ECOTELS


	Four Hilton Hotels in Japan Awarded the ECOTELŽ Certification
	Hilton International in Japan becomes the first hotel brand to attain the certification for all of its hotels in one country. The Hiltons Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Otaru now join the Hilton Tokyo Bay (certified in 1998) as members of the collection for environmentally responsible hotels. Click on any of the hotel photographs below to go to that hotel's home page. Click here to read the press release announcing Hilton Japan as the First ECOTELŽ-Certified Hotel Chain in the World Click here for contact information for each of the Hilton Japan hotels.
	Hilton Tokyo	Hilton Nagoya
	Hilton Osaka	Hilton Otaru
	Hilton Japan Becomes the First ECOTELŽ-Certified Hotel Chain in the World Tokyo, Japan, December 13th, 1999 -- Hilton International's Vice President - Japan, East Asia and Micronesia, Manfred H. Pieper announced that Hilton Japan became the first hotel chain in the world to receive the ECOTELŽ Certification, a third-party endorsement of a hotel's environmental character. Four Hilton Hotels, namely Hilton Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Otaru were awarded ECOTELŽ certification on December 13th, 1999. Four Hilton Hotels, namely Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Otaru respectively received three ECOTELŽ Globe Awards in the categories of environmental commitment, solid waste management, and employee education & community involvement. Hilton Tokyo Bay was awarded with the same three globes as the first ECOTELŽ in East Asia in April 1998. Now Hilton Japan is the only hotel chain among the ECOTELŽ collection who has all hotels certified in one country. The ECOTELŽ Certification has been established by HVS Eco Services, a US based environmental consulting firm dedicated exclusively to the lodging industry and a division of HVS International. HVS Eco Services creates practical, cost-effective environmental programs to upgrade the environmental performance of existing and developing hotels, resorts, and lodges. HVS Eco Services solicited the help of many environmental and hospitality experts to develop more than 100 pages of criteria for the ECOTELŽ Certification. The ECOTELŽ certification requires such high levels of accomplishment of the criteria as to only 39 hotels and lodging facilities worldwide were awarded the ECOTELŽ certification out of nearly 1,000 applications. The ECOTELŽ Certification consists of five Globes, each individually awarded for excellence in the five most commonly recognized areas of environmental conservation: environmental commitment, solid waste management, energy efficiency, water conservation & preservation, and employee environmental education & community involvement. Only the hotels that demonstrate the highest level of environmental responsibility and meet certain requirements are awarded the ECOTELŽ Certification. Since January 1999, the above four Hilton Hotels have taken a series of steps to comply with ECOTELŽ Certification guidelines. Under the guidance of James Falbey, Chief Engineer of Hilton Japan and Director of Engineering at Hilton Tokyo Bay, each hotel has set up a solid waste management program that focuses on reducing the amount of waste the property produces and reusing as many materials as possible. An extensive recycling program was implemented to recover plastic, glass, metal, cardboard and paper. The hotels have also refined their purchasing guidelines by advocating the use of paper products that consist of at least 20% post-consumer content (PCC). Green Team was organized at each hotel consisting of at least one front line representative from each department. The purpose of this Green Team is to maintain the integrity of the existing recycling programs, while continually thinking of new ways to enhance the environmental responsibility of the hotel operations. All of the hotel staff were trained on the global and local environmental issues and operating procedures through General Environmental Orientation (GEO) sessions. While the four Hilton Hotels will continue their efforts to keep up the level of their environmental activities, Hilton Tokyo Bay will be aiming to receive the remaining two globes next year, that is, Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation & Preservation. If this is realized, Hilton Tokyo Bay will be the fifth five-globe ECOTELŽ in the world. Hilton, the world's best known hotel brand, manages nearly 500 hotels in more than 50 countries including city centre hotels, hotel casinos, resorts and airports. Hilton is operated through a worldwide alliance between Hilton Hotels Corporation and Hilton International Co., a subsidiary of the Hilton Group PLC. Both companies are recognized as leaders in the gaming and hospitality industries.