Click on the links below to learn more about "being green" during your stay in San Fransisco for the 2014 Top of the Table Annual Meeting!
Getting around the Green and Easy Way
Become an Eco-Tourist in San Fransisco
The Million Dollar Round Table is pleased to partner with The Fairmont San Francisco Hotel in their Green Partnership Program. The Fairmont San Francisco goes above and beyond to provide not only an exceptional experience for their guests, but to respect and nurture the environment. MDRT encourages our Top of the Table attendees staying at the Fairmont San Francisco to participate in the environmentally friendly options offered during your stay, many of which are listed below.
Guest Greening
- Guests can make the most of their leisure time with the “Insider’s Guide to San Francisco” podcast which is available on the hotel’s website
- An Eco-Guide to San Francisco is available at the Concierge Desk
- The hotel’s town car is a Lexus hybrid vehicle
- The Fairmont San Francisco, as well as all Fairmont properties within California, offers complimentary parking to guests driving hybrid vehicles
Carbon Management Program:
Fairmont has introduced an Energy and Carbon Management Program in support of their Climate Change Strategy, that allows them to monitor, track, and report on their progress toward achieving significant CO2 reductions at all of our locations worldwide. They also partner with like-minded companies who provide products and services that improve their operational efficiencies. These proactive steps will reduce carbon output and help mitigate the effects of global warming.
Green Cuisine:
Fairmont is committed to purchasing local, organic, Fair Trade and sustainable food products wherever possible, including utilizing organic or biodynamic wines, local purveyors and on-site herb gardens.
At the Fairmont San Francisco:
- Culinary team purchases ingredients from within the surrounding 150-mile radius
- All hotel menus comply with standards set by the Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch program to supply sustainable seafood
- An organic, sustainable in-room dining menu changes with the seasons and the availability of local produce
- A wide selection of organic wines by the bottle and glass as well as sustainable cocktails are offered in all restaurants and food & beverage operations
Waste Management:
Paper, packaging and garbage are a reality of our lives, and of any business. Fairmont has consistently cut these side effects from their operations. While effective waste management comes with challenges, such as operating in communities without recycling facilities, they continue to reduce and divert waste and identify other eco-friendly opportunities.
Initiatives at the Fairmont San Francisco include:
- Leftover nonperishable food items are donated five times a week to Food Runners, which provides food to shelters and the needy
- The composting program produces high-quality compost from excess food scraps and kitchen waste and has significantly reduced the amount of waste going to landfill
- Kitchen grease is converted to bio-diesel fuel by an outside vendor
- Housekeeping donates all linens no longer used by the hotel to homeless shelters and other charities
- All half-used amenity bottles (shampoo, etc.) are donated to the Salvation Army
- The hotel encourages its purveyors to use recycled products and will not use products that do not meet its green standards
- Paper, plastic, tin, cardboard and aluminum are recycled
- A recycling program is available in all guest rooms
- Interdepartmental correspondence is distributed on two-sided paper
- Recycled paper is made into scratch pads for use by hotel colleagues
- Housekeeping provides cloth dry cleaning bags to all managers in order to reduce waste
- The majority of Sales and PR materials are converted to electronic format and available online
Energy and Water Conservation
To conserve energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions, Fairmont has introduced compact fluorescent light bulbs wherever possible. Most hotels now have water-efficient showerheads and tap aerators, and they continue to replace all of the toilets that have a flush capacity over 2 gallons (7.6 liters). Guests can do their part by choosing to participate in the towel and sheet exchange program offered at all Fairmont properties.
At the Fairmont San Francisco, energy and water conservation projects include:
- Complimentary parking is provided to guests driving hybrid cars
- Laundry service is provided by a vendor that uses organic chemicals rather than traditional bleach because it is easier for the sewer plant to treat the organic chemicals
- Ice machines are now cooled by air not water, saving approximately 8,000,000 gallons of water per year
- Occupancy sensors are installed in many locations to control unnecessary use of lighting
- In meeting and banquet venues, HVAC (heating, ventilating & air conditioning) are controlled via computer to correspond with events
- New energy-efficient ovens heat within 10 minutes rather then 30 minutes and are shut off until needed
- New better-insulated hot transport boxes are used in the hotel’s banquet operations in order to conserve energy
- Housekeeping uses eco-friendly cleaning products that are better for colleagues and have less impact on the environment