Novotel Queenstown Lakeside executive housekeeper and
environmental champion Sally Carr, with general manager Jim
Moore and operations manager Mirelle de Graff at the hotel
yesterday. Lights in the lobby, restaurant and outside the
hotel will be switched off for an hour from 8.30pm
tomorrow, observing Earth Hour 2010. Photo by Tracey
Roxburgh.
Queenstown's largest hotel will be one of the most
romantic spots in the resort tomorrow night as the Novotel
Queenstown Lakeside switches off all external and public
lighting in favour of candles to observe Earth Hour 2010.
Residents, businesses and visitors are encouraged to switch
off their lights and conserve as much power as possible for
an hour from 8.30pm tomorrow to support action on climate
change.
The Novotel, a 273-room property, has already demonstrated
its support for environmental sustainability: the hotel is
Green Globe certified and in the process of getting a
Qualmark enviro rating.
In August last year, the hotel became Green Globe certified,
which recognises Novotel's dedication to operating at the
world's highest environmental standard.
Before achieving certification, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside
successfully benchmarked using the Earthcheck tool against
key environmental indicators including energy and water
consumption, total waste production and community commitment.
Stewart Moore, chief executive of EC3 Global, the manager of
the Green Globe programme, said the Novotel Queenstown
Lakeside was a "prime example" of an organisation committed
to environmentally sustainable tourism.
"They have demonstrated through a variety of initiatives that
their business and its employees can make a difference by
reducing their environmental impact.
"The commitment they have shown by participating in the Green
Globe programme underpinned by Earthcheck science, and the
achievements they have made within the programme, set an
example for other businesses to follow."
Novotel Queenstown Lakeside general manager Jim Moore said as
a company, Accor took environmental sustainability "very
seriously".
"As a company we were put into the top 100 worldwide for
environmental sustainability projects ... It's been a large
focus of ours for a number of years.
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