EcoStay Celebrates Fort McMurray’s Greenest Hotels with Earth Day Promotion

The AHLA has partnered with EcoStay to deliver the carbon capture portion of the StayGreen Alberta initiative.  StayGreen Alberta was developed by the AHLA to help hotels, motels and campgrounds around the province reduce their environmental impact through education, industry best practices conservation and offsetting programs.   “This partnership between StayGreen Alberta and EcoStay provides our members with an effective, easy way to become eco-friendly corporate citizens,” Dave Kaiser, AHLA President & CEO remarked. “Preserving the environment is everyone’s responsibility, and we’re doing our part.”

“Fort McMurray hotels have been quick to embrace the movement towards green accommodations” says Marcel Berube of the Fort McMurray Hotel & Lodging Association (FMHLA).  The Atlific Group (Vantage, Clearwater, Merit, Franklin and Nomad) as well as Fort McMurray’s Radisson, Sawridge Inn and Conference Centre, Super 8 and Quality Hotel are all now official EcoStay properties.   In addition, the Fort McMurray group will be collaborating with Keyano College on energy conservation, building technologies and design, waste management, recycling, and staff training needs in a local green transformation initiative. 

Other participating AHLA member EcoStay properties include the High Country Inn Banff, Best Western Heidelberg Inn Lethbridge, Chinook Motel Lethbridge and Best Western Calgary Centre.

On Thursday, April 22, all EcoStay participating properties around Alberta will double the carbon offsets they buy for each guest’s stay in celebration of Earth Day, resulting in an estimated environmental impact equivalent to removing 13,000 cars from the road for a day.

Under EcoStay, these hotels’ greenhouse gas emissions will be measured annually using an industry specific methodology developed in collaboration with CSA Standards Climate Change division.  The carbon offsets purchased under the program all come from projects located within the province of Alberta that are registered on the CSA Standards GHG CleanProjectsTM Registry ensuring ISO 14064-2 reporting and independent ISO 14064-3 verification.  Hotels are also empowered to undertake on-site and community based initiatives to conserve energy and lower emissions.

“Each year, the average 150 room Alberta hotel emits 440 cars’ worth of greenhouse gasses,” said Christina deVries, Director of EcoStay. “Through the EcoStay program, hotels can actually offset their net emissions to zero.”

To find out how your property can get involved, visit www.ecostay.ca