Sydney Hotel Gets Serious About Sustainability

March 17, 2010 - PRLog -- 18 March 2010, Sydney – If you thought sustainability practices were only applicable to remote, nature-bound hotels, then it pays to stop and think again! Rydges Parramatta recently achieved the prestigious Benchmarked Bronze status under the Earthcheck Benchmarking Program, which recognises the hotel’s commitment to operating at the world’s highest environmental standard.
Although few visitors would look to bustling Parramatta in the hope of locating a property that’s serious about caring for country, the slick, modern property has gone way beyond the basics to show how businesses can really make a difference.
In achieving Benchmarked Bronze status, Rydges Parramatta has had to measure its energy and water consumption, total waste production and community commitment; along with implementing an integrated environmental and social policy.
This information was then submitted to EC3 Global and the hotel’s performance assessed against performance data for similar hotel type and location to determine whether Rydges Parramatta was performing above the Baseline average, and even above Best Practice in some instances.
In addition to having a Sustainability Policy in place, six of the assessed EarthCheck indicators are at or above the Baseline level. From the benchmarking data provided, two indicators, Energy Consumption and Pesticide Products, are at or above the Best Practice level.
“Certification with EC3 Global has benefited us by providing best practice guidelines to measure, control and monitor cost savings based on the benchmarking indicators.” said Simon Cox, Rydges Parramatta General Manager.  “It wasn’t an easy process to go through, but if it had been, we’d have learnt far less than we did and the savings would not have been so profound.”
Rydges Parramatta is a spacious property that has a relaxed atmosphere and open plan lobby. The hotel has a total of 151 guest rooms, 13 Conference Rooms, 2 Restaurants and 3 Bars.  
“Now that Rydges Parramatta has benchmarked, they will be able to start calculating their Scopes 1 and 2 emissions,” explained Stewart Moore, CEO of EC3 Global. “When using the new software, this information will help them better manage their environmental footprint and determine ways to gain greater efficiencies across the business.”


EC3 Global is the world's largest certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators. With more than 1000 clients in over 60 countries, the company’s EarthCheck Program responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including climate change, waste reduction and non-renewable resource management. It provides benchmarking, certification and performance improvement systems that result in average savings of 30 per cent for energy and waste stream, and 20 per cent savings for water consumption. Go to www.earthcheck.org  or   www.ec3global.com

Established in 1988, Rydges Hotels & Resorts is the hospitality division of one of Australia’s premier entertainment, hospitality and leisure organisations, Amalgamated Holdings Limited (commonly known as AHL).
Rydges Hotels & Resorts operates quality city, suburban and resort style hotels in key destinations across Australia and New Zealand with recent international expansion including a presence in Dubai and Doha in the Middle East and London in the United Kingdom.
The portfolio comprises a range of mid to upscale quality hotels with well-appointed guest rooms that cater for the needs of the busy corporate traveller in its city locations as well as the holidaymaker in the resort destinations.
Delivering exceptional service is a priority for the Rydges group with a genuine passion to accommodate guests and exceed their expectations.
Today, Rydges operates some 7,211 rooms and apartments in 4 countries with 40 properties in key locations.  It has a passion for delivering great guest experiences, with an emphasis on cultivating loyalty from customers, owners and its teams.  It is a youthful hotel group that genuinely cares about the delivery of personalised service and value. Go to: http://www.rydges.com/hotel/0/RNPARR/Rydges-Parramatta-Sy...


For further information please contact:

EarthCheck
Chantal Dunbar
EC3 Global Communications Manager
P:  +61 401 058 159
W: www.earthcheck.org
                     
Rydges Parramatta
Sameer Thakur
P: + 61 2 8863-7600
E: sameer_thakur@rydges.com

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EC3 Global is the world's largest certifier of sustainable travel & tourism operators. With more than 1000 clients in over 60 countries, the company’s EarthCheck Program responds to the environmental problems facing the planet.