Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Virginia Green
Hotels & Lodging Facilities

Virginia Green
Best Western Chincoteague Island
Chincoteague Island, VA

Virginia Green is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s campaign to promote environmentally-friendly practices in all aspects of Virginia’s tourism industry. Virginia Green has established "core activities" specific to each sector of tourism, and these practices are considered the required minimum for participation in the program. However, Virginia Green encourages its participants to reduce their environmental impacts in all aspects of their operations, and this profile provides a full list of all their “green” activities. These are the activities that guests / customers can expect to find when they visit this facility.

Best Western Chincoteague Island

Our hotel provides a welcoming retreat for travelers with beautifully appointed guestrooms and customer service beyond compare. Many of our guestrooms have a view of the Assateague Lighthouse as we are located next to the entrance of Assateague Island with a wildlife refuge and national seashore.

Our hotel decided to join Virginia Green to help share the word with environmentally conscious guests that we also are doing our part to help conserve and protect this wonderful world God has provided us for our generation and those to come.

We have worked to save on water conservation before it was even popular with a linen program. Best Western has also implemented a cleaning program to help conserve on cleaning agents as well as amenities with guest driven service requests - our guests decide what type of service they need while here. Our landscaping is a source of great pride and we use numerous plants native to the area.

Virginia Green Activities

This facility pledges that they:
Offer optional linen service
- Have signage in each guest room explaining the linen reuse procedures 
- Change linens only upon request 
- Train housekeeping staff on our process for optional linen service  
- Purchase water- and energy-efficient washers and dryers 
- Use non-phosphate, non-toxic and biodegradable laundry detergents 
- Minimize the use of bleach and chlorinated chemicals 

Recycle
- Have in place clearly marked recycling bins or provide convenient drop-off locations for guests to recycle: 
- Glass Bottles 
- Plastic Bottles 
- Aluminum cans 
- Steel cans 
- Office paper
Other items recycled by the facility: 
- Printer/ copy machine toner cartridges 
- Fluorescent lamps 
- Batteries 
- Electronics equipment such as computers, etc. 

Reduce solid waste
- Track overall solid waste costs 
- Instruct housekeeping staff to save and reuse unopened items 
- Have an effective food inventory control system to minimize waste 
- Use disposable foodservice items that are made from recycled content 
- Use bulk soap dispensers in public restrooms 
- Purchase recycled-content paper-towels and toilet paper 
- Remove facility and staff names from junk mail lists when possible 
- Reuse scrap paper for notes 
- Reuse or donate shipping and packing supplies (peanuts, bubble wrap, etc.) 
- Purchase recycled paper with a high-percentage recycled content 
- Make double-sided photocopies and avoid making extra photocopies 
- Use electronic correspondence and forms when possible 
- Use green cleaning products that are dispensed in bulk 
- Use latex, low or no-VOC paints 
- Re-use paint thinners 
- Properly recycle and/or dispose of thinners and solvents 
- Perform preventative maintenance on all appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, and vehicles 
- Minimize use of pesticides and herbicides in landscaping 

Use water efficiently
- Track overall water usage and wastewater costs 
- Perform preventative maintenance to stop drips and leaks 
- Have installed high efficiency dishwashers 
- Have installed low flow faucets and showerheads (use less than 2.5 gallons per minute) 
- Have installed low flow toilets (use 1.6 gallons per flush or less) 
- Have landscaping that utilizes native species 
- Use rain gauges and water meters and only irrigate when necessary 
- Have installed pervious pavement to reduce storm water runoff 
- Have minimized impervious areas (paving, concrete, etc.) 
- Have installed rain barrels 

Conserve energy
- Track overall energy bills 
- Have individual thermostats for each room; ensure they are correctly adjusted 
- Regularly perform preventative maintenance on HVAC system 
- Have installed a high efficiency HVAC system 
- Keep office doors and windows closed if HVAC system is on 
- Use natural lighting (i.e., open draperies and raise shades whenever adequate light from windows is available) 
- Have adopted a policy/practice to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms 
- Have installed compact fluorescent light bulbs in all rooms and canned lighting 
- Use ENERGY STAR qualified appliances (commercial kitchens, heating and cooling, consumer electronics) 
- Use ENERGY STAR qualified office equipment (computers, monitors, copiers, printers, etc.) 

Best Western Chincoteague Island    Best Western Chincoteague Island

For more information on Best Western Chincoteague Island, see www.chincoteague-hotel.com or contact Dawn Birch at dawn@chincoteague-hotel.com or 757-336-6557.

For more information on the Virginia Green program, see www.deq.state.va.us/Programs/PollutionPrevention/VirginiaGreen.aspx.

Virginia GreenVirginia Green is a partnership supported by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Hospitality & Tourism Association, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

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