EPA Challenges Hotels to Reduce Water Use

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently launched the WaterSense H2Otel challenge, a national program specifically targeted at reducing water use in hotels.

Companies participating in the program will pledge to assess their water use and savings opportunities, upgrade to more efficient equipment, and track their progress. To assist hotels in these efforts, EPA has developed educational webinars and tools based on its online guide WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and Institutional Facilities. It will also provide an online calculator to estimate payback periods for common water-saving upgrades and develop outreach materials that hotels can use to publicize their efforts.

In the U.S., hotels account for approximately 15% of all water used in commercial facilities, according to the American Water Works Association. Though recent research suggests green hotels don’t yet bring in higher revenue, EPA says the program helps position hotels to “meet the growing customer demand for green lodging” and realize operational savings. Implementing water-efficient practices, such as installing WaterSense-labeled products in guest rooms, landscaping to use water more efficiently, and upgrading kitchen equipment, can help hotels decrease operating costs by approximately 11%, energy use by 10%, and water use by 15%, according to industry estimates.

For more information:

EPA WaterSense

epa.gov/watersense