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By the end of 2011, Philadelphians will benefit from the creation of two public green spaces so visually, recreationally and environmentally significant that they will transform the city's eastern and western riverbanks for decades to come.
In May 2011, the former Pier 11 will reopen as the Race Street Pier, a tree-lined park split into two levels. The upper level boasts an expansive sky promenade, and the lower terrace supports a lawn with generous seating and social space. Penn Park, an urban open space being built by The University of Pennsylvania, is scheduled to open this fall along the Schuylkill River. The 24-acre park will add athletic venues and areas for informal outdoor recreation and relaxation in University City.
But not only is the city's landscape getting greener, so are its hotels, shops, restaurants, spas, cultural attractions, corporate spaces, sports teams and modes of transportation. Here are just a few ways Philadelphia is proving that contrary to cliché, it's easy being green.

Rest Easy With Eco-Friendly Lodging:

• In October 2010, the Hotel Palomar Philadelphia became Philadelphia's and Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants' first LEED-certified hotel at the Gold level. The highly stylized Palomar is outfitted with reclaimed, renewable and sustainable materials and its structure maintains the integrity of the former Architect's Building. 117 S. 17th Street, (877) 725-1778, hotelpalomar-philadelphia.com
  
• The ultra-luxe Rittenhouse Hotel is working with the Philagreen Hospitality Association to find ways to incorporate green initiatives, from upgrading lighting fixtures for optimal efficiency to substituting all paper and cleaning supplies with earth-friendly alternatives. 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, (215) 546-9000, rittenhousehotel.com
  
• Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia composts leftovers from its restaurants and uses some of the byproducts in its rooftop garden and flowerbeds. The resulting herbs and flora go are used for cooking and decorating. 1 Logan Square, (215) 963-1500, fourseasons.com/philadelphia
  
• At Temple University's intimate The Conwell Inn, the shower heads are low-flow, the room keys are made of recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and paper, and the energy-efficient light bulbs are regulated by motion sensors. 1331 Polett Walk, (215) 235-6200, conwellinn.com
  
• The Best Western Widener Hotel and Suites located near Philadelphia International Airport is pursuing its LEED Silver certification by taking measures like heating its water through solar panels and using toxin-free, natural cleaning products and biodegradable or recyclable products and equipment. 1450 Providence Avenue, Chester, (610) 872-8100, bwwidenerhotel.com
  

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Intriguing title, but what are we talking about here? Perhaps defining terms would help. Hospitality and hospitable derive from the same root word, suggesting the friendly, favorable, warm, and generous treatment of guests. The hospitality industry – in itself an interesting juxtaposition of terms – prides itself on creating cultures of service that seek to treat people like honored guests, while offering some sense of “the comforts of home.” All this in hopes of exceeding customer expectations, increasing return visits and raving referrals, growing profitability, and ultimately, being successful at sustaining themselves.

Yes, you knew we’d get to sustainability. As most successful businesses have been learning over the last several years, there are two integrated paths to success. The first, a quality service-oriented approach, has been to do whatever it takes to increase guest satisfaction and sales. The second has been more grounded in reducing ongoing operational costs by employing innovative perspectives and practices behind the scenes.

Being hospitable implies an intimate understanding of the first path, which manifests most readily in terms of staff behavior, extensive guest services, and a pleasing design aesthetic. Conventional wisdom suggests that the second path, again reducing operational expenses, manifests as the lack of behavior, that is to say, fewer resources used, fewer repairs (and repair people), fewer inconveniences, fewer complaints, and fewer apologies. Operational efficiencies are usually transparent to the customer, but when we see the rising costs of energy, water management, and waste management, expense increases are eventually transferred to the customers’ bills. So it’s easy to connect the dots between operational savings, profit margins, and sustainable success.

Now, under the relatively new purview of environmental health and safety, successful enterprises must learn to integrate a third path to sustainable success. Businesses of all types are expected to reduce and ultimately eliminate their harmful impacts on public health. Specifically, they need to curtail their contributions to global warming, greenhouse gases, and other environmental toxins outside of their buildings, as well as eliminate threats to both staff and guests that compromise indoor environmental quality. Currently in the news and the collective consciousness are issues related to the latter, which include concerns around air quality, lighting, temperature, noise, food, contaminants, and harmful chemical residue from building, finish, and furniture materials. Such concerns are well-founded, as we see increasing cases of long-term stress, compromised immune systems, lung disease, neurological impairment, etc.

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to be thinking about! How can a hotel possibly get its arms around all of these……….opportunities for innovation and creativity?

In Philadelphia PA, one answer is the Philagreen Hospitality Association. According to Francine Cohen, Executive Director of PGHA, it is an initiative comprised of hospitality and environmental professionals joining together to create sustainable, or “green,” business practices. PGHA encourages and supports hospitality professionals to green their operations in a variety of ways, from using environmentally friendly cleaning products to following protocols set forth by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) via their LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program. PGHA also offers regular educational seminars throughout the year to get its message to more levels of more hospitality organizations.

What motivated Francine to create the PGHA? In her own words:

“After a successful career as a corporate art consultant, I decided it was time to give something back to the planet. As far back as I can remember, even before Al Gore put it on the map, I was conscious of respecting the environment. I also happen to love travel, and appreciate the sanctuary that is a clean, fresh hotel room. One day it occurred to me to combine these two passions, so I founded Philagreen– an association whose mission is the greening of the hospitality industry .”

It is nice to know that people like Francine Cohen are around, behind the scenes, devoting their lives to ensure that when you and your family travel, your needs – both seen and unseen – are a priority.

Perhaps this brief article will provide an opportunity for you to learn more about the hotels you’re considering for your next trip or even a local “stay-cation.” Sustainable you, sustainable hospitality, sustainable communities, sustainable planet – as honored guests at each and every scale, we can and do make a beneficial difference in the world just by making conscious choices.

To learn more about the Philagreen Hospitality Association, please call Francine Cohen at 215.922.1109 or visit www.philagreenhospitality.com.

I invite you to visit me at www.TheHTrust.com to connect personally and learn more about shifting your personal lifestyles and organizational cultures.

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Philagreen Hospitality Association (PGHA) is an initiative comprised of hospitality and environmental professionals pursuing sustainable business practices. Launched in 2008, PGHA encourages and supports hospitality professionals to green their operations in various ways, from using environmentally friendly cleaning products to instituting better recycling programs to obtaining LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
The next Philagreen seminar will be held Mon., June 22 at 2 p.m. at the Residence Inn Marriott Center City. Presentations will include “Decision Making and Sustainability”, by Sandy Wiggins, co-founder of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. Sandy will cover the meaning of sustainability, and how your daily decisions can be used to move your organization in the right direction in today’s economy.
Benton Prentice, VP of Sales for Vegawatt, and Douglas Horner, Owner of Ecotek LLC will present “Vegawatt-The Sustainable Solution for Fryer Waste Oil Disposal.” This exciting new system converts used fryer oil into renewable energy for energy savings. Finally, David Moore of Steritech will present “Eco-Sensitive Pest Prevention,” Steritech’s EPA award- winning system, designed to effectively eliminate pests without unnecessarily applying or overusing pesticides.
For more information on this organization that educates hospitality professionals to decrease resources and increase their bottom line and to register for this event, visit Philagreenhospitality.com

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These days, the "City of Brotherly Love" is showing love to the environment. Mayor Nutter recently made a commitment to Philadelphia to become the greenest city in the nation. Philagreen Hospitality Association was recently launched by Francine Cohen to serve as a resource for hospitality and environmental professionals in Philadelphia looking to join together to create sustainable "green" business practices. The association seeks to help Philadelphia area hoteliers and restaurateurs run greener and more profitable organizations.

Cohen is not alone in seeing the benefit of environmentally friendly tourist spots. Studies by the International Ecotourism Society show that 70 percent of U.S. travelers would pay a premium to stay at an environmentally responsible hotel. Tourists that share a passion for the environment and travel like Cohen can rest easy in increasingly more hotels in Philadelphia, knowing that they are making the smallest environmental "footprint" possible.

Since Mayor Nutter's announcement and Philagreen Hospitality Association's launch, eco-friendly buildings have been popping up all over the nation's fifth-largest city, especially in the hospitality industry. According to Philagreen Hospitality Association, there are 87 properties in the Greater Philadelphia area, eight of which are Energy Star rated and one that is Green Seal certified.

Standing behind Mayor Nutter's commitment is local developer Mariner Commercial Properties, which recently made a vow to the city of Philadelphia to build and develop a new premier green hotel, the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel and Residences Philadelphia.

"We're convinced that being sustainable can enhance the guest experience and surprisingly, we've found no shortage of extremely high-quality and innovative building products to use in this project from some of the most prominent and respected names in the industry," said Tim Mahoney, President and CEO of Mariner Commercial Properties.

The Hub, a premier meeting and event destination, is another local company committed to making Philadelphia one of the greenest cities in the nation. The Hub's Cira Centre location is the first privately held LEED Silver Rated meeting and event facility in the United States.

The Hub has taken the appropriate steps to ensure that clients using its meeting facilities are gathering in an environmentally friendly space, kept clean with eco-friendly cleaning supplies. The Hub also recently implemented a "no plastic bottles" policy. Every year an estimated 3.2 million plastic water bottles are dumped into landfills. The average plastic water bottle takes an estimated 1,000 years to decompose. All of The Hub locations utilize hyperfiltration, the finest water purification technology available today. Instead of plastic water bottles, each meeting room is supplied with pitchers of cool hyperfiltrated water and reusable glasses for guests.

"Several of our clients have come to us specifically because their corporate policies mandate relationships with environmentally conscious brands," said Bill Decker, President and COO of The Hub.

Whether you stay or live in Philadelphia, another way people can make greener choices is by using the various non-automobile, more carbon-neutral transportation modes. The Hub locations are conveniently located near public transportation to optimize visitors' access to greener means of transportation.

Companies like Mariner Commercial Properties and The Hub have set the standard for green hospitality in Philadelphia and, because of their commitment, have advanced Philadelphia one step further in becoming the nation's greenest city.

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PHILADELPHIA — Francine Cohen, a one-time corporate art consultant with a passion for protecting the environment, has launched the Philagreen Hospitality Association (PGHA) to help Philadelphia area hoteliers and restaurateurs run greener and more profitable organizations. Cohen is executive director of the association that was launched earlier this year. Her kickoff meeting in June attracted approximately 30 attendees, with 10 hotels represented. A meeting also was held in September. The next meeting will he held November 17. PGHA is run separate from the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Assn.

“I have been an eco-conscious citizen for decades,” Cohen says. “I have always been interested in the hospitality industry as a consumer. I saw there was a need in Philadelphia for an organization that would act as a one-stop shop for hotel and restaurant owners and operators interested in saving money and energy.”

Cohen says there are 87 properties in the Greater Philadelphia area, eight of which are Energy Star rated (all Marriotts) and only one that is Green Seal certified (Philadelphia Airport Marriott). The potential for growth in a green organization like PGHA is significant.

Networking Opportunities

PGHA will have eight meetings a year that will feature guest speakers including experts on energy efficiency, green meetings, recycling, etc. Membership is open to hoteliers, restaurateurs and qualifying suppliers. An advisory board helped with the formation of the organization’s infrastructure and helped it define its future goals.

Current advisory board members include: Matthew Moore, director of rooms and environmental programs at the Seaport Hotel in Boston; Rauni Kew, in charge of PR/marketing & green programs at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine; Dan Ruben, executive director of Boston Green Tourism; Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality, Saint Charles, Mo.; Leonard W. Buckley, senior director, franchise operations—North America division for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide; Bradley J. Pacana, director of sales and marketing for the Philadelphia Airport Marriott; Christine Knapp, chair of the Urban Sustainability Forum in Philadelphia; Paige Wolf, with Paige Wolf Media and Public Relations; Ed Grose, executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Assn.; and Chris Hora, chef/owner of Root Restaurant in Philadelphia.

In addition to educational and networking opportunities, association members will benefit from information on tax breaks and utility incentives, a bimonthly e-newsletter that includes information on the latest green products and practices, a blog, and public relations assistance through media outreach and PGHA’s own website.

“I am so thrilled to have the chance to have a positive impact on the environment in this city,” Cohen says.

The November 17 meeting, which will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia, will feature the following two topics: “Saving Money and Taxes with Energy Efficiency Improvements” and “Recycling for 21st Century Businesses: Innovations, Compliance, Saving Money.”

Click here or contact Francine Cohen at (215) 922-1109, or by e-mail at info@philagreenhospitality.com for more information.

Mr. Pacana, who joined Marriott in 2003, is responsible for the hotel's total sales, marketing, e-commerce, reservation sales and customer care, and sales channel strategies.

In his new role with Philagreen, Mr. Pacana hopes to further the eco friendly association's mission where hospitality and environmental professionals join together to create sustainable "green" business practices.

In order to receive its Green Seal certification, the Philadelphia Airport Marriot eco friendly hotel had to undergo an inspection and meet a checklist of criteria which included procedures like environmental compliance, waste minimalization and recycling, bulk product purchasing, use of energy efficient equipment, utilization of compact fluorescent bulbs, indoor air quality measurements, use of water conservation fixtures, use of organic insecticides, non-toxic paints used throughout, etc.