Each month we receive a certificate from them, outlining our carbon offset to date. Take a look at our 2016 progressive green steps during the year.

Start of the Year

As of February, our hotel had offset 678% of our year to date annual carbon footprint. This resulted in 339.1 tonnes of carbon offsets been purchased from emission reducing projects. To put in to simpler terms, that’s an equivalent to taking 24,754 cars off the road for a day, what a great start to the year.

2016 Progressive Green Steps

 

Summer Time

As of May, we had 852.2 tonnes of carbon offsets been purchased from emission reducing projects, an increase of 513.1 tonnes since February.

2016 Progressive Green Steps

 

During the summer our green initiatives in both our restaurant, the Edge Social Grille & Lounge and the hotel were assessed by Green Tourism. We were awarded a Silver rating, following this assessment. Green Tourism noted some of our great green features in the hotel, in particular our recent introduction of occupancy sensors in the guest rooms, which have provided great energy savings.

2016 Progressive Green Steps

 

In September our ecostay certificate highlighted that we had purchased 1,464.2 tonnes of greenhouse gas reducing carbon offsets.

2016 Progressive Green Steps

End of Year

As of December, we closed out the year with having purchased 1,571.6 tonnes of greenhouse gas reducing carbon offsets. This is a great result considering that as of February 2016 we had 339.1 tonnes of greenhouse gas reducing carbon offsets.

 

Thank you to all our hotel guests for participating in our green initiatives. We could not reduce our carbon offsets without your help.  We look forward to seeing and sharing our progress with you in 2017!

Our 10 Green Initiatives

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We are a Green Hotel, read our 10 Green Initiatives that we have participated in to make us Green!

We are very proud to inform people that we are a Green Hotel. Throughout the years we have done a number of updates and changes to our hotel to ensure we are improving our carbon footprint. Keeping green and staying green is a team effort and involves the assistance of all our employees and different departments.

Here are our 10 Green Initiatives:

  1. Doubled Pained Windows

We recently updated all the windows in our hotel to double pane windows in order to reduce any noise pollution along with reducing the time to heat and cool guest rooms.

Our 10 Green Initiatives

  1. Motion Sensored Thermostats

We have installed Energex motion sensored thermostats to help manage the energy usage in the room.

  1. LED Lights

We have updated all our light bulbs to LED. LED lights are environmentally friendly as they have a longer life span and have no toxic elements.

  1. Paint

We have painted the outside of our hotel with eco-friendly paint.

Our 10 Green Initiatives

  1. Housekeeping

Our housekeeping team use eco-friendly laundry products, washer and dryers to ensure that the bed linen and towels are being washed in the most eco-friendly manner possible.

  1. Long Stay Guest

We have an option in the room for our long stay guest in regard to the changing of their linen and their bath towels.  The guest have an option to have their linen changed every third day and also are given the option to re-use their towels instead of being replaced daily.

  1. Bath Amenities

In our guest bathrooms we offer herbal bath amenities along with bio-degradable toilet paper.

Our 10 Green Initiatives

  1. Bidet Toilets

Our Executive King rooms have bidet toilets installed, these toilets are less stressful on the environment.

  1. Recycling

We have recycling bins in each office in our hotel. We encourage all our employees to recycle their materials accordingly.

  1. The Edge Social Grille & Lounge

Our green initiatives also extend to our on-site kitchen, The Edge Social Grille & Lounge. We are part of the Ocean wise program.  Ocean Wise makes it easy for consumers to make sustainable seafood choices. Our kitchen is active in composting, our hotel has adopted a zero waste food program which contributes to our eco-friendly plan.

Our 10 Green Initiatives

The above are just some of the initiatives that we have carried out in the hotel. We will continue to roll out more green initiatives during the year to ensure we are continuously reducing our carbon footprint.

 

How to be Green on Vacation

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Stay Green while on Vacation!

Watching your carbon footprint while on vacation can be a difficult task. We have listed 10 tips on how to be Green on Vacation. Some of these tips are applicable before you even go on your vacation! We hope these 10 tips will benefit you in planning your next green vacation.

1. Travel Light

The less you take the less weight the plane, car, train will have to carry, which in turn reduces the fuel consumption. The less fuel consumed by your chosen mode of transport the more beneficial it will be to the environment.

How to be Green on Vacation
Photo Credit – Jasleen_Kaur – Flickr

2. Unplug 

Before you leave the house ensure all appliances have been unplugged, this will not only help with the environment but will also help reduce your energy bill. Unplugging appliances is not just for when you go away but you should unplug all your appliances when they are not in use.

3. Remove Packaging

Remove unnecessary packing on any of the products you are taking with you prior to travelling. This will enable you to dispose of the packaging correctly at home, in the event that you can not dispose of it correctly at your final destination.

4. Reusable Bottle

Take your reusable bottle with you when you go on vacation.  It is handy to keep the bottle with you when you are out and about exploring your chosen destination. By using your reusable bottle it will greatly help the environment.

How to be Green on Vacation

5. Reusable Bag

Instead of using the retailers bag when you make a purchase, use your own reusable bag. Recyclable bags are the perfect accessory to take with you in your handbag as they can be folded away neatly in to the smallest of spaces!

6. Stay in a Green Friendly Accommodation 

When deciding upon where you are going to stay, look for a hotel that is green. Carry out your research and see what green initiatives they have in place to reduce their carbon footprint.

How to be Green on Vacation
Best Western Plus Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites

7. Lights and Air Conditioning 

On leaving your room ensure you turn off the lights and air conditioning. The same goes for when a room is not in use, ensure all lights and air conditioning are turned off.

8. Transport 

When touring around the city use public transport as much as possible to get to your destination. it will give you the change to really experience the city like a local!

9. Sightseeing

Look at different options on how to explore your vacation destination. You may be able to see the place by signing up to a guided bike tour or renting your own bike and a map. Many citiy destinations now also offer walking tours. Should you be staying in a hotel, ask the concierge for recommendations on how best to explore the city.

How to be Green on Vacation
Photo Credit – Lars Plougmann – Flickr

10. Rentals 

Do you need to rent a car when you are on vacation consider renting a hybrid or a small car, as these are more environmental friendly.

We hope these tips are of some benefit to help you stay green while on vacation! What are your green tips for when you are travelling? We would love to hear your tips!

 

We are Ocean Wise

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What is Ocean Wise?

We are Ocean Wise

Over the past 10 years the Ocean Wise Program has celebrates its achievements! What started off as an awareness movement has now become Canada’s most recognized sustainable seafood program.

Launched in 2005, Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program has acknowledged the growing need to understand that overfishing is the biggest threat that our oceans face today!

The Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program collaborates with restaurants and suppliers to ensure that they are making ocean-friendly decisions and coinciding with the standards and statistics regarding sustainable seafood.The powerful Ocean Wise symbol next to a seafood item is Vancouver Aquarium’s assurance, that you are making an ocean-friendly seafood choice! Read on to find out more about our sustainable seafood practices! We are Ocean Wise!

 

Sustainable Practices

The powerful Ocean Wise symbol next to a seafood item is Vancouver Aquarium's assurance, that you are making an ocean-friendly seafood choice! Read on to find our more about our Sustainable Seafood! We are Ocean Wise!
Smoked Tuna Carpaccio- Just one of the many Ocean Wise Seafood Dishes

The Edge Social Grille & Lounge is Vancouver’s superior choice as we concentrate on using the freshest ingredients in all our dishes.We believe in serving sustainable seafood that is ocean wise which means that each species is caught or farmed in a way that ensures the long-term health and stability of that species,as well as the greater marine ecosystem. Almost all seafood dishes presently served in our Conference Centre at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Chateau Granville Hotel & Suites & Conference Centre are also Ocean Wise!Take a look at our menu at the Edge Social Grille & Lounge and see our Ocean Wise options!

We are Ocean Wise
The Edge Social Grille & Lounge- Lunch/Dinner Menu

Top 5 Reasons to eat sustainable seafood

  1. High Demand for seafood is creating negative effects on our oceans

There are problems of serious overfishing and environmental degradation caused by farmed fishing. Ocean Wise is moving one step closer to preserving their natural habitat.

  1. We need improved sourcing of seafood.

Which means that the fish should be caught in a way that ensures they can regenerate their stocks and that the method used doesn’t harm their environment.

  1. Endangered species

There are a number of fish species that are in danger as we speak. Eating sustainable seafood helps to ensure that we do not contribute to over fishing practices.

  1. Eat with a cleaner conscience.

If you want to eat fish, but aren’t sure where to start, look for the Ocean Wise symbol when you dine out next time. The below guide will also help make ocean-friendly decisions.

We are Ocean Wise
Photo Credits- Ocean Wise.ca
  1. Fish is an important part of your diet.

The Canada’s food guide recommends that at least two servings of 75 grams of fish should be taken each a week. There are multiple health benefits. Fish is a lean protein with healthy fats, vitamins and minerals calcium and zinc. If we do not eat smart we may have to one day avoid this very essential part of our diet.

Sustainable Seafood

Check out this amazing Video present by Vancouver Aquarium to find out more information about how Ocean Wise program operates.

You can also try Ocean Wise’s new app to help you learn more about sustainable seafood and find our which restaurant are partners.

So visit us at the Edge Social Grille & Lounge to experience our wide array of menu items that will give you a bold burst of flavour but what is even better is… We are OCEAN WISE!

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