Northern California: Land of LEED hotels

SACRAMENTO, CA — Of the 18 hotels in America that have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, six call Northern California home, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The six hotels, in no particular order, are: Cavallo Point in Sausalito; The Orchard Garden Hotel and its sister hotel, The Orchard, both in San Francisco; Gaia Hotel & Spa in American Canyon; the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur; and the Intercontinental San Francisco in San Francisco, the story stated.

Each of the hotels have unique sustainable aspects that add to the environmentally responsible flair, including solar panels, ultraviolet light reducing windowpanes, energy-efficient lighting and low-flow fixtures, the story noted.

The push for Northern California's greening of their hotels came after a survey by the California Integrated Waste Management Board found that the state's average-sized hotel purchases more products in one week than 100 families do in a year and uses 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room, the story added.

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