WWSG One-to-One: 5 Questions for Mike Depatie, CEO, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group
By: Barbara De Lollis, USA Today
Updated 4.12.2010
Q. What's new with Kimpton Hotels' efforts to go green?
A. Kimpton’s extensive EarthCare program is expanding constantly. Our restaurants have always been eco-conscious and have individually been committed to the environment through various practices, including biodiesel oil recycling in some restaurants and planting gardens at other restaurants. As a group, the restaurants are making a significant, collective impact. In fact, all of our wine lists include eco-friendly selections and all seafood dishes are served in accordance with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program to help protect the health of our oceans. Additionally, we offer in-house purified water at all of our restaurants through a national partnership with Natura, to reduce plastic bottle usage. A portion of Natura water sales are donated to The Nature Conservancy. And last October, we opened our first LEED-certified hotel (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) - a Hotel Palomar in Philadelphia.
Q. Speaking of certification, Kimpton recently announced that it was seeking Silver Level Green Seal Certification for all 50 of its hotels nationwide. How is that going?
A. We expect the majority of our nearly 50 properties to be Green Seal Certified by the end of this year. In 2009, three of our Chicago hotels became the first in that city to be awarded Green Seal certification. Our Hotel Monaco in Portland is also Green Seal Certified.
Q. Why pursue certification right now, since the process costs money?
A. Certifications from third party sources such as Green Seal and LEED validate our EarthCare initiatives and inspire confidence in travelers who look for eco-minded hotels.
Several years ago, we did a survey that showed 16% of guests chose Kimpton because of our environmental commitment. If we repeated that study today, we think it would be much higher. Caring for the environment has been one of Kimpton’s top priorities since its founding, and ultimately, conducting business in an environmentally responsible way is the right thing to do.
Plus, environmentally responsible business practices often save a significant chunk of change. Some initiatives yield immediate cost savings, such as retrofitting light fixtures with energy efficient bulbs or implementing a recycling program. Others take longer to yield a return on investment.
Q. Do you think businesses are cutting back or expanding their green programs/partnerships right now?
A. Although social responsibility can seem an easy place to cut, we’ve found that expanding partnerships with like-minded companies during difficult times allows us to pool resources and ultimately adds value to the guest experience. For instance, we have just finalized a partnership with The Nature Conservancy that, among other benefits, will provide guests will a special rate code to make donations to their Plant a Billion Trees campaign. In addition to this new partnership, we continue to support the Red Ribbon Campaign, Dress for Success and The Trust For Public Land with annual fund-raising campaigns.
Q. In terms of conferences, meetings and other events held at your hotels, what is Kimpton doing specifically to ensure they are environmentally-friendly?
A. For any kind of meeting or event, guests can count on Kimpton to keep it earth-friendly. We are now the first hotel company to make every meeting a green meeting by taking 12 eco-friendly practices national. These practices are now mandatory for every event at every Kimpton hotel. The list ranges from communications procedures to banquet operations. Additionally, we can help make the meeting or event "carbon neutral," offsetting the carbon footprint by making contributions to clean energy programs.
For more information about Kimpton’s EarthCare program, click here.