Page 269 - The New Gold Standard

Sustainability and Stewardship
the director of engineering, notes, “In a nutshell, we’re cogener-
ating a quarter of our hotel’s electricity through compressed
natural-gas–fired microturbines. In the process we offset a por-
tion of our utility costs by generating electricity, but the big pay-
back is the tremendous amount of heat that comes from the four
turbines. That heat is captured by an absorption chiller. The
chiller takes hot air from the turbines and turns it into chilled
water, which takes care of the hotel’s cooling systems. It ends up
that we’re saving about $12,000 to $15,000 per month that we
would have normally paid if we hadn’t purchased this system.
From an environmental perspective, we are saving the amount
of electricity used by about 250 homes on a normal day.”
In some instances, the environmentally conscious practices
of Ritz-Carlton staff result in opportunities for guests to have a
very active and positive impact on the ecosystem. For example,
before the arrival of Hurricane Dean to the Yucatán Peninsula, a
number of guests were waiting to be evacuated as sea turtles
made their ill-timed arrival to nest on the hotel’s beach. Once
the guests were secured, staff members from different areas of
the hotel retrieved turtle eggs from 193 nests to protect them
from the threatening storm. These staff members worked for
hours to ensure the survival of a species that is in danger of ex-
tinction. As a result, they rescued 23,056 eggs and witnessed
baby turtles hatching before their eyes. The experience led to on-
going efforts on behalf of the sea turtle and the development of
a “Turtle Camp” for guests.
Luis de Dios Marin, a loss prevention officer who works the
night shift at the hotel, patrols the beach and is responsible for
the nesting process. Luis says, “I previously worked at another
resort down the beach, but when I heard about Turtle Camp at
the Ritz-Carlton, I knew I had to work here. At the other hotel,
we were responsible for protecting the eggs and the turtles from
the guests; here, the guests are educated and actively participate
in helping the turtles.” Luis continues, “Some guests ‘adopt’ the
eggs they rescue, and we send pictures to the adoptive parents

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