A New York City Eco Friendly Hotel - InterContinental New York Barclay
The InterContinental New York Barclay practices the principles of the Triple Bottom Line: Economic Prosperity, Social Responsibility and Environmental Protection.  |  |
and planet!
Some highlights of our Sustainability Initiatives:
It's all about Bee-ing Sustainable:
Four colonies of honey bees checked into the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel's 15th floor rooftop to pollinate its garden and neighborhood flora. Bees are an endangered key biodiversity element. By introducing beehives to Midtown Manhattan, the hotel helps our community feel closer to delicate ebbs and flows of nature. The purpose of having beehives is to face our common responsibility toward biodiversity anywhere we are.
100% Wind Power
The Barclay is among the first New York City Hotels to be powered by 100% wind energy via renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Green Engage Meetings
The InterContinental New York Barclay is proud to offer green meetings and eco-friendly amenities to groups and meeting planners interested in minimizing the negative environmental impacts of a meeting while raising awareness in a positive and elegant way. The Green Engage Meeting serves sustainable food and beverages and offers team-building eco-opportunities to participants. To book a signature Barclay Green Engage Meeting, contact Tel. 212.906-3110, or email Barclaygs@ihg.com
Local, Natural and Organic
Striving to make our hotel as eco-friendly as possible, nearly all food offered at the Barclay is organic, seasonal, natural or local, including our popular Natural Power Breakfast.
The Barclay's Award-winning Concierge Program Supports Local initiatives:
Motivating New York's concierge community to become local leaders in sustainable hospitality is a focus of the Barclay's Chef Concierge Dominic Alfonzetti, who is also President of the New York Hotel Concierges Association. He leads such efforts among New York's hotel concierges to support such causes as Million Trees NYC, Mayor Bloomberg's Million Trees planting initiative.
On-site Composting:
The Barclay has acquired its very own composting machine, to make use of the valuable food scraps from the kitchen. The compost produced by the hotel serves in part its rooftop herb garden. In addition, the hotel is working with its vendors to further understand the valuable application of the compost by partnering with local parks and research groups to further test the viability of the compost topsoil.
Social Responsibility Programs:
Hatua Likoni.
The Barclay has initiated a support program in partnership with Hatua Likoni, a grassroots, youth led community organization based in Kenya. The organization is dedicated to alleviating poverty, under-education, and idleness among children and youth in Likoni, Kenya. Hatua Likoni fosters personal development and self sufficiency among young people while promoting economic development and civil society within Likoni.
The Barclay will host various fundraisers throughout the year and couple the organization within our corporate responsibility activities.
Thank you from Hatua Likoni
Thank you from Hatua Likoni
The East Side Community High School.
The Barclay has partnered with a local Eastside New York City High School and has created a mentoring and awareness program. Monthly interactive events increase students knowledge of various industries within Manhattan including Tourism, Consumer and Trade shows, Special events, and other areas of interest to the students. This five year program will help students to consider potential careers and to better understand the boundless opportunities that exist in New York.
Cleaning up a park in Harlem
Environmental Protection Initiatives
The hotel is committed to reducing its environmental impact and carbon footprint on the planet through the following initiatives:Energy:
- 100% wind energy supply
- CFL bulbs in 85% of hotel: guestrooms, meeting rooms and back of house
- Timers and dimmers for lights in all public areas to lower off-peak energy use
Local Purchase of Food:
- Natural Power Breakfast buffet featuring organic, sustainable, seasonal and local products in the Barclay Bar & Grill
- Changed to local, organic, natural food products/providers wherever possible
- All banquet menus include organic and local ingredients
- Planted a rooftop garden to produce our own herbs
- Installed beehives for bees to pollinate neighboring flora and the rooftop garden
Waste Management:
- Waste Management Program; recycling and composting
- Instituted use of bio degradable cleaning products and chemicals
- Installation of Quench water stations for staff
- All staff provided with reusable water bottles
- Elimination of disposable plates and cups in employee cafeteria
- On-site composting of food waste
Paper Waste:
- Utilization of Green Seal certified paper products in guestrooms
- Electronic guest bills with printed bills and folios upon request only
- All reservation confirmations sent by email
- Paperless internal meetings and reduction of unnecessary printing
- Double sided printing when possible for internal documents
- Offering staff option for paperless direct deposit paychecks
- Paperless staff BEO (Banquet Event Orders) and Group Resume distribution
- Paperless check-in process
Water Conservation:
- Linen/towel reuse option for hotel guests
- Installation of low flow showerheads in all guestrooms
Socially Responsible Initiatives
The hotel is committed to support communities locally, nationally, and internationally, as well as its employees with the following initiatives:Community Support:
- Formed mentoring partnership with East Side Community High School
- Partnership with Boys & Girls Club of Harlem to help widen horizons with special projects around United Nations General Assembly, Opening of InterContinental Hotel Moscow, cooking, neighborhood planting, etc.
- Built and donated 18 bicycles to the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem
- Conduct Annual Food Drives and Winter Coat Drives for New Yorkers in need
- Conduct Baby Supplies Drives for Safe Horizon, an organization focused on helping those affected by Domestic Violence in New York
- Partnership with City Harvest resulting in over 20,000 lbs of food donated
- Donated hotel sheets, food and money to Elmsford Animal Shelter
- Monthly volunteer efforts at the Food Bank of NY Soup Kitchen and Pantry
- Proceeds of each Midtown Express purchased at the Restaurant donated to Share our Strength, No Kid Hungry
Employee Support:
- Revamped hotel employee's cafeteria menus to encourage healthy eating
- Instituted "Weight Checkers" program for colleagues resulting in over 250 lbs lost
- Organize Health fair bi-annually for all colleagues
- Created Employee Running team who participate in Local and National Races and Charity Marathons
- National and International Support:
- Leftover shampoo, liquid soap and lotions donated to Clean the World, who sanitize and send them to various areas of the world in need of soap
- Donations of over $15,000 to various charities including CARE, CARE Haiti, Susan G.Komen, Imentor, Safe Horizon, Food Bank of NY, Share our Strength, Angelwish, Nature Conservancy and REACH in a partnership with IvyLife.
- Support of IHG's Shelter in a Storm programme
- Partnership with Hatua Likoni, a grassroots, youth led community organization based in Kenya to support alleviation of poverty, under-education, and idleness among children and youth in Likoni, Kenya
Hotel Committees:
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Touch-A-Heart:
supports worthy causes within our hotel, the local community and the world. -
Education:
dedicated to internal and external education and mentoring including partnerships with The Boys and Girls Club of Harlem, the East Side Community High School in New York City and Hatua Likoni School in Mombassa, Kenya. -
Healthy Living:
promoting a healthy lifestyle for employees with a focus on diet, exercise and smoking cessation. -
Sustainable Purchasing:
a critical review of all hotel food & beverage offerings emphasizing the purchase of local, organic and sustainable products and materials whenever possible. -
Go Paperless:
dedicated to minimizing print and paper waste. -
Green Hotel:
an overall initiative to decrease the Hotel's energy consumption and environmental impact. -
Responsible Meetings:
dedicated to incorporating various components of corporate responsibility into the execution of our meetings and events offerings.
