Leading by Example

With the USGBC accolade of the highest number of LEED Platinum hotels in the world, ITC Hotels pioneers a unique blend of sustainability and luxury.

OR A LONG TIME, ITC Hotels’ commitment towards the environment has appealed to discerning guests, who are becoming increasingly aware of their duties towards the planet’s well-being. In a decisive endorsement of its values, ITC Hotels has become the first and largest hotel chain in the world with the maximum number of properties accorded the highest rating of LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The distinction is hardly a surprise, given the group’s decade-long credo of ‘Responsible Luxury’—an ethos that integrates world-class green practices with contemporary design elements to deliver the best of luxury in the greenest manner.

In a post-pandemic world, travel and hospitality have taken on new meanings. In a first for the industry,

FITC Hotels has launched the WeAssure programme, which assures guests of sanitation, hygiene, safety, and infection-control practices with an accreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH). It has also partnered with DNV GL–Business Assurance, one of the world’s leading business certification bodies, to ensure stringent clinical levels of hygiene and safety at its properties. Not only have all ITC hotels been certified LEED Platinum, Welcomhotel properties in Bengaluru, Coimbatore, and Amritsar have also joined the league. Welcomhotel Amritsar is Punjab’s first LEED Platinum-certified hotel, thanks to an array of sustainable initiatives that range from reducing water consumption to using solar panels.

Nakul Anand, executive director–ITC Limited, says, “ITC Hotels has been a trailblazer in sustainability—from pioneering the Clean Air initiative to making all its properties free of single-use plastic. As per USGBC, ‘built to LEED’ or ‘LEED equivalency’ doesn’t exist—there is no substitute for the certification. Our ‘Namaste’ logo too embodies our commitment to Responsible Luxury— silent yet powerful, distant yet connected, embodying within itself oneness of the soul. Service can and must always touch the heart.”

Sticking to the ethos of ‘Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse’, ITC Hotels has never shied away from taking drastic measures to preserve ecosystems and reduce its carbon footprint. It was the first hotel chain in 2007 to offer water in glass bottles, Sunya Aqua, instead of plastic bottles. It’s no wonder that ITC Hotels remains a favourite among conscious travellers from India and abroad. itchotels.in ―

ITC Grand Bharat at Manesar is high on sustainability and has a menu for diners.

Goa’s First LEED Platinum property, ITC Grand Goa, has dedicated 36.8 per cent of its site area to native vegetation.