Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Virginia Green
Hotels & Lodging Facilities

Virginia Green
Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond
Richmond, 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.

Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond

The Hilton Garden Inn Richmond is a 250 room hotel developed from the 120 year old building that was the former Miller and Rhoads department store. The hotel features a full service restaurant and nearly 7,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

Virginia Green Activities

This facility pledges that they:
Offer optional linen service
- Change linens only upon request 
- Train housekeeping staff on our process for optional linen service  
- 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 
- Newspaper 
- Office paper
Other items recycled by the facility: 
- Cardboard 
- Other Activities: packing supplies

Reduce solid waste
- Track overall solid waste costs 
- Instruct housekeeping staff to save and reuse unopened items 
- Donate excess food from events 
- Have an effective food inventory control system to minimize waste 
- Use disposable foodservice items that are made from recycled content 
- Use non-bleached napkins and coffee filters 
- Provide condiments, cream and sugar, etc. in bulk 
- Use water pitchers to minimize the use of single-use bottles 
- Make double-sided photocopies and avoid making extra photocopies 
- Use electronic correspondence and forms when possible 
- Other Activities: Do not use stytofoam

Use water efficiently
- Track overall water usage and wastewater costs 
- Perform preventative maintenance to stop drips and leaks 
- Use water-flow metering to discover leaks and areas of high use 
- 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 installed automatic faucets or toilets in public restrooms 
- Have landscaping that utilizes native species 
- Use rain gauges and water meters and only irrigate when necessary 

Conserve energy
- Track overall energy bills 
- Have had an energy audit to identify efficiency opportunities within the past 12 months 
- Use natural lighting (i.e., open draperies and raise shades whenever adequate light from windows is available) 
- Have installed compact fluorescent light bulbs in all rooms and canned lighting 
- Have installed LED Exit Signs 

Offer a green events package
- Include the availability of "green meetings/conferences" in marketing packages (see the factsheet on Environmentally-Responsible Conferences & Events) 

Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond    Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond

For more information on Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Richmond, see www.richmonddowntown.com or contact John Cario at johncario2@hilton.com or 804-727-2107.

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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