The Westin Alexandria Sustainable Travel Efforts

People want to feel good about the company behind the brand. That's why Alexandria VA hotels promise to do the right thing and respect our environment. We consider today's business environment a call to action as we deepen our commitment to environmental sustainability through a multi-year transformation of how we do business. Starwood's environmental sustainability approach includes reducing the environmental impact of our business, developing sustainable products and services to meet customer needs and creating a company culture committed to sustainability.

Reducing our impact on the environment
Starwood is working to reduce carbon emissions and is committed to reporting on progress annually using the Carbon Disclosure Project Survey and Starwood's Sustainability Report. To achieve our sustainably goals we have designed a two pronged strategy. First, we are building greener hotels in collaboration with our owners and developers and have created green building guidelines. Second, we are focused on changing hotel operations to improve the health of the environment across our global portfolio of 960 hotels. Our initiatives were shaped by client needs, shareholder input and hotel best practices. In addition, our initiatives align with environmental certification programs to help our hotels meet locally adopted certification standards. At present, more than 130 Starwood hotels have either achieved or are in pursuit of a third-party certification including LEED, Green Seal, Green Globe, Green Key and Energy-Star.

Developing sustainable products and services to meet customer needs
Innovation is in Starwood's DNA and we are putting it to good use to help shape new products and services that meet our customers' needs while improving the guest and customer experience. In 2006, we made history with the launch of Element Hotels - Starwood's green trailblazer and the first major hotel chain to require all its hotels to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification. Starwood is also developing a carbon offset program, and launching a new sustainable meetings concept to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals when conducting meetings at Starwood properties. Look for additional sustainable solutions as we continue to develop our environmental program.

Creating a company culture committed to sustainability
Most importantly, we are making sustainability a part of our culture. We kicked off our sustainability efforts by creating a dedicated Department of Environmental Sustainability, now part of our Global Citizenship team, and publishing an environmental sustainability policy. We recently launched the Starwood Sustainability Resource Center, a one-stop-shop for associates to learn more about environmental sustainability and how to execute on program initiatives. In early 2009 we also made important operational improvements at our White Plains headquarters to support our sustainability efforts.

Energy and Water Conservation

• State-of-the-art energy management system, including ability to "shut down" unoccupied guestrooms
• High-efficiency air handling equipment which is aggressively maintained to assure maximum efficiency
• Use of LED or CFL light bulbs for all lighting
• Pre-programmed lighting schemes, reducing electrical lighting during the day and evening hours when areas are not in use
• Motion detectors located in all office spaces and storage rooms
• Computer equipment is programmed to go to sleep mode after non-use
• Battery-powered, high-efficiency cleaning equipment
• Pools and hot tube are covered when not in use to trap in heat, reducing wasted energy
• Low-flow faucets
• Commercial laundry only washes full loads and utilizes cooler water temperatures in conjunction with responsible cleaning chemicals
• Actively pursuing a Gray Water solution for commercial laundry, which will result in an 80% reduction of wastewater discharge
• All native vegetation used for landscaping with minimal irrigation

Waste Minimization and Environmentally Responsible Purchasing

• Aggressive single-stream recycling program which includes in-room recycling
• Composting program for organic waste is in development
• Disposable wares for foodservice are corn-based, compostable plastics
• Garbage bags are made of bio-degradable plastics
• Reusable cloth bags for newspaper delivery
• Partnership with dry cleaner that recycles all hangers and plastic bags
• Preference given to vendors who deliver products in reusable containers
• Constantly changing menu that features locally grown produce and certified organic meats at the Jamieson Grille

Enhanced Indoor Environmental Quality

• State-of-the-art air flow system that circulates fresh air through the building constantly
• Green Cleaning program, using only Green Seal Certified. Low VOC cleaning solutions
• Low VOC paints
• Aerosol chemicals not used
• Use of high-quality mats to capture dirt and debris at all building entrances
• Quarterly change and monthly inspection of air filters to assure they are clean
• Vacuums feature HEPA filtration systems
• Use of micro fiber cleaning cloths to minimize the dust released during cleaning
• Generous use of glass to maximize the amount of natural sunlight to illuminate interior spaces and reduce utility consumption.
• Cleaning equipment are quiet in nature, resulting in minimal noise pollution

Performance Tracking and Reporting

• Green Team monitors and reports in utility consumption on monthly basis
• Particular focus on waste generation and recycling diversion statistics with 75% diversion
• Housekeeping and Engineering departments maintain accurate cleaning and maintenance logs for all powered equipment and spaces

Raising Awareness through Engagement

• Reusable shopping bag giveaways and reusable water bottle giveaways
• Public "Green Friday" events hosted by the resort's Green Team, showcasing different sustainable topics the last Friday of each month
• Guest communication through in-room printed piece and information television channel highlighting all of our environmental and sustainable initiatives and option for guests to "Make a Green Choice".

Make a Green Choice: This program provides stay-over guests with the daily choice to forego housekeeping services, supporting our green initiatives. In recognition for participating, guests receive a voucher which they may redeem for $5 off in participating hotel food and beverage outlets and in-room dining. Or, the guest may opt to redeem the unused vouchers at time of checkout for 500 SPG StarPoints (per unused voucher).