We think Earth deserves our appreciation and protection every day of the year. Photo Credit: @samscriim on Unsplash
Mars, Saturn, Jupiter — they’re pretty impressive, but you have to admit they’ve got nothing on Earth. Just think about all of the things that make our planet special, not to mention inhabitable: clean water, sunshine, rain, food sprouting from trees. It kind of takes your breath away (oh yeah, fresh oxygen, too). It’s no surprise that as humans we’ve created Earth Day. On April 22 each year, we salute this wondrous home of ours.
At the same time, we ask, why toast the planet only once every trip around the sun? Perhaps an alternate celebration is a collection of everyday actions like our EarthCare program.
Eco-consciousness has been a part of Kimpton since our founding in 1981. We recycled at our first hotel, in San Francisco, before it was the cool thing to do. A few years later, we adapted an office building into a hotel including a rooftop urban park. Over the years, we added more and more green practices — from using 100 percent recycled paper and soy inks to furnishing our guestrooms with eco-friendly (and super comfortable) mattresses, aka The Kimpton Bed. Kimpton’s environmental practices became official with the launch of our sustainability program, Kimpton Cares, at all of our hotels and restaurants nationwide.
What is our mission towards the environment, you ask?
To support a sustainable world, and reflect the values of our employees, guests, and investors, by using nonintrusive, high-quality, eco-friendly products and services at all Kimpton hotels and restaurants.
At Kimpton, we strive to continuously improve our green efforts. Here are just a few ways we’ve shown our love for the planet:
- Partnerships with both The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land to help raise funds and awareness to support their preservation efforts.
- Partnership with Clean the World to recycle soap, reduce waste, and distribute to those in need.
- Printing only when absolutely necessary and creating electronic versions of major documents including our Annual Report.
- Square 1682 in Philadelphia was both Kimpton’s and Philadelphia’s first eatery and bar to achieve Gold LEED certification in 2010 thanks to their comprehensive green efforts.
- Kimpton Aertson Hotel, Kimpton Hotel Wilshire, Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia, Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel, and Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia are Silver and Gold LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
- Our restaurants and chefs lead the way in healthy dining by including sustainability in operations, building gardens, and buying organic.
- Kimpton was the first hotel brand to become 100 percent portfolio-wide certified by the Green Key Eco-Rating Program.
- Discount parking for guests driving hybrid vehicles.
- Invisible green touches like key cards and fitness room floors made with recycled materials.
- Green building guidelines established for all new projects and renovations.
- Complimentary PUBLIC Bikes in all our hotels for zero-pollution transit.
- We use nontoxic cleaning supplies, extensively recycle, and minimize our water consumption.
- Continual eco-education for staff — training videos, weekly tips, and hands-on training.
- Planet-friendly meetings and events.
Today, let’s toast the planet and all its wonders while committing to celebrate with our actions the other 364. Happy Earth Day, everyone.
