Legacy Hotel In U.S. Ranks As 100% Powered By Green Energy

The Legacy Hotel & Meeting Centre was listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being fully powered by sustainable, ‘green’ energy. The hotel and meeting place ranks as one of only three hotels in the nation that operate solely on sustainable resources. The Legacy Hotel implemented a Turn On program in a joint venture with Clean Currents and the EPA last October, in order to begin relying on greener alternatives to energy and products. The program has helped the hotel to lower their carbon footprint considerably. 

The hotel ranks, along with two others, as 100% green powered on the EPA’s Green Power Purchaser list published for 2009. The list sites companies who have bought enough green energy to account for their total amount of electricity use by 100%. So far the companies on the list, combined, have purchased a total of 5.3 billion kilowatt-hours of green energy a year. The total kilowatts-hours purchased a year amounts to roughly the number of kilowatt-hours it would take to power 535,000 American homes in a one year period.

The Legacy Hotel & Meeting Centre, located in Maryland, is powered entirely by wind energy, and is the first hotel in the area to maintain a zero-carbon footprint. The hotel’s partnership with the EPA has aided in bringing climate awareness to the area, and set an example for other hotels to achieve complete energy independence.

In addition to the wind energy, the hotel also purchases all organic, eco-friendly laundry soap and cleaning solutions, and uniquely, provides guests with a recycling bin in each room. 

“We are proud of this distinction and strive to infuse eco-principles into the management of our hotels and corporate operations,” says Jim Biggar, Senior Vice President of Operations at Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the hotel’s management company.

The Legacy Hotel & Meeting Centre also sells environmentally friendly t-shirts which guests can purchase in the hotel lobby. The t-shirts are imprinted with the slogan “I Got Turned On At The Legacy!” and proceeds go towards the company’s renewable energy credits.

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