IHG® Green Engage Provides Hotels with a Streamlined Approach to Achieve Important Sustainability Certifications

ATLANTA, Feb. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®) today announces that IHG Green Engage, the online sustainability program used by more than 2,600 IHG-branded hotels worldwide, is now recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council under its LEED® Volume program and Green Key Global (GKG) as providing streamlined pathways to certification. IHG is the first hotel company to provide an approach to precertification for new-build hotels under the LEED 2009 for New Construction rating system. This is IHG's second LEED designation – IHG was also the first hotel company to provide LEED precertification for existing hotels.

Globally recognized sustainability certifications like LEED and GKG could ultimately improve hotels' bottom line, as government and corporate clients increasingly request hotels' environmental credentials through the Response for Proposal (RFP) process. IHG Green Engage provides an accurate and streamlined approach for responding to RFP questions on sustainability by helping hotels track their carbon footprint; energy consumption; water consumption; and waste diversion rate. The IHG Green Engage program easily feeds this information into the RFP format for hotels.

"Our research shows that over 70 percent of frequent travelers prefer hotels that are engaged with their environment, and we expect a growing number of guests who want to book greener hotel rooms," said Paul Snyder, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, IHG. "We are the only hotel company to build a comprehensive environmental management system for our hotels, helping them drive revenue through sustainability, and, ultimately, traveler preference. LEED and GKG are well-respected industry certifications and a 'stamp' of approval that highlight hotels' 'green' achievements. We are proud to be recognized by both organizations for helping our hotels obtain certification."

The IHG Green Engage program assists IHG-branded hotels in meeting and tracking several of the LEED and GKG metrics, providing an expedited pathway to certification. LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle recognizing best-in-class building strategies.  The Green Key Global certification is an Eco-Rating Program that evaluates, inspects and certifies hotels based on their commitment to sustainable "green" operations.

"On average, energy is the second largest cost to hotels, and we need help managing this challenge," said Robert Lamoureux, general manager, Holiday Inn® & Suites Windsor. "Through IHG Green Engage, we have been able to easily track our progress in becoming more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable with the added benefit of achieving significant cost savings. The Holiday Inn & Suites Windsor is also a GKG certified hotel, which is recognized by government and corporate clients, and has helped us grow our group bookings business."

A key feature of IHG Green Engage is over 200 Green Solutions that hotels can implement to reduce their environmental impact and achieve energy savings of up to 25%, approximately $90,000 a year for an average hotel. IHG recently announced that IHG Green Engage hotels exceeded the three-year target (2010-2012)¹ to reduce energy, per available room, by between 6% and 10% in the managed and owned estate with a reduction of 11.7%.  IHG also reduced the carbon footprint across the global estate by 11.7%, per occupied room, over a two-year period (2011 and 2012)². The new IHG Green Engage targets for 2013 – 2017³ include reducing carbon footprint, per occupied room, by 12% across the entire portfolio; and reducing water use, per occupied room, in water-stressed areas by 12%.

There are currently five LEED certified and 124 GKG certified IHG-branded hotels. IHG Green Engage hotels can now take advantage of this streamlined pathway to GKG certification, at a discounted application cost. Hotel general managers can enroll in IHG Green Engage at greenengage.ihg.com. IHG Green Engage is suitable for IHG's 4,600 hotels, across its nine hotel brands, including InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza® and Holiday Inn®. More than 50% of IHG's global hotel portfolio is already enrolled in IHG Green Engage.

For more information and to read IHG's current Corporate Responsibility Report, please go to ihg.com/responsibility.

¹ Against a 2009 baseline
² Against a 2010 baseline
³ 2013-2017 targets includes all owned, managed and franchised hotels on IHG Green Engage

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo® Hotels, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express® Hotels, Staybridge Suites® Hotels, Candlewood Suites® Hotels, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 74 million members worldwide. The program was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet for Elites across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and 678,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects IHG-branded hotels to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

About the U.S. Green Building Council

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building program, robust educational offerings, a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the Center for Green Schools and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities. For more information, visit usgbc.org, explore the Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG) and connect on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About LEED

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings. Every day, more than 1.5 million square feet of space is certified using LEED. More than 57,000 commercial and institutional projects are currently participating in LEED, comprising 10.5 billion square feet of construction space in 147 countries and territories. In addition, more than 50,000 residential units have been certified under the LEED for Homes rating system. Learn more at usgbc.org/LEED.

About Green Key Global

Green Key Global is a leading environmental certification body offering a suite of sustainability programs designed specifically for the lodging industry. For more than 15 years its flagship program, the Green Key Eco-Rating Program, has been evaluating, inspecting, and certifying hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable "green" operations. In support of this, Green Key Global simultaneously educates members on the value these initiatives have on an economic, environmental and social level. The Green Key Program and its sister program, the Green Key Meetings Program, are comprehensive environmental audits that allow facilities to benefit on several fronts – cost savings, increased bookings from conscious consumers and meeting planners and responsible corporate citizenry. In the United States Green Key is a joint partnership between the Hotel Association of Canada and LRA Worldwide, Inc. For more information please visit www.greenkeyglobal.com.

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group

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