Green Machine Good For People, Good For Planet By Virgin Hotels @VirginHotelsChi Share Share On Facebook Share On Twitter Share on LinkedIn SOMETIMES GREEN IS THE NEW RED When you come stay over, we don’t want you to worry about a thing. We want you to kick back, put your feet up, and stress less about your carbon footprint. We want you to stay sustainable. As we round out the end of 2017, we wanted to give a brief refresher on why it’s cool to think GREEN. Each month our recycling efforts conserve numerous resources including: 30,968 kW-hrs of electricity: enough to power 2 homes for a full year 415 gallons of oil: enough energy to heat and cool 2 homes for a full year 100 gallons of gasoline: enough gasoline to drive 2,800 miles 54 mature trees: enough to produce 669,060 sheets of newspaper 29,470 gallons of water: enough to meet the fresh water needs of 1,512 people for a year 23 cubic yards of landfill airspace: enough airspace to meet the disposal needs of a community of 348 people A few of our teammates gave us some eco-friendly pro tips as well: Nick G., Chief Engineer “While keeping the historic elements of the existing building we creatively were able to do a good amount of work, such as adding a roof deck terrace expanding the existing penthouse with a new green roof above. We are also using technology such as smart thermostats and occupancy sensors as a way to save energy when guests are not occupying the hotel guestrooms.” Chef Moosah, Executive Chef “Adjacent to our kitchen we have a waste digester, nicknamed “Oscar”. Oscar recycles all of our left over food waste which equates to over 300lbs a day and turns it into liquid.” Jermaine A., General Manager “Our platform based on the three P’s – People, Planet and Partners. Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Our sustainable program has aspirational goals of moving toward net zero, net zero carbon and net zero waste. We’re proud of our LEED Gold certification.” photo: Raul Leal, CEO & Jefferson Thomas, Director of Architecture and Technical Services Sonali F, Director of Revenue “We do our best to reduce the carbon footprint of every stay. Our Carbon Offset program helped us offset 71 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in a year! Sounds like a lot, right? Well, that’s because it bloody well is. And we have our guests to thank for helping us get there. By selecting to ‘Green Your Stay’, thousands of you have donated $1 to offset your carbon footprint. Thank you!” READ MORE ABOUT OUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS