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EPA WaterSense program encourages hotels to take the H2Otel Challenge

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense program and its partners are encouraging hotels to take the H2Otel Challenge. Since hotels and other lodging businesses account for approximately 15% of all water used in commercial and institutional facilities in the United States, the EPA has decided to help hotels check into the benefits of saving water.

WaterSense will provide hotels with tools and training on best management practices to save water, energy and money. Hotels need only to visit the WaterSense website and sign a pledge to “ACT”: assess water use and savings opportunities; change water-wasting products or processes to save water; and track their results.

WaterSense has a variety of tools to help hotels track and reduce water use, including an online guide, WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and Institutional Facilities, that details how WaterSense labeled products and other process improvements can save facilities water, energy and operating costs. EPA will also hold and record a series of webinars on saving water in hotel restrooms, laundries, kitchens, landscapes and mechanical systems.

The first three hotel-oriented webinars include:

Take the Plunge: The WaterSense H2Otel Challenge (February 13, 2014 and March 12, 2014)
Assess, Track, and Realize Payback (March 6, 2014)
Washing 101: A Plumbing and Laundry Primer (March 27, 2014)

Although participating hotels will not earn a building label nor become WaterSense partners, they will receive tools to promote their participation. Also, WaterSense and its partners will provide recognition for H2Otel Challenge participants.

To take the challenge, recruit hotels to join, register for webinars or sign up for free resources on saving water in the hospitality industry, interested hotels and organizations should visit www.epa.gov/watersense /challenge.