How Hotel Verde Offsets Your Carbon Emissions During Your #SustainableStay

6 min readJul 10, 2023

We take pride in being kind to the planet, and allowing our guests to show kindness to Mother Earth when they enjoy a carbon-neutral sustainable stay at Africa’s Greenest Hotel.

But how exactly do we offset your carbon emissions during your stay at Hotel Verde?

Excellent question!

Award-Winning Green Design

First of all, the actual construction of our hotel was sustainable from the get-go, thanks to the help of our consultants, Ecolution Consulting, who partnered with Ecocentric on the LEED certification processes.

In fact, Hotel Verde is the first hotel in Africa, and the 6th globally, to receive LEED Platinum status for new construction. This internationally recognised green-building rating & certification system was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and audited by the GSBC (Green Building Certification Institute).

We have also received LEED Platinum for operations and maintenance, making us the first hotel globally to achieve double LEED Platinum certification. For the operation of the hotel we achieved a 6-star Green Star certification from the Green Building Council of SA. The sustainability strategy and certifications were guided by Ecolution Consulting.

Thanks to this, we can honestly state that Hotel Verde is the first hotel in Africa to offer accommodation and conferencing that is 100% carbon neutral and has since received multiple awards recognising our sustainable efforts and innovations.

Every element of the building design took into account efficiency, sustainability, and environmental impact. Care was taken in both active and passive design elements to ensure that we were doing the utmost to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality. This includes:

400 Photovoltaic Panels

Hotel Verde recently partnered with Trust Solar, a Cape Town-based solar PV company, to embark on a game-changing solar panel upgrade. This groundbreaking project has propelled our commitment to renewable energy to new heights, enabling the hotel to be completely off the grid during the day and feed any excess electricity back onto the Eskom grid.

With the addition of 180 new panels yielding an extra 100kW generation capacity, the upgraded solar panel system now boasts a total capacity of 158kW across 400 panels, a significant increase from the previous 58kW. This enhancement allows Hotel Verde to conserve a substantial amount of energy during the day, paving the way for a more sustainable future.

3 Vertical Axis Wind Turbines

Hotel Verde harnesses the power of wind with three vertical axis wind turbines. These turbines generate renewable energy, further reducing the hotel’s reliance on traditional power sources and contributing to carbon neutrality.

Energy Efficient Lighting

Our premises are equipped with energy-efficient lighting systems throughout the property. LED lights are used extensively, consuming less energy while providing optimal illumination. This reduces electricity consumption and lowers carbon emissions associated with energy use.

Building Management System

Hotel Verde utilises an advanced Building Management System (BMS) to monitor and control its heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation systems. This intelligent system optimises energy efficiency, ensuring minimal energy wastage and reducing the hotel’s carbon footprint.

Low-Flow Water Fittings

Water conservation is a priority at Hotel Verde. The hotel incorporates low-flow water fittings, such as faucets and shower heads, which reduce water consumption without compromising guest comfort. This sustainable approach helps conserve water resources and minimise the associated energy required for water treatment and distribution.

Double Glazed Windows

Our windows are double-glazed to enhance insulation and reduce heat transfer. This feature helps maintain comfortable indoor temperatures, reducing the need for excessive heating or cooling. By minimising energy usage for climate control, we reduce our carbon emissions.

Regenerative Drive Elevators

The Hotel Verde elevators feature regenerative drive technology, which converts kinetic energy produced during descent into electricity that can be reused within the building. This innovative system helps to offset energy consumption and decrease carbon emissions associated with elevator operations.

Rainwater Capture & Storage

We have implemented a rainwater capture and storage system. Rainwater is collected, stored, and reused for non-potable purposes, such as irrigation and toilet flushing. By utilising this sustainable water source, the hotel reduces its reliance on municipal water supplies and helps conserve resources.

Cobiax Void Formers

Cobiax void formers are lightweight, load-bearing components used in the construction of our hotel structure. These formers reduce the amount of concrete required, minimising the carbon emissions associated with concrete production. The use of Cobiax void formers contributes to the hotel’s overall carbon neutrality.

Greywater Recycling System

Hotel Verde employs a greywater recycling system to treat and reuse water from showers, sinks, and laundry facilities. This system diverts wastewater from the sewage system, reducing the demand for freshwater and decreasing the energy needed for water treatment and distribution.

Efficient Heating & Cooling System

Hotel Verde features an efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. This system utilises ground-source heat pumps, which tap into the stable temperature of the earth to provide efficient heating and cooling. By maximising energy efficiency in climate control, the hotel minimises overall carbon emissions.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE?

Join our DAILY ECO-TOURS (Monday — Friday at 11:00). Tours start from reception, and showcase our:

Energy efficiency initiatives
Carbon-offsetting measures
Geothermal ground loop
Recycling & waste management
AND MORE

Waste Management & Responsible Procurement

In addition to these physical components, we also implement extensive recycling initiatives and intelligent waste management, which sees us achieving up to a 97% recycling percentage monthly. We also do intensive work on the operations front to ensure responsible procurement.

Verdinos

To involve our guests in our sustainability initiatives and reward them for all the small things they do that add up to big energy savings and waste reductions in the long run, we also launched our Verdinos programme.

Hotel Verde guests can earn Verdinos in a variety of ways. Our wonderful receptionists will be able to give you the full list when you check in, but here are a few of the most popular ways to get rewarded at Hotel Verde:

Take the stairs instead of the lift
Correctly sort the waste in your room
Reuse your towels
Choose not to use additional pillows
Feed power back onto the grid by means of the power-generating equipment in the Hotel Verde gym
Take a walk or jog around the wetlands

HOW TO SPEND VERDINOS

One Verdino is currently equivalent to R5 and can be used anywhere in the hotel instead of real money to pay for things such as drinks at the bar or curios and snacks from the deli. In fact, you can also use it to offset your accommodation bill, or a meal at Nuovo Restaurant.