Texas Eco-Friendly hotel leads by example

Posted on 02/01/2018 by Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce

W Austin wins Greater Austin Business Award for leading environmental efforts in the Central Texas hotel industry


A local hotel has been recognized by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce for helping to reduce our impact on the environment and striving to be more environmentally friendly.

The W Austin won the Brookfield Environmental Friendly Award. The accolade – a category of the Greater Austin Business Awards program – recognizes businesses that demonstrate a commitment to environmentally sound practices.

“Since our founding, the W Austin has been focused on reducing our environmental footprint in the Central Texas region,” said Brett Briseno, Director of Sales and Marketing for the W Austin. “We strive to lead by example in our industry and the communities we serve by educating our patrons on the benefits of being environmentally friendly.”

As part of its effort to promote energy efficient practices, the W Austin is the first mixed-occupancy project of its size in the world to achieve LEED certification. The energy efficient hotel design includes linen-less tables, low flow water faucets, use of EcoLab Green Line Chemicals, Hybrid parking, recycling and composting throughout the hotel. These efforts have allowed the hotel to save 7,074 kWh of electricity, 255,500 ounces of chemicals,1.36 million gallons of water, and over 912M BTU of natural gas per year.

Additionally, the W Austin has successfully created an adaptive reuse program of their products to reduce their ecological footprint on the environment. Headed by their Green Committee, their Clean the World program has donated over 25,000 bars of soap, 7,000 pounds of recycled plastic, and converted over 15,000 plastic bottles to hygiene kits for families in need globally. The group averages 54,750 guests per year to partake in their environmental program, Make A Green Choice, where they save the hotel 0.19 kWh of electricity, 7 ounces of chemicals, 37.2 gallons of water, and 25K BTU of natural gas per each stay when guests decide to decline housekeeping services for points.

For more information on the W Austin, visit their website here.


Pictured (left to right): Ellen Wood, Chair of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce; Justin Murrill, Senior Manager of Corporate Responsibility of AMD; Hal Roberts of Lettuce Networks; Yogesh Sharma of Lettuce Networks; Bob Gregory, Co-Owner, President, and CEO of Texas Disposal Systems; Phyllis Snodgrass, CEO of Austin Habitat for Humanity; Amanda Castroverde of TreeHouse; TreeHouse team; Rachel Podhorn of Treehouse; and Jessica King of Brookfield Residential.

Photo Credit: @WHotelATX


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