National park concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts has announced the creation of six new Green Suites at Zion Lodge in Utah’s Zion National Park. The goal of the project was to incorporate as many environmentally sustainable features as possible, and to ultimately reduce the consumption of natural resources and eliminate waste.
“This project gave our design [...]

National park concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts has announced the creation of six new Green Suites at Zion Lodge in Utah’s Zion National Park. The goal of the project was to incorporate as many environmentally sustainable features as possible, and to ultimately reduce the consumption of natural resources and eliminate waste.

“This project gave our design team a chance to think outside the ‘environmental box’ and try some new technologies and products,” says Chris Lane, vice president of environmental affairs. “We are continuously working towards our ultimate goal to make all 5,000 Xanterra-operated rooms as environmentally sustainable as possible, and the Green Suites provided us with on opportunity to test some of our ideas. This was our chance to try to go beyond conventional green building rating systems such as LEED, trying to include even more environmentally sustainable features for guests.”

Environmentally sustainable features of the suites in the historic lodge include:

• Sustainable bamboo floor entryway. The use of bamboo saves trees because bamboo can be harvested in only three years. Most hardwood trees are harvested after 50 years.
• Recycled content Interface Entropy Carpet. This carpet contains more than 70 percent recycled content, making it the highest recycled-content carpet available. At the end of its life, the carpet is 100 percent recycled back into new carpet.
• Dual-flush toilets. Popular in Australia, but still relatively new to the United States, dual-flush toilets provide two options for flushing and utilize either 0.8 gallons or 1.6 gallons per flush, saving 67 percent more water than a standard toilet.
• Renewable solar and wind energy. Zion Lodge uses a 15kW on-site solar photovoltaic energy system to power rooms. Renewable wind energy is also purchased to power 85 percent of the property’s energy needs.
• Filtered drinking water faucets. Guests of the suites drink filtered water from clean, natural, great-tasting water from the park. Filtered tap water encourages guests to carry reusable water containers instead of disposable plastic water bottles.
• Organic bamboo or organic cotton sheets and linens. One of the fastest growing and most sustainable plants on earth, bamboo does not require the use of fertilizers or pesticides to grow. And while traditional cotton is the most pesticide-intensive crop grown, organic cotton uses no synthetic pesticides.
• All-natural biodegradable soap, shampoos and moisturizers in bulk dispensers. These products provide a healthy and eco-friendly alternative to individually packaged non-biodegradable amenities.
• Compact fluorescent lighting. Energy consumption is reduced by up to 70 percent and bulbs last 10 times longer than standard incandescent light bulbs.
• Automated heat and air-conditioning sensors. These sensors detect body heat and motion to control the temperatures within comfortable predetermined set points.
• Biodegradable, nontoxic Green Seal-certified cleaners. These cleaners are used in all Zion Lodge rooms.
• Complimentary organic coffee and tea. Certified organic Fair Trade coffee is grown without pesticides, using a shade-grown method to reduce deforestation. Two complimentary mugs are also given to all Green Suites guests. The free coffee is provided by the lodge coffee shop only to those with mugs to discourage waste caused by disposable coffee cups.
• Key card lighting controls. Similar to popular systems used throughout Europe, key cards save 15 percent of energy because lighting is only operable once guests insert their key cards into the entry door slots.
• LED night-lights. Night-lights discourage guests from leaving bathroom lights on as a nighttime light source.
• Environmental practices at Zion Lodge extend well beyond the six Green Suites. A rigorous ISO 14001-certified environmental management system that defines environmental priorities, sets goals and assigns responsibilities was the impetus to achieve results.

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