Orchid, a designer ECOTEL hotel, commits itself towards exceeding guest

expectations and ensuring total dedication to conserve the environment by

continually and enthusiastically creating awareness through education and
participation of team members, guests and the community.

Getting an Ecotel Certification for a hotel means that the hotel is completely
environment friendly. Each of the hotels applying for the certification need to fulfill
certain criteria and the norms set by the authorities before they are awarded the
Five Globe Certification Award. In an audit conducted by HVS International, the 5
key areas for Ecotel certification were inspected. The five criteria for Ecotel
certification which were fulfilled by Orchid are:

• Environmental Commitment
• Solid Waste Management
• Energy Efficiency
• Water Conservation
• Employee Environmental Education & Community Involvement

They are ASIA's first certified ECOTEL® Hotel and they have a number of
achievements which are acknowledged internationally. They have been
awarded:

o The 'ISO 14001: Certification'

- Environmental Award - 15th June 2001
o The'PATA Gold Award '
- April. 2001 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
o The 'Green Globe Award'
- Nov. 2000 at WTM, London.
o HCIMA Award – Oct. 2000
o ITB Award - March 2000
o FHRAI Award - 2000
o The Dr.Swaminathan Award - 2000
o The Green Hotelier & Restauranteur Environmental Award
- 1999 at Durban
o The 'Green Globe Award' - 1998 at WTM, London.
o Horticulture / Garden Awards
o Full ECOTEL ® Certification in 1997
MISSION STATEMENT

The ORCHID, Asia's first 5 Star ECOTEL ® Hotel, is committed to enhancing the
guest experience while setting a new standard of environmental responsibility by
conserving natural resources, educating, enlightening and motivating their staff,
and cultivating community relationships.

The ECOTEL® Certification Award

Hotels that are able to demonstrate a heightened level of environmental
sensitivity are awarded the ECOTEL® Certification.
This seal is the standard by which lodging facilities can measure their
environmental performance and on which environmentally conscious travellers
can base their lodging decision.

The Following Statistics were Revealed in a Recent

Environment Survey carried out at the Hotel:
37% team members' felt that Recycling is the most important and visible
programme in the hotel.
98% of their team members have environment practices at home.
65% were willing to volunteer 1 hour per week, unpaid, to help make the hotel
more environment friendly.
94% team members would like to be involved in an environment, nature or
conservation organisation in their free time.
99% would like to see the environmental sensitivity of the hotel to improve
further.
99% are willing to make changes in the way they work, if the changes make the
hotel more environmentally sound

100
90
80
70
60
50 % of team
40 members
30
20
10
0 Recycling Env pracs Volunteering Env Act Env Make
Sensitivity changes
In keeping with their eco-friendly commitment, Orchid has implemented the
following steps for safe-guarding the environment::

Waste management
The Orchid has implemented a recycling program for each material for which
there is a recycling market in Bombay.
They do not use carbon copies in any area of the hotel, as the chemicals used in
them are toxic and kill micro-organisms that break up solid waste in landfills.
They use handmade paper and office paper made of 100% post-consumer (re-
cycled) content.
They have a formal preventative maintenance program which increases the life
of major equipment, thus reducing the frequency with which equipment or parts
need to be replaced, resulting in both the reduction of landfill waste and the
consumption of raw materials needed to create new equipment.
The Orchid has made a commitment to minimize the amount of toxins that enter
the water system and waste stream by use and disposal. Chemical pesticides
are not used at all. When ever possible, organic products are used instead of
chemical products as in the case of fertilizer produced through the vermi-
composting process. All chemicals selected for use are inspected by HVS Eco
Services and meet ECOTEL standards.

Energy-efficiency
Conserving energy reduces the amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants in
the atmosphere, water and soil and in addition, preserves our non-renewable
resources. To qualify for the Energy Efficiency globe, they had to meet the
following criteria :
The first exposure any building gets is directly from the sun's rays. Solar radiation
creates a high heat load inside a building. The walls and windows at The Orchid
were specially designed and treated in order to combat this.
The walls of the hotel have been constructed using aerated concrete blocks
which have a 30% to 40% fly-ash component. These autoclaved cellular blocks
help to curtail heat absorption and radiation to a great extent.
All windows in the hotel have been especially designed with triple glass. The
reflective outer glass cuts off at least 15% of the heat load. After that comes a
85mm cavity, then, a sandwiched double glass, which also has a cavity between.
All this substantially cuts off the infrared and ultra-violet radiation entering the
building. This glass also ensures that noise-levels and visibility from outside are
reduced, thus adding to the comfort and privacy of our guests.
In public spaces (i.e. guest rooms and front-of-house areas) within the hotel,
25% of the lighting fixtures are energy efficient according to ECOTEL standards.
*75% of the lighting fixtures are energy efficient according to ECOTEL standards:
All environmentally harmful CFC's (e.g. R11, R12) have been excluded from use
in hotel operations and absorption refrigerant systems are in use.
Individual thermostats, controlled through the BMS are used to control HVAC
levels in all indoor areas at the Orchid. This system is an effective tool in
controlling levels of heating, cooling, and ventilation according to variable factors
such as occupancy, time of use and weather.
They have a formal preventative maintenance program for all major energy
consuming equipment. Besides ensuring that the equipment lasts longer, this
program also makes sure that it runs more efficiently and effectively, maximising
the amount of energy conserved.

Water Conservation and Preservation

There are no leaks in pipes or valves in the hotel.
All public space and guest room faucets are equipped with low-flow aerators
rated at 2.2 gallons per minute or less and that all guest room shower heads are
equipped with low-flow aerators rated at 2.5 gallons per minute or less.
Irrigation of the grounds never occurs between 11am and 5pm, as this is the
time when the sun's rays are most intense and excessive evaporation occurs.
The Orchid minimises the addition of toxins in the water system as they
jeopardise the effectiveness of waste water treatment facilities and kill useful
micro-organisms responsible for the bio degradation of waste.
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
At the Orchid they even recycle our waste water. With the latest technology, all
the waste water & sludge is treated and the treated water is reused in areas like
the air conditioning & gardening. (The sewage treatment plant will be in operation
within the next 6 months with the adequate number of rooms required to make
our plant work)

Curbing Air Pollution

At The Orchid they have taken steps to reduce air pollution by installing what is
known as Air Scrubbers in the boiler outlet connected with the chimney. The
boiler produces a high amount of carbon dioxide fumes which pass through the
scrubber and are emitted through the chimney. The fumes emitted are clear
white fumes instead of the dark / black fumes usually seen. This is because
water is sprayed on the fumes as they pass through the scrubber, causing the
carbon dioxide to dissolve and settle down in the shower traps. Thus clear fumes
are emitted into the air.

Employee Awareness and Participation

Employee education is most important to establish and maintain 'green'
objectives. In order to ensure the committed participation of the staff, we have a
'green team' headed by an Environment Officer who is responsible for training,
Employees are encouraged to come forward with new ideas. All this helps to
keep the staff morale high while ensuring that the hotel's standards of 'Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle' are maintained.

They firmly believes that every individual should make a determined effort to
preserve the environment for the next generation Orchid is in the process of
advising 3 other hotels on adopting environmentally friendly policies.