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Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Virginia Green
Hotels & Lodging Facilities

Virginia Green
Wintergreen Retreat
Wintergreen, 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.

Wintergreen Retreat

The Wintergreen Retreat is a vacation rental home within the Wintergreen Resort in Virginia, set among the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our family enjoys the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and we try to do our part in minimizing waste.

We are actively looking into cork recycling at our property. We also enjoy promoting the purchase of locally grown products and try to incorporate local artwork as much as possible.

Virginia Green Activities

This facility pledges that they:
Offer optional linen service
- Train housekeeping staff on our process for optional linen service  
- Purchase water- and energy-efficient washers and dryers 
- Minimize the use of bleach and chlorinated chemicals 

Recycle
- Plastic Bottles 
- Newspaper 
- Office paper
Other items recycled by the facility: 
- Cardboard 

Reduce solid waste
- Track overall solid waste costs 
- Use bulk soap dispensers instead of individual soaps/shampoos in guest rooms 
- Instruct housekeeping staff to save and reuse unopened items 
- Perform preventative maintenance on all appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, and vehicles 

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 toilets (use 1.6 gallons per flush or less) 
- Have landscaping that utilizes native species 
- Have minimized impervious areas (paving, concrete, etc.) 

Conserve energy
- Track overall energy bills 
- Have installed ceiling fans 
- Have installed ENERGY STAR-rated windows and doors 
- Regularly perform preventative maintenance on 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) 
- Use lighting sensors to turn on/off lights 
- Use occupancy sensors to turn on/off lights 
- 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.) 
- Have adopted a policy/practice to turn off fans, computers, monitors and other devices in unoccupied rooms at the end of the workday or when otherwise not being used 
- Purchase Green Power from utility 

Offer a green events package
- We do not host conferences or events 

Wintergreen Retreat    Wintergreen Retreat

For more information on Wintergreen Retreat, see www.WintergreenRetreat.com or contact Nathan Van Orden at nathan@wintergreenretreat.com or 240-388-6001.

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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