Going Green in the City of Brotherly Love

Sofitel Philadelphia has been awarded 4 Green Keys from the Green Key Ec0-Rating Program in recognition of its outstanding accomplishments in implementing environmentally friendly programs in all areas of the hotel operations. Sofitel Hotels & Resorts, part of the ACCOR group, has adopted the Green Key Eco-Rating program as its official standard or Green Lodging Certification in the United States

Highlights of the Green Initiatives 

Sofitel Philadelphia has implemented an extensive range of strategic environmental initiatives that were highlighted in the Green Key Audit.  Some of the hotel’s many significant activities include:

– Formal, written environmental policies that address its commitment to energy and resource conversation, waste management, training and education, and community involvement and support

– Eco-purchasing policies that include factoring environmental considerations into purchasing decision/strategies

–  Use of local organic foods when possible

–  Programable energy management system for automatic temperature control in occupied/unoccupied rooms

– Performance audits on energy and water consumption

– Indoor/outdoor high-efficiency lighting

– Recycling programs that include composting

– Reduction in the use of toxic substances

– Rewards and recognition for employees who contribute innovative suggestions and solutions

– Give employees opportunities to volunteer their time toward community environment events

– Hotel participates in the linen reuse program

– Hotel serves Natura® Water environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water

– Hotel recycles electronic batteries

Did you know The Rooftop of the Sofitel Philadelphia is home to over 480,000 honey bees and over 3,000 lbs of soil where organic vegetables and herbs are planted each year?

Community Commitment

We strive to make a positive impact both locally and globally, to ensure hospitality benefits not only the few, but all.

As part of Sofitel’s commitment to philanthropy, we have formed a partnership with Broad Street Ministry and The Attic Youth Center.

Broad Street Ministry focuses on providing services to vulnerable people – men and women who are homeless, at risk of being homeless, or of low-income. They serve nutritious daily meals with restaurant-style hospitality, provide mail services, distribute personal care bags, mend clothes and provide new clothes, and offer therapeutic art classes in an inviting and safe atmosphere.

By ordering items from our banquet menu with the symbol, $1 per person will go directly to Broad Street Ministry. 

The Attic offers multifaceted programming that focuses on life skills, youth leadership, mental health, and supportive services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Young people ages 14 to 23 are helped to develop into healthy, independent, thriving, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community that promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ in society.

By ordering items from our banquet menu with the symbol, $1 per person will go directly to The Attic Youth Center. 

A recent study conducted by Booking.com shared 81% of global travelers intend to stay in a sustainable accommodation in the next year. As a company, we are committed to continuing to build a resilient portfolio of lifestyle hotels and resorts operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and being managed with the health and well-being of employees, guests, operators, and suppliers as a priority.

Below are the areas our green partner looks for on our website. Looking through, it appears many are addressed on our site, but please confirm we cover all of the below:

– Energy & Carbon

– Water Conservation

– Waste & Food Waste

– Biodiversity

– Climate Change & Resilience

– Other (E.g. Procurement, Air Quality, Green Hotel Programs)

– Diversity & Inclusion

– Guest and Employee Initiatives

– Community Initiatives

Additionally, to further promote sustainability initiatives both at the property and at Pebblebrook, we would like to request to link the Pebblebrook Corporate Responsibility page to your website. Pebblebrook Corporate Responsibility page: https://pebblebrookhotels.com/corporate-responsibility/

Pebblebrook’s Current ESG Facts are as follows:

In addition to sharing property specific initiatives, you may also want to share some of our Pebblebrook portfolio statistics, which represent YE 2019:

·       63% of our properties have a sustainability coordinator or green champion

·       80% of our properties have meeting rooms with digital thermostats

·       98% of our properties have a preventative maintenance plan that checks building energy and water equipment at least quarterly

·       61% of our properties have a water efficiency program

·       94% of our properties have faucets with low-flow aerators to conserve water

·       48% of our properties have eliminated single-use plastics (or reduced to an absolute minimum) from the property

·       74% of our properties have eliminated plastic straws

·       65% of our properties have implemented a food waste prevention strategy

·       Nearly $19 million invested on environmental initiatives

PEB 5-Star Promise Statement

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (“Pebblebrook”) strongly supports AHLA’s 5-Star Promise.  Our pledge to AHLA complements the practices and policies in-place by our company and our hotel operating partners which are designed to ensure that the hotel employees at our more than 50 owned hotels across the United States abide by the law, respect individual’s rights, and do not tolerate sexual harassment of any type at our properties. We have dedicated a significant amount of resources to assist our hotel operators with sexual harassment awareness training and avoidance programs, in addition to training and resources to prevent human trafficking. We will continue to engage with our hotel operators to provide the resources to further assist them in ensuring the safety of our hotel employees and our guests. Pebblebrook is committed to funding the purchase of hotel employee safety devices for use at all of our owned hotels by the end of 2020, as well as to provide funding for additional training and education programs on sexual harassment and human trafficking at our corporate level and our hotel properties. Through our pledge to the 5-Star Promise, Pebblebrook intends to contribute to positive, industry-wide improvements to continue to make hotels a safe place for all our employees and guests.