“20 Arizona hotels certified as 'Green'”

Posted: 02 Dec 2010 06:41 PM PST

PHOENIX - A new Arizona partnership has launched the state's first "Certified Green Lodging" program, meant to highlight hotels for their environmental efforts and outline standards for hotels to be classified as "environmental stewards."

The Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association (AzHLA) developed the program, in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT), to address the growing number of hotel members and visitors looking for a standard to measure hotels' green efforts.

"Arizonans and their guests should take pride in this comprehensive commitment to environmental stewardship and energy efficiency without compromising enjoyment or convenience," said ADEQ Director, Benjamin H. Grumbles. "We all win by saving more, wasting less, and keeping the Green Hotel State healthy and beautiful."

AzHLA developed a model which compares hotels and scores each hotel in fifteen different categories, and must earn 150 points in order to become "certified."

The group also awarded points to hotels that give visitors an experience exclusive to Arizona by doing things like featuring local and/or historical art, furnishings and providing tours.

"This new program, and our partnerships with AOT and ADEQ, makes Arizona's Green lodging efforts among the best in the country," Debbie Johnson President and CEO of AzHLA said in a prepared statement. "Our goal was to provide Arizona hotels with the tools and the incentive to be as Green as possible and to communicate to environmentally-conscientious visitors that Arizona has a surplus of lodging options for them."

20 Arizona hotels have already received the green certification including The Phoenician, Havasu Dunes Resort, Sedona Rouge, and Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center.

The certification workbook as well as a full list of the Arizona hotels that are certified is available at the AzHLA website .

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