Grand Teton Lodge touts its "green cred"

Purchasing wind power credits equal to 100 percent of overall energy consumption and maintaining a 50-percent, waste-diversion rate by recycling or reusing everything from food waste to horse manure are just a few of Grand Teton Lodge Company ‘s (GTLC) environmental achievements outlined in the second edition of the company’s Envision™ Sustainability Report . GTLC celebrated Earth Day by releasing the report in an effort to encourage continuing dialogue within the tourism industry on best practices for reducing environmental impacts.

With a mission to preserve, protect and inspire, GTLC runs the equivalent of a small town in the remote Grand Teton National Park location providing the lodging, food and beverage, activities and retail services to the park’s estimated 2.6 million annual visitors. The nearest town is located 45 minutes from GTLC’s facilities, and major supply channels are on average two to six hours from its operation. With only 40 year-round staff, the GTLC team hires, trains and houses nearly 1,000 seasonal employees yearly to provide these services all while embracing the company culture of reducing its impacts on the environment. Even with a complex hospitality operation, GTLC’s environmental achievements far succeed that of the typical hotel company.

Report Highlights

• Nearly 200 tons recycled annually including more than 40 tons of paper saving 680 trees and 280,000 gallons of water
• Served approximately 90,634 pounds of sustainable cuisine
• Offered biodiesel fuel to guests with more than 17,000 gallons sold in one operating season
• Uses green products throughout entire operation for cleaning and chemical needs
• Implemented purchasing standard for printing and office supplies requiring 100 percent recycled-content paper and soy-based inks
• Replaced traditional to-go containers, plastic cutlery and straws with eco-tainer disposable products made from sugarcane, potato starch and that are fully compostable
• Saved the equivalent of 7,232 trees by diverting paper from the landfill, providing paperless transactions and supporting American Forests in their effort to plant trees

Education and cooperative partnerships have helped GTLC overcome these challenges and facilitate its sustainable actions and success. The company strives to cultivate a new appreciation for the environment by creatively imparting green knowledge to guests throughout their stay. Through subtle messaging and interactions with GTLC employees, the company showcases positive examples of eco-friendly actions and alternatives that guests can adopt in their own homes and communities. In addition, the company partners with Leave No Trace for Outdoor Ethics to promote responsible outdoor use and began a "Go Green, Get Green" incentive program in 2006 for meeting planners to host an environmentally-friendly meeting.

GTLC’s commitment to expand its sustainable cuisine offerings has benefited other companies along the way. The challenge of locating sustainable food from area providers that could accommodate the volume the company needed was solved when GTLC partnered with U.S. Foodservice in Salt Lake City to convert several product lines to regionally-grown and environmentally-friendly selections. Because of GTLC’s high-volume purchases, these same products have now been made affordable and available for other U.S. Food customers.

"Earth Day provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on how we operate as an environmentally-responsible company, our accomplishments to date, and ways we can improve in the future," states John W. Rutter, senior vice president and chief operating officer for Grand Teton Lodge Company. "Through partnerships with like-minded organizations and the dedication of our employees, we work every day to turn environmental ideas into actions that protect our natural resources. We hope that our endeavors inspire others to join in the effort."

By publishing this second edition of Envision™ Sustainability Report, Grand Teton Lodge Company is supporting its goals to offer a transparent account of the company’s continued commitment to operate as a socially, economically and environmentally responsible company. The company’s environmental program is certified to ISO 14001 standards. To view a copy of the entire report, go to www.gtlc.com/envision09 .