All The Things We Are Doing to Be Green

We are committed to being environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly. The Westin Grand's Green Team meets regularly to share ideas, set objectives, implement initiatives and discuss the ways our initiatives are affecting our operations.  We ensure our performance is revisited with the aim of continuous improvements by reducing, re-using or recycling in areas such as: water consumption, waste materials produced and energy consumption. 

The Westin Grand is proud to note that we have received a Green Key rating from The Hotel Association of Canada Green Key Eco-Rating Program as well as an Eco Leaf rating from iStayGreen.org, and are excited to continually improve our environmental agenda, working diligently to ensure our guests are kept informed of our progress.

Here are some of the things we do to make a difference:

Energy & Water Conservation

Master Switch 
It's no secret that lights left on in unoccupied guestrooms is a leading source of energy waste. All of our guest rooms are equipped with a Master Switch located by the entry door providing us a simple way to save energy. This switch enables or disables power to a select number of electric circuits and loads present inside our guestrooms, eliminating the potential for this waste.

Westin Heavenly Showers
In an effort to support Starwood sustainability initiatives and give our guests conservation choices, a "Shower Cling" for the Heavenly Shower has been created for placement in all Westin guest showers that feature the Westin dual-headed Heavenly Shower. This shower cling advises guests that one of the shower heads has been turned off to minimize water usage. It also instructs guests how to turn on the second shower head in order to have the full Heavenly Shower experience. 
Water usage in showers comprises a significant portion of overall consumption in hotels. In addition to saving water, we're working on switching to low-flow showerheads that reduce the energy demand needed for hot water heating and minimize the volume of water that requires chemical wastewater treatment.

Property Management System & HVAC 
Heating, cooling, and ventilating commercial buildings is responsible for more than half of commercial building energy use and costs. Here at The Westin Grand, by linking our Property Management System to our HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) allows the two system to communicate about when rooms are occupied or not. Using occupancy-based controls for HVAC ensures that spaces are conditioned only when needed.

Carbon Neutral Program
Our Carbon Neutral Program takes action on climate change by reducing our "carbon footprint", with the help of our guests. We offer our guests & groups the opportunity to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, save power and conserve water by them choosing not to have their room serviced. This alone eliminates 100 litres of water consumption and 1,500 watts of electricity and reduce greenhouse gases; which is what negatively impacts the Earth's environment. In return, we pay $5 per day of their stay that they choose not to have their room serviced to CarbonNeutral®, to invest in a carbon offset project so that the CO2 associated with our guests and groups stay is neutralised.

Recycling 
Waste deposited in landfills and incinerators directly and indirectly contribute to pollution and the depletion of natural resources. Landfill and incinerator processes contaminate soil, air and groundwater. Reusing and recycling waste can reduce environmental burdens and extend the life of existing landfills. Recycling is currently performed throughout the entire hotel (guest rooms, offices, kitchen, etc.) for the following materials: paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics and metals.

Our recycling collection service is through United We Can, a charitable organization established to support, environmental, social, and economic improvement in the inner city. By supporting United We Can we also help creating jobs for people with multiple barriers to traditional employment.

Local Suppliers 
Whenever possible, it is our goal to use locally sourced produce, sustainable seafood and humanely raised meats. We also offer vegetarian meal selections. Locally sourced product supports local business, potentially reduces the need for excessive preservatives, provides for fresher produce, and reduces carbon emissions associated with long distance transport.