Scandic Hotel Byporten wins prestigious environmental award

Scandic Hotel Byporten wins prestigious environmental award Scandic Hotel Byporten, which opened for business in June 1999 at a central location in Oslo, has been awarded the prestigious 1999 European Hotel & Design Award for the most environmentally responsible hotel innovation. The prize is awarded by the international organization "Hotel Specification International" in co-operation with the International Hotels Environment Initiative (IHEI). "The most Environmentally Responsible Hotel Innovation 1999" The honour is awarded in recognition of environmental solutions adopted for both materials and operational efficiency. The hotel's energy system means that energy consumption can be reduced by 30 per cent. The hotel's resource-saving system is unique and will in the future be installed at hotels undergoing major refurbishment and in connection with the construction of new Scandic Hotels. A computerized system offers several alternatives for monitoring and optimizing energy consumption. For example, it is possible to set a maximum level of energy consumption during certain times of the day when energy costs are high and then allow the system to optimize the distribution of available energy. All rooms have a lower temperature when they are unoccupied. As soon as the guest enters the room, the temperature is raised from 17.5 degrees to 20 degrees. Guests can also adjust the temperature themselves using the remote control to access a menu on the television screen. The room temperature is automatically reduced during the day, when most guests are out, and at nighttime. In addition to a focus on energy consumption, considerable emphasis has been placed on using materials as efficiently as possible, by identifying solutions that reduce material requirements. Natural Norwegian stone known as Ottarskiffer has been used for the floors of the hotel. To reduce the pH value, this has been waxed using natural beeswax and citric acid, rather than using a more common, but less environment-friendly alternative. Most of the toys in the playrooms at the reception are made of wood. They have been painted with special environment-friendly paints to ensure that children do not come to any harm should they put the toys in their mouth or chew them. All the door handles are made of brass to avoid nickeliferous materials. Moreover, as the back of a standard mirror normally has a thin reflective layer containing mercury, which is known to be hazardous to the environment, Byporten has chosen to install special mirrors which use an aluminium coating instead. This alternative is considerably more expensive, but is better from an environmental perspective. Although not directly related to environmental issues as such, the extensive measures taken to improve the hotel environment for handicapped guests are nevertheless worthy of a mention, as much has been done to make Byporten a model hotel, including additional safety measures relating to fire alarms and fire protection. For example, in the event of a fire alarm, the beds start to vibrate to wake guests with impaired hearing. Also, handicapped guests can perform many functions using the television set's remote control. The key card is connected to the alarm so that reception staff can identify rooms occupied by handicapped guests and thus ensure their swift evacuation. Hotel Specification International is Europe's leading trade magazine, and focuses on design and development. The HotelSpec European Hotel Design and Development Awards are awarded annually to some of Europe's leading hotels. For further information, please contact: Ivar Villa, Business Area Manager Norway +47-90 85 56 10 Ola Ivarsson, Vice President, Environmental Affairs & Purchasing +46-8 517 350 29 "Scandic Hotels is the largest hotel operator in the Nordic region, with 131 hotels in 10 countries. Scandic´s strategy is to be a dedicated hotel operator. The company´s business mission is "to offer many people the highest value for money when staying in its hotels, during work and leisure." Scandic Hotels AB (publ). Box 6197, SE-102 33 Stockholm, Sverige. Phone: +46-8-517 350 00. Fax: +46-8-517 352 80. E-mail: info@scandic-hotels.com Internet: www.scandic-hotels.com Org. no.: 556299-1009 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/22/19991222BIT00710/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/12/22/19991222BIT00710/bit0002.pdf