URBN Hotel Shanghai
With the Copenhagen climate talks underway, some local businesses in Shanghai are putting carbon-offsetting ideas into practice. CCTV reporter takes us to a low carbon hotel that offers an experience beyond traditional guesthouses.
Since its opening in 2008, the Urbn Hotel Shanghai has been committed to reducing or neutralizing all carbon emissions related to its operation. The hotel tracks the total amount of energy it consumes, including staff transport, food and beverage delivery, and the energy used by each guest, in order to calculate a carbon footprint. The hotel says it then neutralizes that footprint by investing in local "green" energy development and emission reduction projects.
Nicholas Parkinson-Bates, General Manager of the URBN Hotel Shanghai, said, "Our carbon emission is about 1,000 tons of CO2 per year. We are reducing that figure every year. We have consultants coming in regularly to ensure minimum pollution is created."
As what it says is China's first carbon-neutral hotel, Urbn Hotel Shanghai has also been trying to maximize its energy efficiency. It has installed things like a water-based air conditioning system, heat recovery ventilators, and roofing insulation.
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URBN Hotel Shanghai |
The hotel manager tells me that in the process of converting the former post office into the boutique hotel, they used mostly recycled materials from local or nearby sources. By doing so, the energy consumed in the restricting was minimized.
The hotel also encourages guests to use public transport, and lets them buy so-called carbon credits to offset their emissions, or pay to plant trees in deserts.
Jaime Casanova, guest, said, "I enjoyed my stay here. This hotel does make a difference. It's like staying at a small oasis, with these eco-friendly bamboo. It's an amazing place to stay, a relaxed place to chill."
Amazing comes with a big price tag that rooms can cost 15-hundred yuan per night in average. But the hotel claims it's been almost full for most of the two years it's been open.
