Being good stewards of the environment and making MacArthur Place a more sustainable hotel is something we work toward every day. It is an ongoing learning process and something we strongly believe in. Below are some of our accomplishments to date and new items we are currently exploring. Please check back for updates and tips you can use at your home or business. Click Here to see our Sustainability Mission
ENERGY
General
l Participate in PG&E energy efficiency assessment program to reduce usage and work closely with them
on new technologies
l Have reminders inside each guestroom door to turn off lights and TV before leaving the room
l Installed solar heating system for the pool
l Cover our hot tub each night to reduce loss of heat
l Installing solar hot water panels to reduce our gas consumption for heating water in our laundry,
spa and restaurant - Completion by Janaury 2010
l Continually exploring solar electric panels to provide renewable electricity for the hotel
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
l Set programmable thermostats to PG&E's recommendations for energy conservation
l Perform quarterly HVAC tune-ups to keep our systems running at their highest efficiency
Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
l Set programmable thermostats to PG&E's recommendations for energy conservation
l Perform quarterly HVAC tune-ups to keep our systems running at their highest efficiency
l Installing occupancy sensor equipment on our guestroom thermostats - Completion by
January 2010
Lighting
l Use motion sensors in public area restrooms
l Use motion sensors in public area restrooms
l Retrofit of indoor and outdoor light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs.
l Installed dimmers for overhead incandescent bulbs in guestrooms and meeting space
l Installed dimmers for overhead incandescent bulbs in guestrooms and meeting space
l Installed energy efficient LED overhead lighting in a test room with hopes to gradually retrofit all rooms
Water
General
l Participated in an indoor water efficiency assessment to learn how to reduce our usage
l Installed low flow toilets and aerated faucets throughout the property
Guestrooms
l Implemented a towel / linen reuse program saving both energy and water
Restaurant
l Installed ultra low flow pre-rinse spray nozzles in kitchen
l Ask dining guests before pouring water at the table
l Installed a water free urinal in our public restroom
l Exploring an in-house water purification and glass bottling system
Outdoors
l Use non-potable well water for landscaping irrigation of the gardens
l The majority of our gardens are established requiring less water than continually planting new
flowering plants. Over half of our landscape is planted with drought tolerant plants.
l Use sprinkler timers to water landscape at night
l Limit hosing of walkways and patios in favor of sweeping
l Exploring saline system for pool and whirlpool
l Exploring saline system for pool and whirlpool
WASTE REDUCTION
General
l We are using the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle philosophy by reducing waste creation and reusing and
recycling everything we can.
l Properly dispose of CFL's, batteries and other hazardous waste
Reduce
l Use both sides of paper when copying
l Have newspapers available at the front desk and restaurant for those that want them as opposed to
delivering them to every room
l Only use disposable cups and containers for to-go purposes. We encourage employees to use reusable
cups that are available.
l Use email whenever possible for in-house communication rather than printed memos
l Reduce mailings in favor of email; regularly update and purge mailing list to reduce returns
l Continually working on reducing junk mail
Reuse
l Encourage the reuse of paper printed on one side
l Find secondary uses for items that have expired from their primary use, i.e turning old towels into rags
l Reuse packing and shipping materials whenever possible
l Hold "Barn" sales offering retired linens, furniture and other supplies to employees
l Donate retired sheets to troops overseas and local organizations such as FISH(Friends of Sonoma Help)
Recycle
l Back of House - Recycle paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, cardboard, and toner and ink cartridges
l Recycle bins are available for guest use in every guestroom
l Recycle used cooking oil to be used for alternative fuel and other secondary uses
l Compost yard waste, coffee grounds and kitchen fruits and vegetables
l Outdoor recycle bins(made of recycled plastic) are located along side our waste receptacles at our main
public areas
l Continually exploring how we can compost more of our food waste
CONSCIOUS PURCHASING
l Seek vendors that can offer environmentally and socially conscious products, or like us are striving to
be a more sustainable company
l Purchase locally when possible to support our local area, and reduce auto emissions and fuel
consumption from travel time
l Purchase in bulk when possible to reduce trips from vendors
Some Examples
l Waste/Recycling containers and podium made from 98% recycled plastic
l Environmentally friendly "green" Duraflame logs for the guestrooms
l Recyclable cups for the restaurant and spa
l Recycled paper products
l Using Green Seal certified room cleaning products.
l Eminence Organic Skin Care and Tara Spa Therapy at the Garden Spa as our primary spa
product lines
l Locally roasted "Barking Dog" coffee in the restaurant
l Offer organic, sustainably farmed, or local foods as specials in our restaurant, when possible
l 37% of our office supplies are made from recycled content, we use at least 35% recycled copy paper
and we are gradually printing our printed materials on 100% recycled paper as they need to be
reprinted
SOCIAL OBJECTIVES
Employees
l Formed an Employee Sustainability Committee which meets regularly to brainstorm new ideas and set
goals and objectives for the hotel
l Conduct an annual in-house seminar for employees with ideas and tips on how to be
more environmentally friendly at home
l Incorporated sustainability into our company mission, as well as created a sustainability mission to
guide us in our efforts
l Incorporate sustainability principals, accomplishments and practices into the employee handbook and
new hire orientation
l Offer discounted bus passes to staff and encourage staff to bike, walk or carpool to work
l Developed staff incentive program to encourage sharing green ideas/tips
l Offer a socially responsible fund choice with our 401K program
Guests
l Put "The Green Book" in all guestrooms
l Put reminder signage in the rooms to conserve water and energy
l Planning to create a "Green Card" that offers some information to raise awareness and tips that they
can apply to their homes
Community
l Donate and contribute to many local charities, fundraisers and community organizations
l Have a company team that fundraises and participates in the local Relay for Life
l Supporting the Sonoma Ecology Center, our local ecological preservation, restoration and education
non-profit here in Sonoma Valley
RECOGNITIONS & AFFILIATIONS
Recognized by:
l Sonoma Economic Development Partnership's Green Business Program
l Bay Area Green Business Program - Sonoma County
l Business Environmental Alliance Best Practices Award 2007
l Received the Sustainable North Bay Award from Assemblymember Jared Huffman in June 2008
l Received one of the 2008 Best Places to Work in the North Bay Area Award in the third annual
competition put on by the North Bay Business Journal
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