If you haven’t heard, green is the new black, especially in the hospitality industry. Resorts and hotels all over the Orange County and Newport Beach area are going green, and not just by implementing low flow toilets and CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs, but by completely revolutionizing every aspect of their establishments, such as the way they host businesses. Eco-friendly resorts with Green meetings initiatives are at the forefront of the green movement, inspiring businesses that commonly utilize these resorts for meetings and events, to join their green efforts. But there is more to going green than meets the eye. Contrary to common beliefs, it is not all about saving the environment; it is also about building your company’s reputation. According to Brewer Science, “Implementing eco-friendly practices at your business lets the community know that you have a commitment to a better future and that your business is invested in the well-being of our environment” (BrewerScience.com). That being said, lets take a look at how resorts around Newport Beach are implementing their green initiatives inside and outside the boardroom in an effort to not only better our environment, but to advance their business repute as well.

For over twenty years now, The Fairmont Newport Beach has been working on their industry leading Sustainability Partnership program in hopes of reducing the resort’s overall impact on the environment. The Fairmont has realized that waste, energy, and water usage is unavoidable but over the years they have taken numerous steps towards reducing their waste. The property introduced Eco-Vim technology (which has reduced food waste by 90%), a laundry-outsourcing program (that recycles 72% of the water used), and a resort-wide switch to all fluorescent bulbs among many other initiatives to help reduce their carbon footprint. Furthermore, the Fairmont has taken their green movement to the next level by adopting seven goats in order to produce organic and sustainable goat milk, cheese, and soap, showing that they are willing to go above and beyond to better their resort and community.

The Hyatt Regency Newport Beach has taken monumental steps towards sustainability in the past few years and plans on continuing this trend in the future. As of now, this eco-friendly resort applies green initiatives with the overall goal of conserving both water and energy resources, reducing waste, and encouraging recycling, sustainable purchasing, green communication and education among guests and employees alike. The resort has decided that every room, whether it is a boardroom, ballroom, or guestroom, when left unoccupied, has lights and AC/heaters set to automatically turn off, saving a tremendous amount of energy that would otherwise go to waste. The Hyatt also makes sure to recycle each and every plastic bottle, aluminum can, newspaper, paper bag, and key card used by their guests. Hyatt has even gone as far as hiring a “green team” to educate the staff on how to be more eco-friendly and to create new strategies to further the resort’s sustainability efforts. The “green team” has introduced ideas such as using left over fryer oil to create bio-diesel, composting all food waste, and encouraging buying from local growers, all of which have helped the resort become one of the most eco-friendly properties in Orange Country.

Island Hotel Newport Beach is also making progress towards becoming more green by doing laundry less often, utilizing low flow toilets, showerheads, and sink-aerators, as well as vowing to only use biodegradable plastic containers and bathroom products that are made solely from recycled materials. Island Hotel also expanded their green efforts to their meeting rooms by making sure at least 80% of the rooms have enough natural lighting to discourage the use of lighting fixtures. The property also offers double-sided copying at a reduced rate, complimentary water to reduce the use of plastic water bottles, and reusable linens. All of these efforts led Island Hotel to reduce their kWh (kilowatt-hours) usage by more than 1.5 million in the first year of implementing these techniques – a massive feat!

The Balboa Bay Resort has also reduced their energy usage by an estimated 986,320 kWh this past year by employing many of the same techniques. In fact, in 2013, The Balboa Bay Resort was awarded with Southern California Edison’s 2013 Integrated Demand Side Management Award for energy solutions, making this resort an environmentalist’s dream!

Going Green is a fad that is here to stay, especially for the business world. Converting your business to an eco-friendly one by utilizing these Newport Beach resorts with green meeting initiatives speaks volumes about your company’s brand. A commitment to reducing your company’s carbon footprint is not only forward-looking, socially and environmentally conscious, it’s good business sense that will undoubtedly help attract and retain environmentally conscious consumers in the years ahead.