Not only is Fairmont Hotels & Resorts one of the leaders in the green lodging movement, but the company also has a flair for the dramatic. On March 28, all 56 properties in the Toronto-based chain participated in Earth Hour 2009, an environmental awareness event in which all lights at the properties were turned off for one hour beginning at 8:30 p.m.

In addition, many of the properties made the event more than just an intimate, candlelit statement of support for green causes. Several of them added extra programming to involve guests in the celebration:

• The Fairmont Royal York, the chain's Toronto flagship, created a lineup of “green”-themed cocktails to serve in its Library Bar and illuminated the indoor pool area with more than 100 floating candles.

• The Sante dining room at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn in California's wine country offered a locally sourced prix-fixe dinner paired with sustainable and organic local wines.

• The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta lit up its lakeshore with ice luminaries and hosted a storytelling session for guests under the stars in front of a large bonfire. The classic property is 50-percent powered by a blend of wind and river-motion electricity generation.

The World Wildlife Fund sponsors Earth Hour. The event began in 2007, when two million people switched off their lights. Last year, the number of participants, including several Fairmont properties, grew to 50 million. Organizers hoped more than one billion people in 1,000 cities would participate this year.

Fairmont has been involved in green causes for more than two decades on a number of fronts. Last year, the chain pledged to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Working through the WWF and the United Nations, Fairmont is in the process of measuring its current CO2 footprint and plans to announce a reduction target in the coming months.

Greenbytes

Crestline Hotels & Resorts launched EarthPact, a comprehensive sustainability initiative for all 70 of its managed properties that addresses green issues in food and beverage, facility management, conferences and meetings, owner relations, public relations and rooms operations. Core of the program is an energy management plan designed to improve performance and limit energy usage in all guestroom, public spaces and back-of-the-house areas.…The state of California recognized the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch in Death Valley, CA for its reductions in peak power use. The Xanterra-operated property cut its peak-load energy usage by 50 percent and through another initiative, saved more than 35 million gallons of water last year.…As part of an overall green strategy, Marriott International decided to replace the 24 million plastic keycards it uses annually with ones made of 50-percent recycled material. The company says the change will save 66 tons of plastic from being dumped into landfills.