LONDON, Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's leading hotel companies, has today announced that from 1st January 2015, its flagship IHG Green Engage™ programme will be rolled out across the company's global estate of over 4,700 hotels.
IHG Green Engage is an online environmental sustainability tool, which gives hotels the ability to track how much energy, carbon and water they are using, as well as assessing how waste is managed. This allows them to see how much they are spending and saving and to feed data directly to IHG's corporate clients as part of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
The IHG Green Engage system comprises more than 200 specific actions – or 'Green Solutions' – designed to reduce hotels' environmental impact, with IHG's managed hotels avoiding $73 million in energy costs alone in 2013. This is another significant benefit given that utilities typically represent one of the highest expenses for hotels.
IHG will take an active role in supporting the roll-out, helping hotels not currently registered to sign up and reach IHG Green Engage Level 1 certification by the end of next year. This will include satisfying 10 Green Solutions such as the training of colleagues, tracking utility data, managing the use of non-essential lighting and implementing best practice in areas such as housekeeping and laundry.
Richard Solomons, Chief Executive Officer of IHG commented: "Today's announcement is an important milestone for IHG and is another powerful demonstration of our ongoing commitment to protecting the environment. We know our guests care as much about sustainability as we do, so making each and every one of our properties an IHG Green Engage hotel is a great step forward for our business and for the communities in which we operate."
NOTES TO EDITORS
ABOUT IHG PLC
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts.
IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 82 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 697,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with almost 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
ABOUT THE IHG GREEN ENGAGE™ SYSTEM
IHG Green Engage is an innovative online sustainability system designed to help IHG-branded hotels monitor, reduce and manage waste, water and energy consumption, as well as carbon emissions.
With over 4,700 properties around the world, IHG-branded hotels are an important part of the local communities in which they operate and play a critical role in balancing economic, social and environmental impacts.
Visit www.ihgplc.com/responsibility
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SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group)
