Best Western Hotels

Made up of independently owned and operated hotels, Best Western thrives on diversity. As a result, Best Western hotels do everything from having in-room recycle bins and linen re-use programs to geothermal and solar-powered hotels that actually sell power back to the grid.

Every hotel in North America is required to have a green program in place. This could be anything from using recycled paper and installing low-flow shower heads to full participation with national or international eco-labeling programs.


Here are a few examples of how Best Western hotels are going green:

• Properties in compliance with at least one of the national or international eco-labeling programs for the hotel industry can display a "green" icon on bestwestern.com and related websites. There are now some 600 North American Best

• Western hotels with the green icon and nearly 500 internationally.

• More than 40 percent of Best Western's Canadian properties have earned Green Keys from the Green Key Eco-Rating Program.

• All North American hotels are required to use keycard sleeves made from recycled paper and printed with vegetable oil-based ink.

• Through a recent renovation, the Best Western Governors Suites in Little Rock, Ark., cut its water use in half by installing power-flush toilets and low-flow showerheads.

• The Best Western Brant Park Inn & Conference Center in Brantford, Ont., uses an organic waste program that composts 90 percent of food waste from the hotel's restaurants and conference center.

• The Best Western Kelowna Inn in Kelowna, B.C., is heated and cooled with a geothermal and solar system.

Green Support

• Best Western encourages hotels to "go green" in the way that works best for their markets and customers. The brand provides tools and training to support these efforts. Here are a few examples:

• Best Western International was the first mid-scale hotel brand to partner with ENERGY STAR®, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. By teaming up with ENERGY STAR®, Best Western aims to provide member hotels with the resources and tools to help them capitalize on the benefits of reduced energy consumption.

• Best Western Supply, which offers one-stop-shopping for hotels' construction, renovation and operational requirements, offers more than 1,000 environmentally-friendly products and works with more than 100 "green" suppliers.

• Best Western offers an environmentally-friendly guestrooms design prototype, which uses environmentally-friendly materials.

• Best Western also offers a development prototype that allows developers to build an upper midscale property on a compact two-acre site.

• Best Western holds workshops and webinars for hotel owners and staff to share how-to's and best practices for going green, as well as meeting various environmental certification programs.

• Best Western also offers its North American hotels the support and expertise of an on-site green program coordinator.

Best Western's Corporate Offices

Best Western's corporate offices have made a concerted effort to reduce, reuse and recycle. In fact, our Beardsley Operations Center in Phoenix recently earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prestigious Energy Star, the national symbol for protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. Here are some of the company's corporate efforts and initiatives to promote green best practices and implement practical, environmentally-friendly solutions:

• Best Western has implemented a large-scale recycling program and made its cafeterias more environmentally friendly by using locally-sourced ingredients, incentivizing the use of refillable cups and eliminating Styrofoam.

• All brand news publications, which include everything from weekly newsletters to quarterly magazines, are offered electronically. Member billing statements are also offered electronically.

• Best Western has replaced inefficient lighting and installed new cooling and heating systems as well as energy-efficient appliances. In addition, Best Western has engaged employees to turn off lights and electric appliances when not in use.

• Since energy-saving efforts began, Best Western has saved nearly 1.4 million KwH of electricity.

• Best Western has instituted a trip-reduction program aimed at reducing single-occupant-vehicle trips. The company's program won an award at Phoenix's 2008 Valley Metro Clean Air Campaign Awards.

• Most training and education resources are offered online via the company's intranet, to conserve paper and other resources.

• Best Western gives an annual Green Award to select employees who exemplify "going green" and publishes monthly online "Green Report" for employees on our efforts.