My focus is generally on the economic impact the tourism community has on Savannah and surrounding areas. But today, I’d like to focus on the environmental impact.
Around the globe Wednesday, including here in Savannah, people will celebrate Earth Day. It started in 1970 and over the years has heightened awareness of environmental concerns.
It also has propelled people into the path of making big and small changes to help lessen our carbon footprint on Earth. So I’m taking the opportunity to tout what some in our local tourism community are doing to help save our planet.
There’s not enough space for all the local efforts, but maybe these examples will encourage you to do something that affects our world.
If you’re driving downtown these days, you’ll notice a fair amount of trolleys moving up and down the streets giving tours to the millions who vacation here every year. Each one of those trolleys equals about 20 cars that are not crowding our historic streets and polluting our air.
Fewer cars means less pollution, and Old Town Trolley takes it a step further with their propane-powered trolleys. Propane is said to burn cleaner and safer than gasoline.
Savannah Pedicabs boast environmental love with their
pedal power to get guests to and fro — and, of course, the walking tours have zero emissions.
On the restaurant side, 22 Square Chef Lauren Teague grows many of her own vegetables with the help of the Robert W. Gadsden Elementary School students who are learning about gardening.
The two ladies who own Dept. 7 on Broughton Street are also shaping their menu to include food items grown locally — the less the food has to travel the better it is for the environment.
Also, Green Truck Pub, 22 Square, The Grey and The Florence all compost their food waste, turning it into rich soil that goes back to growing the vegetables we all need.
At Royal Cup Coffee, they roast a lot of joe to supply hotels and restaurants. So they use a regenerative thermal oxidizer to reduce gas usage and clean smoke from the roasting process. They also rebuild brewing equipment and recycle all unused metal.
SAVOR…Savannah, the catering company housed in the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center, banned polystyrene foam products. They also purchase locally produced and sustainably raised products, source sustainable seafood, use non-petroleum-based products and recycle and compost their waste whenever possible.
The hip motel Thunderbird Inn promotes environmentally friendly behavior. They have light sensors in staff areas and guest bathrooms, biodegradable detergents, low-flow toilets, recycling, sink aerators, LEED certified shower heads, drought-tolerant landscaping, glassware to minimize foam and paper waste and bike racks to encourage biking.
The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa runs an intense recycling program. They use effluent or gray water for all hotel and golf course irrigation, and their swimming pool is salt-water based, avoiding the harsh chlorine chemicals.
Oglethorpe Mall, run by General Growth Properties, is one year into a three-year energy program to transition to LED lights, replace HVAC units with high-efficiency units and coat their massive roof with reflective material. This will reduce the heat load on the building. In the first year of this project, they reduced their energy consumption by 27 percent.
Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport recycled more than 16 tons of glass, paper and aluminum last year. They also installed water bottle refill stations located in baggage claim and the airport concourse, eliminating waste from 146,456 disposable plastic bottles.
You can also recharge your Tesla at one of their recharging ports.
These are just a few small steps some of our tourism partners have taken to be more green.
Maybe there’s something you do that helps our world. Email your story to us at tlc@tourismleadershipcouncil.com. We’ll share it with others.
Maybe we will all get some good ideas of what we can do to make a difference.
Michael Owens is president/CEO of the Tourism Leadership Council, the largest non-profit trade organization that supports the tourism industry. Contact Owens at michael@tourismleadershipcouncil.com or by calling 912-232-1223.
By Michael Owens