Hilton Worldwide Top 10 on EPA’s Top 50 Purchasers of Green Power
(3BL Media) McLean, VA - June 19, 2012 - For the second quarter in a row, Virginia-based Hilton Worldwide is one of the top 10 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency list of Green Power Partnership organizations using renewable electricity. As of April 5, 2012, Hilton Worldwide purchased 315 million kilowatt hours of green power, the equivalent of avoiding the yearly carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from more than 42,000 passenger vehicles or electricity use from more than 27,000 average American homes.
Hilton Worldwide has been an EPA Green Power purchaser for three years, and a member of the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club since 2011, buying ten times the minimum purchase requirement established for Hilton organization-wide. Currently, the company is purchasing enough green power, generated from renewable resources including solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact hydropower, to meet 94 percent of its annual electricity use.
EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,300 partner organizations that voluntarily purchase green power to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. The purchase of green power also helps accelerate the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and results in no net increase to greenhouse gas emissions.
“EPA commends Hilton Worldwide for earning recognition among the top buyers of green power," said Shawn M. Garvin, EPA’s mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. "Their commitment to cleaner electricity generation and renewable energy alternatives is a testament to their focus on sustainability across their brands and properties.”
In 2011, Hilton Worldwide launched Travel with Purpose, our commitment to providing shared value to our business and communities around the world. Travel with Purpose is built on four areas of focus – creating opportunities for individuals to reach their full potential; strengthening communities where we operate; celebrating cultures and the power of travel; and living sustainably through the measurement, analysis and improvement of our use of natural resources.
Through the company’s sustainability tool, LightStay, Hilton Worldwide is the first multi-brand hospitality company to make sustainability measurement a brand standard and recently earned ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications for quality and environmental management - one of the largest volume certifications awarded for commercial buildings. In 2010 alone, the company saved more than $74 million in utility costs through a 6.6 percent reduction of energy use; 7.8 percent reduction of carbon output; 19 percent reduction of waste output; and 3.8 percent reduction of water use. For more information, visit www.hiltonworldwide.com/corporate-responsibility/.
In 2011, Hilton Worldwide and the Sundance Institute, a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences in film and theater, launched the Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainability Award program. The partnership supports the Institute's Documentary Film Program and awards grants to up to five documentary film projects focusing on sustainability issues. The Island President, which documents Mohamed Nasheed’s rise to power as the first democratically-elected president of the Maldives, a small island nation threatened by rising water levels, and his fight to bring climate change to the attention of the world.
More information on the EPA’s top 50 green power purchasers
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top50.htm
More information on EPA’s Green Power Partnership
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/
About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 93 years, Hilton Worldwide has offered business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,800 hotels and timeshare properties, with 630,000 rooms in 88 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®. Visit www.hiltonworldwide.com for more information and connect with Hilton Worldwide at www.facebook.com/hiltonworldwide, www.twitter.com/hiltonworldwide, www.youtube.com/hiltonworldwide, www.flickr.com/hiltonworldwide and www.linkedin.com/company/hilton-worldwide.
For more information about the company, visit www.hiltonworldwide.com.
