Southbury’s Cornucopia Among Connecticut’s Certified Green Lodgings

By John Voket

If you are looking for a quaint inn, or a hotel to rest your weary bones after an autumn day full of leaf peeping here in Connecticut, travelers now have the option of going green.

To date, there are 15 hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts participating in the Connecticut Green Lodging program, including Cornucopia at Oldfield Bed and Breakfast on Main Street North in neighboring Southbury. The innovative program is sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.

All lodging facilities participating in the program are redoing operations and gaining a marketing edge through energy savings, water conservation, green cleaning, and other environmentally sound practices. The latest property to “go green” is the Omni New Haven at Yale in downtown New Haven.

In addition to listings on the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection website —www.ct.gov/dep/greenlodging — and the www.CTvisit.com site run by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, these certified properties enjoy “eco” listings on the websites run by AAA and Expedia.

Certified properties can also use the program logo on marketing materials.

DEP Commissioner Amey Marrella believes a growing numbers of consumers, including families and conference planners, want to know that the hotel where they plan to stay is “green.”

“Whether the hotel implements energy efficiency methods, practices water use reduction strategies, or promotes reduce, reuse, and recycling practices, consumers feel confident knowing their hotel meets the criteria as a Green Lodging Certified Hotel,” Commissioner Marrella said. “This program also provides an opportunity for hotels to receive recognition and is an excellent marketing tool for participating hotels.”

Karen Senich, executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism agreed.

“The tourism industry is fully supportive of green initiatives — both for the good of the environment and for the good of guests and visitors along with the people who work at each certified venue,” Ms Senich said. “Educating our hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts on how to be green helps the industry to grow business while offering a great visit to their guests.”

The certification program began in May 2009, after environmentally progressive hotel owners contacted the Connecticut DEP and legislators requesting that Connecticut offer certification to state lodging facilities. Currently, 26 states have certification programs for lodging.

The Connecticut Green Lodging is a self-certification program based on accumulating points associated with environmental practices at lodging facilities. The points are recorded in the Connecticut Green Lodging Self-Certification Workbook.

Commissioner Marrella said no matter how green a facility is, there are always new ideas being added to the workbook and new goals for hotels to reach.

“A national network of green hoteliers provides updates on the latest in technology and practices,” she said. “As an added bonus, most of the operations described in the workbook also save money. In a challenging economy, every step toward efficiency helps, and acquiring Connecticut Green Lodging Certification benefits both the hotel owner and consumer.” 

A series of three workshops are being planned for October to teach hotels additional practices that will help them get certified. The schedule will be posted on the DEP’s website when the details are finalized.