Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide – Chelsea Colby – 2014

Goals

Chelsea Colby spent the summer working with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The company had established a resource consumption curtailment goal of using 30 percent less energy and 20 percent less water by 2020 (“30/20 by 20”). 

Solutions

Over the course of a ten-week project, Chelsea proved the financial worthiness of business decisions designed to improve the energy and water efficiencies of Starwood’s properties. Analysis of specific energy and water efficiency projects (such as re-lamping, installation of low-flow water fixtures and occupancy sensors, as well as property-specific initiatives) began with the evaluation of key documentation including environmental audit reports, environmental property action plans and equipment purchase orders.  Exact usage and spending data for a representative sample of five properties was then compiled from various sources. Subsequent coupling of the data with properties’ key initiatives allowed understanding of the magnitude and timing of usage reductions. 

Potential Impact

To calculate the exact costs avoided, actual spending was subtracted from pre-efficiency spending rates multiplied by the occupied rooms each month. By measuring the impact of “30/20 by 20” initiatives at a characteristic cross-section of hotels as a proxy for the overall Starwood portfolio, Chelsea identified potential utility savings across the whole portfolio of nearly $130,000 per property, per year, which is, on average, 21 percent of utility costs observed between 2008 and 2014.