InterContinental Hotels Group and The Walt Disney Co. are two hospitality companies that view the green movement as an opportunity to be responsible corporate citizens. Both firms recently unveiled sweeping plans to significantly reduce the environmental impact of their operations.

IHG’s new system, Green Engage, is a street-level strategy to help hotel GMs more effectively manage their waste output and energy and water consumption. Initial tests of the program at 650 hotels were completed in January, and a full rollout in as many as 4,000 properties (it’s an optional program for individual properties) across all IHG brands should be done by the middle of the year.

Green Engage is a software package which operators can use to compare energy usage and patterns for their hotels versus similar properties around the world. The system then provides a series of actions the hotels can take to reduce their waste and water and energy consumption.

IHG says the early trials point to potential energy savings of 25 percent and, once implemented, total systemwide savings could be as much as $200 million.

The IHG ownership group has given its blessing to the initiative. While Tom Corcoran, IAHI Owners Association chairman, cites the cost-savings potential of Green Engage, he also sees another benefit: “It delivers what our guests want—a greater sense of well-being and less impact on our planet when traveling.”

Even though Disney is a very complicated company, its environmental goals may be even more ambitious. Last month, the media, entertainment and hospitality giant issued its 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report, which sets dramatic three- to five-year targets to reduce emissions, waste, electricity and fuel use. The company’s theme parks, resorts and cruise ships will be major targets of the program as they account for 91 percent of Disney’s greenhouse gas emissions and 73 percent of its electrical use.

Near-term goals include reducing electricity consumption by 10 percent in the next five years and cutting emissions by half in four years. Over time, the company wants to achieve “zero waste, zero net emissions from fuels and achieve a net positive impact on ecosystems.”

Web resources: www.ihg.com/responsibility, www.disney.com/crreport