March 3, 2012

Sustainability: Listening to our Guests

This month HI-Chicago is taking steps to improve sustainability! Current projects include: installing motion sensors in offices, bathrooms, and storage rooms to ensure that lights are only on when they need to be, adding new recycling bins and signs to make recycling easier, and switching out paper towel dispensers for automatic hand dryers.
Reuse can be beautiful and creative!
Involving our guests in a discussion about sustainability at the hostel and in their travels is an important part of this green initiative, so we held a focus group to talk about sustainability. Ten travelers from around the world joined two interns – Kristen and Jackie – to chow down on Giordano’s deep dish pizza and bounce around ideas. We had guests from Brazil, USA, France, England, Chile, and Venezuela.
Ideas that were brought up include installing clotheslines in the laundry room, offering drying racks to guests, and investigating solar power. This international perspective was great, as we found out that the recycling bins are not designated a blue color in all countries! Most of all, it was encouraging to hear that sustainability is an important issue to our guests, and we hope that when you stay with us you can join us in our efforts!
On Monday, Kristen, our sustainability intern, gave a presentation to the HI-Chicago staff about sustainability – Here are a couple links to videos that were shown:
By Nasa – showing the temperature changes of the Earth from 1880 to 2011.
Energy for the world:
Remember to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
If you are interested in learning more about Hostelling International’s sustainability efforts around the world, then follow HI-Sustainability on Facebook and @HIsustainable on Twitter.

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