MIAMI—The InterContinental Miami announced that it has once again renewed its commitment to sustainability efforts by partnering with renewable energy company, Greenlight Energy, and purchasing 16,064,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind power for 2013. This kilowatt-hour purchase equals 100 percent of the hotel’s estimated energy usage in 2013. The hotel ranks as the largest green power purchaser in the state of Florida and maintains its place on the 100 percent Purchaser’s List maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership for a second year in a row.
The EPA estimates that the InterContinental Miami’s 2013 purchase avoids an estimated 11,534 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 2,172 passenger vehicles each year, or the carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of 1,381 average American homes for one year.
EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,400 organizations to voluntarily purchase green power to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Overall, EPA’s Green Power Partners are using more than 24 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to avoiding the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of more than 2.1 million average American homes.
Sustainability Take Seriously
“Sustainable development is a responsibility that lies on everyone in the community,” said Robert Hill, general manager of the InterContinental Miami. “The InterContinental Miami takes this effort seriously to lessen the impact of its energy consumption and waste. Our hotel has a longtime tradition of creating partnerships within the community for the benefit of our employees, guests, neighbors and environment. We look forward to advancing these efforts further with innovative programs like the EPA Green Power Partnership.”
Beyond the use of renewable energy, the InterContinental Miami has a broader sustainability focus through the use of IHG’s Green Engage program that incorporates design, operations and technologies that reduce energy, conserve water, cut carbon emissions, and decrease waste while improving guest health and comfort and reduce overall operation costs. This past year, the InterContinental Miami made additional strides through its $30 million renovation project, which included outfitting all 641 suites with energy efficient lighting, low flow water toilets and faucets, and recycle bins. Additionally, an LED light installation was made to the hotel’s stately porte-cochere entrance, replacing 550 incandescent bulbs with 4,900 LEDs. This switch reduced energy consumption at the entrance by 50 percent, translating into an overall 20 percent reduction in energy.
The InterContinental Miami is one of 2,268 properties that participate in IHG’s Green Engage program, driving environmental sustainability throughout the global estate. Green Engage strives to provide hotels with cost saving measures that lead to demonstrable environmental savings, focusing first on efficiency.
The InterContinental Miami is also one of seven InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties that purchased renewable wind energy. The other participating InterContinental properties are: InterContinental New York Barclay, InterContinental New York Times Square, InterContinental Boston, InterContinental Boston Residences, InterContinental San Francisco and InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco.
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