First LEED-EB certified hotel in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — The Hotel Carlton recently earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Building (LEED-EB) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a press release.

The certification makes the 161-room Hotel Carlton, a Joie de Vivre boutique property, the first lodging property in San Francisco to earn LEED-EB certification, the release stated.

Pamela Flank, the Hotel Carlton's general manager, said: "We are thrilled and proud that we can now say Hotel Carlton is LEED-EB Gold certified, making it the highest rated hotel by LEED standards in San Francisco. Sustainability makes good business sense because it conserves resources. Every operations decision we make at the hotel is filtered through our mission to reduce our impact on the environment."

According to the release, the Hotel Carlton was also recently awarded a top score of 100 from Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Sustainable aspects of the hotel include: Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs; proportioned dispensers for toiletries in guest rooms; low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints; and the use of environmentally friendly cleaning chemicals, the release noted.

In achieving LEED-EB Gold certification, the Hotel Carlton was able to: Reduce CO₂ emissions by 176 tons; divert 80 percent of waste from landfills; reduce water consumption by 27 percent; produce 9 percent of its energy on-site through solar panels; and get rid of 40 percent of traditional cleaning chemicals, the release added.

Click here to read the complete release.