FAQs
- What is Green Seal? Green Seal Inc., an independent not-for-profit organization, certifies lodging properties that represent leadership in reducing their impact on the environment and human health. Founded in 1989, Green Seal develops environmental standards and certifies the products and services that meet those standards. The Green Seal logo on a product or service means that it has gone through a stringent process to reduce its impact on the environment and human health.
As a Green Seal-certified hotel:
- We have been independently certified by a national organization
- We care about the health of our guests, our staff and the planet.
- We have reduced our carbon footprint, and much more.
- We have reduced our energy and water use, our waste and our use of chemicals and disposables.
- We recycle and use environmentally preferable products.
- Our housekeeping staff uses safer cleaning products.
- What does the Green Seal mean to a hotel? It means that the hotel has met the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Lodging, GS-33. The standard includes stringent environmental requirements in waste minimization, energy efficiency, water conservation, wastewater management, and environmentally responsible procurement. Certification means that the hotel has been evaluated according to Green Seal's science-based procedures, without bias or conflict of interest, and earned certification by a national program.
- How long has the program been active? Green Seal worked with the American Hotel & Lodging Association to develop our Greening Your Property Handbook in 1996. The first edition of GS-33, its Green Lodging Standard, was published in 1999 and the first hotels were certified against it in 2001. The standard was updated in 2008 to include Bronze, Silver and Gold levels,
- How many Green Seal-certified hotels are there? There are currently 81 certified properties in 24 states. Only 15 other California Hotels have the Green Seal Certification. (as of November 2011)
- Who can get certified ? Any facility offering accommodations to travelers. These typically include Hotels, Motels, Resorts and Bed and Breakfasts.
- How does a hotel become certified? Green Seal's certification process involves an in-depth review of the hotels' purchasing records, processes and procedures. It also includes an on-site audit of the property. Annual monitoring is required to maintain certification.