Cape Town “green” hotel achieves world first

Hotel Verde has been awarded its second LEED platinum green building certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the first hotel globally to achieve a double platinum certification for LEED.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or LEED) is a voluntary (except when required by specific municipal programs, or in government buildings) program meant to objectively measure how “green” or environmentally friendly a building is in several key areas: impact on site, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The hotel is now one of just six hotels worldwide and the only hotel in Africa to have earned this accolade.

The hotel received its first platinum certification in May 2014 as a new construction for “green building design and construction category.” The second was awarded for the existing building operations and maintenance of the hotel, giving Hotel Verde its double platinum status.

The hotel is situated just 400m from Cape Town International airport, but what exactly makes it so green? It doesn’t come from the hotel’s quirky colours.  The picture below shows some of the innovations the hotel has taken to keep it green (click on the image to enlarge it).

 

During your stay, which will set you back around R1580 per night for the cheapest room, you’ll help in the following ways: