Blog, Green Hotel & Travel
Doing our Part to “Clean the World” and Help Prevent Disease
Ever wonder what happens to that unused soap and shampoo in your hotel bathroom when you check out?
As part of our efforts to run a more sustainable and green hotel, we recycle all used soap products from guest rooms through an outstanding organization called Clean the World. The housekeeping staff at the Grand Hotel in Salem collects and saves unused soap and shampoo from our guest rooms and ships them to a soap recycling plant where it is either re-batched or sterilized. The soap products are then delivered to domestic homeless shelters and impoverished countries suffering from high death rates due to acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease.
The Grand Hotel in Salem is the first hotel in Oregon to partner with Clean the World. Since then, the organization has put over 9.5 million soap bars and 200,000 pounds of shampoo and conditioner back into human use, simultaneously eliminating over 600 tons of waste. We are happy to report that so far in 2012, The Grand Hotel in Salem has collected 195.93 pounds of soap and 115 pounds of bottled products for the organization- all in all 1045 bars of soap that will be distributed to children and families worldwide.
To understand the powerful impact this project has on the world, just watch this CBS News story. We will never look at hotel soap and shampoo bottles in the same way.
For more information on the process, visit www.cleantheworld.com.
The Salem Block EV Station is getting good use!
In July, Salem Oregon joined communities such as Corvallis, Eugene and Portland in ECOtality’s push for emissions-free driving. Under the The EV Project, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were installed in various locations our city- including one here at The Salem Block!
The EV charging stations are publicly available and located at the following sites:
• Salem Public Library
• Salem Conference Center
• Marion Parkade
• West Salem Library
• Chemeketa Parkade
• Riverfront Park
• The Willamette Heritage Center at The Mill
ECOtality is the project manager of The EV Project and will oversee the installation of approximately 14,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 18 major cities and metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide an EV infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 EVs. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Image Credit: nwtr.org Gallery
Salem, Oregon will host the 27th Annual Northwest Tandem Rally, the second largest tandem rally in the U.S. in 2012 and we are honored to be the host hotel!
The 2012 event will take place June 29th through July 2nd on cycling routes throughout the Salem region. The organizer of the rally is Salem NWTR 2010 LLC, a group of about 14 dedicated tandem cyclists living in the Salem area. Salem NWTR will partner with The Grand Hotel in Salem and Willamette University for food services and accommodations.
One of the organizers, Kurt Haas, who races with local Capitol Velo Racing Club, says the group is busy planning routes and locations for events. Eventually they welcome volunteers and sponsors for the rally.
The mission of the 2012 Northwest Tandem Rally is to share the Wonders of the Willamette (WOW) Valley – its hospitality, history, and scenic bicycle routes – with tandem families and friends from the Northwest and across the US and beyond – all at an affordable price.
“Our goal is to involve community in the ride as much as possible,” he said, “to benefit the riders along with the Willamette Valley, the economy, local businesses and community relationships.” He says some of the routes will have stops at local businesses like E.Z. Orchards, Willamette Valley Fruit Company, Bauman Farm and others.
Tandem teams are generally well-educated, affluent, and fit, with participants ranging from 25-60 and frequently include families with their children. The majority of NWTR participants come from Oregon, Washington and Northern California, with representation from across the country and some venturing from as far away as Europe and Australia.
Organizers are excited about the energy the event will bring to the Salem area.
“Most people haven’t seen 300 or 400 tandem bikes rolling down the road together; the rally really brings a buzz to the community,” said Haas who rides tandem on a three-seated bike with his wife and seven-year old daughter.
“Many of the tandem riders are couples and families. This is really a family-oriented activity!”
Excess proceeds from the event will go toward community based nonprofit organizations and to future NWTR events.
Organizers will also host a trade show along with a series of events, planned to increase contact between rally participants and vendors. Cost for a booth at the trade show will be $50.
For more information about the 2012 Salem NWTR, visit their website at www.nwtr.org/2012.
History of the Northwest Tandem Rally
The Northwest Tandem Rally has traveled extensively throughout the Northwest since 1986. The event has traditionally been on Memorial Day weekend but depending on venue and calendar may also be held on Fourth of July weekend. It is produced as an all-volunteer event, designed to be family oriented, grassroots and affordable.
We will never look at hotel soap and shampoo bottles in the same way. Who knew these could be recycled and used to save lives all over the world? Every day, thousands of hotels discard millions of pounds of soap and shampoo that impoverished people around the world could use to prevent unhygienic diseases.
To do our part, The Grand Hotel in Salem has partnered with Clean the World Foundation, a non-profit organization that distributes recycled soap products and educational materials to domestic homeless shelters and impoverished countries worldwide.
The housekeeping staff at the Grand Hotel in Salem collects and saves the soap and shampoo not used by our guests and deposits them in bins provided by Clean the World. The products are shipped to a soap recycling plant where it is either re-batched or sterilized.
We recently received our impact statement from Clean the World Foundation and we were amazed to see how our efforts are paying off in a big way. So far this year, The Grand Hotel in Salem has collected over 623 pounds of soap and shampoo which have resulted in 3119 bars of soap being distributed worldwide. WOW!
For more information on the process, visit www.cleantheworld.com.
The Salem Conference Center, The Grand Hotel in Salem, and Bentley’s Grill (known as The Salem Block) promotes environmentally friendly practices in our day to day operations.
We have participated in numerous programs and initiatives and most recently have launched the Tree Hugger Program to recognize employees of the Salem Block who demonstrate a committment and enthusiasmm to follow our green initiatives.
Each month the Salem Block “Green Team” will nominate one person from the block to get to join the Tree Hugger family. The Tree Hugger inductees are employees who have lead by example and brought new ideas to the table. Attitude and participation play also a big factor in deciding who will receive this big honor!
Check out our Tree Hugger Awards section located in the “back of house” area of the facility. We had a blast putting it together! Learn more about our Green Efforts from The Grand Hotel in Salem and The Salem Conference Center!
Jessica Seacrest and Kristi Reed- the Salem Block's "Tree Huggers" make their mark!
The Salem Conference Center, The Grand Hotel in Salem, and Bentley’s Grill, also known as The Salem Block, is proud of our commitment to environmentally friendly practices in our day to day operations to reduce our impact on the environment.
Our green initiatives continue to grow stronger each year and have been well received by our guests and the Salem, Oregon community. Here are a few highlights of our efforts:
- The Grand Hotel in Salem and Bentley’s Grill and The Salem Conference Center is the first hotel and restaurant and conference center in Salem and Marion County to be EarthWISE certified.
- Earlier this year, the Salem Conference Center announced that it has been awarded LEED® Certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
- Just last month,The Salem Block was named “Large Sustainable Business Of The Year” at the 2011 Mid-Valley Green Awards.
To see us in action, watch this Allied Waste composting video that features how Oregon businesses are making a difference with the food waste composting, including the Salem Conference Center:
We are thrilled to report The Block of the Salem Conference Center, The Grand Hotel in Salem and Bentley’s Grill was named “Large Sustainable Business Of The Year” at the 2011 Mid-Valley Green Awards earlier this month.
The Green Awards are sponsored by the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center and ”acknowledge Mid-Willamette Valley individuals, businesses and organizations for their outstanding efforts towards sustainability.”
The Grand Hotel in Salem and Bentley’s Grill and The Salem Conference Center is the first hotel and restaurant and conference center in Salem and Marion County to be EarthWISE certified. The certification through Marion County’s EarthWISE program played a key role in “The Block” being chosen by The Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center, as Large Sustainable Business Of The Year.
- Green practices on “The Block” include:
- Use of recycled paper for all printed material
- Utilize Earth friendly cleaning solutions and drainage system
- Supports local economy by purchasing products and food from local suppliers.
- Operates on Energy Star appliances
- Sleeping room towel and linen program that allows guest to re-use their bedding and towels.
- Sleeping room and public area recycling
- Replacement of all lighting in guest rooms with cool white compact fluorescent lighting
- Composting throughout entire facility
- Participates with “Clean the World,” recycling all used soap products from guest rooms.
- Extensive recycling of all plastic material.
- Purchase Wind power to offset energy cost
Congratulations to all nominees on your commitment to sustainable business practices! To learn more about our commitment to sustainable practices, we encourage you to visit the following links:
The Salem Conference Centers Green Practices
The Grand Hotel in Salem & Bentley’s Grill Green Efforts
Block of The Salem Conference Center, The Grand Hotel in Salem and Bentley’s Grill Nominated in Two Categories for the 2011 Green Awards!
The 2011 Green Awards Nominees have been announced by the Friends of the Straub Environmental Learning Center and we are thrilled to report The Salem Conference Center, The Grand Hotel in Salem and Bentley’s Grill have been nominated in two categories: Sustainable Business of the Year -Large and EarthWISE Business of the Year!
The Green Awards are sponsored by the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center and ”acknowledge Mid-Willamette Valley individuals, businesses and organizations for their outstanding efforts towards sustainability.”
The categories include: Recycler of the Year, Sustainable Business/Organizer of the Year, EarthWISE Certified Business/Organization of the Rear, Green Building of the Year, and a new category- Green Apple Award, which will be given to a local educator who is leading the way in environmental education.
Congratulations to fellow all nominees on your commitment to sustainable business practices! The winners will be announced at the annual dinner and auction on April 9 at the Salem Conference Center. Tickets for the dinner and auction are $50 per person and include dinner. They can be purchased by calling 503-391-4145 or emailing alexandra@fselc.org.
The Grand Hotel in Salem and Bentley’s Grill is the first hotel and restaurant in Salem and Marion County to be EarthWISE certified. The EarthWISE certification is a free program that recognizes businesses in Marion County that have made a commitment to environmentally friendly practices. To obtain EarthWISE certification, a business must meet criteria for recycling, waste reduction and prevention, environmentally preferable purchasing, energy efficiency and conservation, and water pollution prevention. The Marion County Public Works Department – Environmental Services staff conduct an on-site assessment to determine EarthWISE certification, and certification is valid for two years from the certification date.
To learn more about our commitment to sustainable practices, we encourage you to visit the following links:
The Salem Conference Centers Green Practices
The Grand Hotel in Salem & Bentley’s Grill Green Efforts
We recently announced The Grand Hotel in Salem is a proud supporter of an iniative to recycle unused soap products in our hotel by donating them to domestic homeless shelters and impoverished countries worldwide via- Clean The World, a Florida based charity. The organization announced this month 375 tons of unused soap has been collected from hotels around the world.
The cleaning staff at the Grand Hotel in Salem has been trained how to collect and save the soaps and shampoos their guests use and don’t take with them. The staff deposits the soap in bins provided by Clean the World and then they seal and ship it to a soap recycling plant where it is either re-batched or sterilized.
The new soap bars were distributed to the needy through global distribution partnerships, including Floating Doctors, Cap Haitien Health Network operating in Haiti, and World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, which has helped deliver hundreds of pallets of soap to homeless shelters, women’s shelters and missions in the United States.
Soaps have been delivered to more than 30 countries worldwide, such as Haiti, Pakistan, Armenia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Uganda, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
Clean the World was founded in 2009 and is dedicated to promoting proper hygiene and reducing landfill waste caused by discarded hotel amenities.
For more information on the process, visit www.cleantheworld.com.
When we opened our doors in March of 2005, one of the top requests from our guests was to adapt to more environmentally friendly practices in our day to day operations. We knew that operating greener hotel would be a Win-Win for everyone. For the hotel, for the environment and for our guests who practice sustainability. Our green initiatives have been lead by Sales Director, Kristi Reed and has been well received by guests and our local community.
We are very proud to be a part of Marion County’s EarthWISE program. In addition to a recycling program already in place, The Grand Hotel and Bentley’s Grill has implemented:
• Use of 100% recycled paper for all printed material
• Utilize Earth friendly cleaning solutions and drainage system
• Supports local economy by purchasing products and food from local suppliers.
• Operates on Energy Star appliances
• Sleeping room towel and linen program that allows guest to re‐use their bedding and towels.
• Sleeping room and public area recycling
• Replacement of all lighting in guest rooms with cool white compact fluorescent lighting.
• Additionally, The Grand has made a pledge to the community through Portland General Electrics ‘Save More, Matter More’ campaign’s movement to reduce the carbon footprint of businesses and empowering Oregon’s future by saving energy.
We pledged to research ways to improve the efficiency of in‐room heaters and air conditioners through remote thermostats that will keep rooms at guest’s preferred temperatures while using less energy when rooms are not occupied.
Click here to see a list of EarthWISE business spotlights- including the Grand Hotel in Salem and The Salem Conference Center!
Marion County’s EarthWISE Program is a free business environmental assistance program offered to all businesses in the county. To be certified, businesses must meet the standards summarized in the EarthWISE certification application. After an application is received, an on‐site certification assessment determines the warrant for EarthWISE certification.
For more information, please visit their website at: http://www.co.marion.or.us/PW/ES