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June 2008, ColoradoBiz published a
1
story profiling Colorado companies
embracing sustainable practices. The
oulder Outlook Hotel was high-
lighted for its initiatives toward becoming a
"zero waste property."
At the time, Colorado's capital was
gearing up to host its first Democratic a-
tional Convention since William Jennings
Bryan garnered the nomination in 1908.
Not only did Denver's August convention
successfully launch a nominee who went on
to become the first African-American Presi-
dent of the United States, it continues to be
lauded as the greenest convention in history.
Colorado sustainability advocates boast
that the state - now well within striking
distance of its highly publicizedcompeti-
tors - is already setting the precedent other
regions seek to emulate.
The "DNC was a huge turning point,"
says Janna Six, education and outreach
director for the Alliance for Sustainable
Colorado. She attributes the current ubiqui-
tous push to adapt more sustainable business
practices to the momentum of the city and
D Cs collaborative green initiatives.
The Alliance collaborated with other
nonprofit organizations, government
agencies and businesses to host work-
shops on waste minimization, energy
efficiency and water-saving methods
for restaurants, hotels, event planners,
printers and small-business owners. Busi-
nesses were inspired to implement green
business practices that have endured a
year after the convention.
Just as Colorado's eco-friendly initiatives
soared to new heights, one of the worst
economic crises in U.S. history hit. Fol-
lowing the year Visit Denver referred to as a
"banner year," the travel and tourism industry
plunged into one of its worst economic crises
on record, with many corporate conferences
canceled and workers facing layoffs cutting
back on their vacation plans.
In Colorado's new economic reality,
should city and state government initia-
tives continue to encourage and reward
costly retrofitting upgrades that municipal
and state governments championed prior
to October's stock market plunge? If so,
will Colorado's newly greened hotels and
resorts be able to sustain themselves, not
to mention their costly upgrades, until the
economy bounces back?
"It is difficult to find ways to make invest-
ments in a downturn," Gov. Bill Ritter said
when ColoradoBiz approached him on the
topic. 'The downturn does not preclude
investments from being made" because in
the "new energy economy," investments are
primarily initiated by "high-end places that
rely on corporate travel."
Green practices currently being adapted
and developed will give hotels that maintain
them an even more competitive edge over
time because, Ritter said, "sustainability is
part of our future."
NO TIME LIKE TODAY
Bob Trotter, manager of Vai I Valley's
newest luxury resort, The Westin Riverfront
Resort & Spa, believes that time is now.
Already, about 75 percent of event planners
routinely request a list of the hotel's sustain-
ability initiatives prior to booking. Providing
that list is not difficult for the Westin River-
front; it's now vying to be the first Colorado
hotel to receive LEED certification. Trotter
says some companies selected the hotel for a
conference explicitly because of the resort's
sustainable practices.
Trotter cites Chipotle and Thule as ex-
amples of two Colorado-based companies
whose dedication to sustainability is such
an emphatic part of their mission that the
companies' credibility would be on the line
were they to patronize a venue that does not
address it. Booking at a resort like the Westin
therefore helps the company maintain its
brand, he said.
Westin anticipates receiving Silver level
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design) certification, the second level
of a points-based rating system that includes
COBIZMAG.COM
[PLANET-PROFIT REPORT]
two higher levels (gold and platinum).
The architects and engineers worked with
Colorado-based company East West to add
features that minimize the building's impact
on the environment and the local com-
munity. This is present in the design of the
building itself, which includes a roof made
from recycled tires, energy-efficient lighting
and double-paned windows with argon gas
filling the void between the two panes. This
aids in the insulating ability of the glass as
well as absorbing/reducing outside noise.
The LEED point system also rewards
good stewardship initiatives taken during
the construction process. When the ho-
tel's Gypsum-based drywal1 manufacturer
refused to drive directly to Avon to deliver
the Westin's drywall order on the grounds
't at policy required all deliveries to be
routed through Denver, The Westin Riv-
4 erside agreed to a higher delivery fee to
final1y get the Gypsum drywal1 manufac-
turer to re-route.
The environment was spared 2 15 miles'
worth of delivery truck fuel emissions, the
Gypsum manufacturer got more money for a
29.9-rpile delivery than it would have gotten
for making the policy-mandated 245-mile
delivery, and The Westin Riverside scored
additional points toward LEED certification.
The Westin also earned points toward its
LEED certification by making the Riverfront
Express Gondola used to transport Westin
guests to the mountaintop of Beaver Creek
ski resort also available to residents of the
city of Avon at no cost.
As cars are not permitted in the gondola
area, the snow surrounding the area stays
clean. At the town's request, the hotel fed
the drainpipe used for melted snow directly
into the marshland foundation it was built
on, thereby helping to replenish the natural
horticulture of the adjacent riverbank. Five
acres of the hotel's 19-acre property have
also been available to the public in the form
of parklands with a bike path, connecting
guests and townspeople to riverside towns all
the way to Vail and beyond. ))
I COLORAOOBIZ I SEPTEMBER 2009 [551
 [PLANET-PROFIT
Trotter estimates the hotel's sustainable
features increased the manufacturing cost by
5 percent. The Starwood Co. and East West
expect to recoup this investment in five to
10 years.
Although the Westin Riverfront is well on
its way to becoming Colorado's first LEED-
certified hotel, it's not unique in its efforts
to capitalize on the opportunity for green-
branding. The Cheyenne Mountain Resort
was just awarded Silver Tier certification by
the International Association of Conference
Centers after a retrofitting process.
Like its neighboring hotels, the Colorado
Springs Marriott and the Broadmoor, the
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The Westin Riverfront Resort & So" ",,,--e:: ::::'-:5 toward its LEED
certification by making the Ri'Je:-7-::-: :: '.::-"'ss C;J~dola used to transport
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Westin guests to the mounte.r tc c z: ::",,,.e- Creek ski resort also
available to residents of t~e ::: :: :-.::- 3: no cost. The hotel fed
the drainpipe used for r-s :e:: 3-:::. ::'-e::::y into the marshland
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foundation it was out c- :-e-",::: +e.pinq to replenish the
natural horticultc-e ::: :- e s c s :"'-: rverbank.
bulbs with compact fluo- moor's luxury brand, spokeswoman
rescent bulbs. Allison Scott says. Its golf course was
Although Brian recently retrofitted, and the grass is now
Healy, the director of maintained with 100 percent recycled
engineering at the Colo- water. A full-time recycling coordinator
rado Marriott, was able now oversees the resort's sprawling
to install energy saving :I,OOO-acre grounds. Recycling initiatives
thermostats and dual LED and the resort's recent water, heat and
reading in every guest- cooling system upgrades have signifi-
room, Marriott restricts cantly cut utility costs while the switch
the water conservation to compact fluorescents has already paid
initiatives that so many for itself, the hotel says.
Colorado restaurants now Despite the abundance of resources
embrace. The hotel's and the presence of a full-time recycling
restaurant, according coordinator, however, the retrofitting
to Healy, is obliged by process continues to be a gradual one.
Marriott headquarters to The 8roadmoor is only just now in-
provide complimentary stalling recycling bins. In the meantime,
water whether or not the the hotel leaves the placement of bins
patrons request it, thereby that do not complement the decor to the
overriding Colorado's discretion of conference organizers.
water conservation ini- The Cheyenne Mountain Resort, despite
tiatives to protect this lacking the financial resources to green up
particular way of positioning Marriott as a its golf course, began with a facility-wide
luxury hotel brand. customized recycle bin redesign. Under the
Healy also expressed frustration with initiative of new facilities director Mike Van
the Marriott Corp.'s reluctance to support Duzer, an expensive but efficient recycling
recycling initiatives on the grounds that system was designed and installed with
on-site recycling bins containing bottles and architectural sensitivity. Van Duzer attributes
cans might also counteract Marriotts luxury most of the resort's sustainability initiatives to
brand's image. ideas from a volunteer green team consisting
Despite the imposed limitation, however, of employees who range from management
Healy's upgrades managed to pay for them- to housekeeping
selves within a year's time of their comple- Staff even volunteered to scrounge
tion, and the hotel received a Colorado area thrift stores to locate second-hand
Springs Chamber of Commerce award for cutlery for use in the staff cafeteria. Macro
successful energy reduction. upgrades, of course, continue to be done
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GREEN WITHOUT FANFARE
Important as LEED and IACC certifica-
tions are in guiding resorts through the pro-
cess of greening their businesses and assuring
the consumer that a certain level of research,
effort and investment has been devoted
toward this effort, not all hotels and resorts
in Colorado place this level of importance on
the formal certi fication process.
Bob and Suzanne Finche, the founders
and owners of Devil's Thumb Ranch, choose
not to pursue government certification,
despite the ceo-friendly initiatives and inno-
vations that inspired Travel & Leisure magazine
to laud the resort as one ~f the greenest in
the country.
The Devil's Thumb Ranch geothermal
heating system provides 70 percent of the
resort's electricity, the Finches say. Since pur-
chasing the land seven years ago the Finches
have also stayed true to their commitment
of only developing 3 percent and protecting
the other 97 percent.
As the state's ongoing battle with the
pine beetle ravages mountain forests, the
Finches have developed a way to remove the
hazardous dead beetle kill from their land in
a way that directly contributes to mountain
lodge design. Beetle-kill wood is recycled
and used as interior wall paneling in their spa
and main dining area.
The ranch's original homestead house
offers fine organic dining and a more casual • Orcnestro seats
large dining area, with European-style com- • Ca\ereu u\nnel
munity tables and a three-story hexagonal • Cocktails & hors d'oeuvres
fireplace made from rockslide rocks.
As there are no universal standards for
defining and/or certifying state and nation-
wide sustainability initiatives, the resorts
adapt practices as they go along. The
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relationship between those standards and

the benefit to the environment, however, Sponsored by e Lufthansa ond de){
is difficult to determine. • Spaces for 100 to 1,000
"l don't know that I'd shop for a hotel that • Delectablg menu options
has only LEED certification," Janna Six says.
• Located downtown
'tEED tells you how green the building is
but doesn't say enough about how the hotel
is operated."
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unnecessary waste a hotel might continue to
generate. 1t doesn't reward companies that
lower their carbon footprint by renovating
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0\0. bui)dings rather than constructing new
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CO BIZ MAG. COM I COLORADOBIZ I SEPTEMBER 2009 [57]

ones. Nor does it reward creative post-con-
struction efforts such as the reused cutlery in
the Cheyenne Mountain Resort's employee
cafeteria or the Devil's Thumb Ranch's
beetle-kill wall paneling
At the same time, not all of the Devil's
Thumb Ranch's beetle-kill wall paneling is
local, spokeswoman Holly Johnson says.
Although the resort tries to purchase locally
whenever possible, local recycled beetle-kill
wood is not always easy to obtain. Conse-
quently, the carbon cost of transportation
must be compromised. Another recycled
component of the ranch's architecture is a
barn wood imported from Indiana.
"More efficient and uniform codes would
save money by reducing energy and water
costs, and by making it easier for companies
to comply," Six says. ~