CONTACT:
Scott Carman
Hilton Worldwide
(703) 883-5803
HILTON WORLDWIDE UNVEILS LIGHTSTAY SUSTAINABILITY MEASUREMENT
SYSTEM
Company Reveals Significant Reductions in Energy, Water, Carbon and
Waste
MCLEAN, VA (April 29,
2010) –
Hilton Worldwide unveils LightStay, a proprietary system developed to calculate
and analyze environmental impact, to the public today, following two years of
rigorous internal testing. In the first full-year of findings, the 2009
LightStay results show that the 1,300 Hilton Worldwide properties using the
system conserved enough energy to power 5,700 homes for a year, saved enough
water to fill more than 650 Olympic-size pools and reduced carbon output
equivalent to taking 34,865 cars off the road. Reductions in water and energy
use also translated into dollars-saved for hotel owners, with estimated savings
of more than $29 million in utility costs in 2009.
Hilton Worldwide and
its brands touch hundreds of communities and millions of people around the
globe. That's why operating in a responsible and sustainable manner is a
priority for our company and a central part of how we do business," said
Hilton Worldwides President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Nassetta.
"Through our focus on sustainability, we look to mitigate our impact on
the environment and in the communities in which we operate, create economic
value for our owners and, ultimately, provide a better experience for our
guests," he added.
LightStay helped Hilton
Worldwide properties using the system reduce energy use by 5 percent, carbon
output by 6 percent, waste output by 10 percent and water use by 2.4 percent in
2009 versus 2008. These results have been independently audited and are
adjusted for any differences in occupancy levels and major weather events year
over year.
LightStay is an
integral part of our effort to operationalize sustainability at Hilton
Worldwide. The
system goes a long way in helping us to quantify our impact at the property
level and company-wide, explained
Paul Brown, President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, Hilton Worldwide. Were
excited about our first year results and look forward to using LightStay to
continuously improve hotel performance across our global portfolio, he added.
LightStay takes into
account energy and water use and waste and carbon outputs associated with
building operations and services provided at Hilton Worldwide properties. As
part of this, the system measures indicators across 200 operational practices
including housekeeping, paper product use, food waste, chemical storage, air
quality and transportation.
The insights we gained
from the LightStay system prompted our property to launch a waste decomposition
program that eliminates as much as a thousand pounds of garbage a day, said
Mark Lauer, General Manager, Hilton New York. The data also inspired us to
donate leftover food to a local charity, putting more than 5,000 pounds of food
that would otherwise be wasted to good use, he added.
LightStay Features
LightStay also includes
a meeting impact calculator that measures the environmental impact of any
meeting or conference held at a Hilton Worldwide property. This enables meeting
planners and corporate travel managers to consider the environmental impact of
hotel stays and meetings when making purchasing decisions. In addition, it
provides corporate customers with the opportunity to include meeting impact
data in their own sustainability reporting.
Making Sustainability a Brand Standard
By December 31, 2011,
all 3,500 properties within Hilton Worldwides global portfolio of brands will
use LightStay, making the company the first major multi-brand company in the
hospitality industry to require property-level measurement of sustainability.
Consequently, measurement of sustainability performance will become a brand
standard, on the same level as service, and evaluated accordingly as part of
regular, property-level reviews.
Independent Verification
To confirm the effective
implementation and validity of LightStay, Hilton Worldwide commissioned
KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. – a Management Systems design company
– to perform a series of third-party audits of LightStay. Our extensive
audit of LightStay revealed that it is truly a best-in-class system for
measuring and analyzing sustainability performance data at hotel properties,
said Steve Dunning, at KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc. LightStay is rigorous but
user-friendly, helping hotels to track and manage sustainability performance at
a whole new level.
About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading
global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious
full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels.
For more than 90 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure
travellers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The
company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest
experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than
3,500 hotels in 81 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts,
Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton
Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton
and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest
reward program Hilton HHonors.
For more information about the
company, please visit www.hiltonworldwide.com.
About KEMA-Registered
Quality, Inc.
Headquartered in Chalfont, PA with
third-party auditing resources across the globe KEMA-Registered Quality, Inc.
www.krqusa.com is an ANAB accredited certification body specializing ISO 9001,
ISO 14001, AS9100, ISO 13485, Medical Device CE Marking, TS 16949, TL9000, and
supplier audit. processes / 2nd Party audits, and other Management system
Certification. As a subsidiary of KEMA BV www.kema.com based in the Netherlands
our heritage and integrity goes back 80 years. KEMA operates in over 20
countries around the world with 1,800 employees and growing.
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