Environmental Initiatives Launched at Hotels Nationwide

An environmental initiative to replace over 250,000 incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in guest rooms at more than 200 company-managed hotels was recently launched by Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). The relamping project will result in an annual reduction of almost 50 million pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions, which is the equivalent of removing over 17,000 cars from American highways.

In addition, TCP donated 15,000 CFLs to employees of IHG's properties for use in their homes so that they had the opportunity to adopt the same practice being implemented at the hotels.

Energy-efficient CFLs have an average life of 10,000 hours, which can last six to ten times longer than standard incandescent light bulbs. Energy-efficient products also use approximately two-thirds less energy, leading to increased energy savings and lower utility costs. From a cost perspective, the typical savings per CFL is at least $30 over its lifetime.

"Replacing the incandescent light bulbs in hotels with energy-efficient, longer-lasting CFLs has been an important step in doing our part to respect and improve our environment," says Tom Murray, chief operating officer in the Americas at IHG.