ourPlanet

ourPlanet is a Guest Services sustainability program designed to encourage us to think about how our actions affect the environment at work and in our personal lives. In this program, we focus on the three Rs of environmental sustainability: Reducing, Reusing, Recycling. Most at-work initiatives focus on how our actions affect the customers or our company. However, ourPlanet goes one step further by increasing our awareness at work so that we may conserve energy, reduce food waste and other resources, and recycle outside of work.

Here’s a Sample of GSI’s Initiatives

Reduce: Our Impact On The Environment

• Guest Services stopped using single-use plastic bags at all properties
• Paper saving systems
  • Guest Services continues to increase its use of 100% recycled disposable napkins and bathroom paper towels throughout the company
• Sustainable Food and Cooking
  • The company expanded our Go Local program with an emphasis on seasonal local produce. Through ProAct, we now have seasonal access to farms throughout Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida
  • Expanded our local pork program, with 49% of pork products purchased locally

Reuse: To Avoid Generating Waste

• Over 1,200 sheets, blankets, and towels donated in 2018, as well as dozens of mattresses
• Guest Services’ lodging operations donated over 9 tons of furniture
• Guest Services gave more than 3,200 bottles and soap bars to Clean the World program

Recycling: To Preserve Resources

• 11 tons of food waste composted creating approximately 7 tons of nutrient-rich soil
• Total conventional recycling companywide equaled 292 tons
• Lancaster Foods recycled more than 200 tons of cardboard packaging a year

As we go into 2020, we will continue to broaden our goals and initiatives for sustainability by purchasing environmentally friendly products, reducing total waste and carbon dioxide production, promoting the use of Ecolab’s Apex cleaning system and more! Our hotel and lodging units will further grow their sustainable stay program while donating used guest-room amenities (after sanitizing them) to people around the world you are unable to afford these products.

We expect to see even more progress toward the goal of highly-sustainable operations.