Sleeping Green

We're not exactly sure what "being green" means, but we associate it with Priuses, Whole Foods, and An Inconvenient Truth thanks to its use in a bombardment of marketing campaigns over the last two years.

The problem is that this undefined and overused buzzword has migrated unregulated to the hotel industry. Hotel owners can change a few lightbulbs, adopt a recycling plan, and call themselves "green" while still washing towels daily and using toxic cleaners on bathroom countertops.

In "How to Find a Hotel That’s Truly Fit for the Eco-Friendly," Washington Post writer Gary Lee interviews Glenn Hasek, editor and publisher of Green Lodging News, who has been working to define what "green" should really mean in the hotel industry. An excerpt for your consideration:

Unlike in Canada, Costa Rica and some other countries, no single U.S. agency or organization verifies the credentials of eco-lodging. Nor are there many guidebooks or comprehensive directories devoted to the subject.

Still, Hasek and other green hotel specialists have identified several criteria that eco-minded hotel shoppers should look for:

- A towel and linens reuse program.
- A 100 percent nonsmoking policy.
- A recycling program for guests.
- The use of compact fluorescent lights instead of incandescent bulbs.
- The use of nontoxic cleaning products by housekeepers.

Additionally, some hotels compost their food waste and use the results as fertilizer. Some are equipped with sophisticated technology, including devices that power down heating and cooling when guests are not in the room.

Beyond the environmental features inside the property, green accommodations should sponsor outreach efforts to educate guests and the surrounding community in sound sustainable living, according to Karen Lewis, co-owner of Lapa Rios, an award-winning mountain resort in Costa Rica. The hotel also manages the 1,000-acre nature preserve that surrounds it.

Ronald Sanabria, director of sustainable tourism for the nonprofit Rainforest Alliance, suggests that travelers ask hotel managers what they are doing to contribute to conservation and to help the surrounding community practice sustainability.

Sanabria also suggests that travelers find out whether the property's green credentials have been certified by a third party. A number of independent, national and state organizations certify eco-hotels, including the Washington-based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an architectural and building organization.

IT hopes the U.S. will follow the lead of Costa Rica, Sweden, Australia, and Canada who already have active, unified certification programs.