RHG Gets First LEED NET ZERO CARBON Certified Hotel

Radisson Blu Hotel, Bengaluru Outer Ring Road has become the first hotel in Radisson Hotel Group’s global portfolio to be awarded the prestigious LEED Net Zero Carbon Certificate by the US Green Building Council.

Issued by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), this top-level certification is reflective of Radisson Blu Hotel, Bengaluru Outer Ring Road’s excellence in building technology, control and operations and shows the many impactful steps, including investments in renewable energy and innovation, the hotel has taken to ensure a consistent reduction of its carbon footprint and helping propel the region forward in eco-friendly innovation. 

LEED Net Zero Carbon certification takes lessening the impact of buildings on the environment to the next level. For more than two decades, LEED has provided a framework for high performance buildings and spaces, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions through strategies impacting land, energy, transportation, water, waste and materials.

Building on that work, USGBC has developed LEED Zero, an addition to LEED that verifies the achievement of net zero goals in existing buildings.1 Radisson Blu Hotel, Bengaluru Outer Ring Road is the first hotel in Radisson Hotel Group’s global portfolio to achieve this significant milestone. 

On top of achieving LEED 4.1 O+M Existing Buildings Platinum Certification last year, to achieve this next-level certification, the hotel has fully offset its annual carbon emissions of 4,038 Metric Tons caused due to its transportation, electricity and diesel use.

This was done via a combination of strategies which included solar power plants (both on- and offsite), an onsite biogas plant and through the purchase of Gold Standard Verified Carbon Units for the remaining emissions.

The onsite and offsite solar power plant itself generates energy, which ensures that the hotel building is 100% powered by green energy and maintains net-zero energy consumption throughout the year.

Next to that, the hotel also operates to the highest standards of green operations which include: 

• Eco-Friendly Transportation Solutions: Most of the hotel’s cars used for guest commutes are EVs and in addition, these cars charge on site with electricity that is generated from the hotel’s solar plant.

• Effective Waste Management: To avoid using single-use plastic bottled water, the hotel has installed an in-house water bottling plant and refills glass bottles used in all guest rooms, restaurants and banquet facilities. This system alone has allowed to avoid more than a tonne of plastic waste every year.

• Full-Scale Rainwater Harvesting and circular water use: The hotel excels on minimizing water use. It has a robust rainwater capture, reuse, and recharge system in place. Over 40% of the roof area is used for storing in the rainwater sump and re-using the captured rainwater for domestic purpose through a softener plant. Next to that, the water used for the large on-site laundry is 100% circular. An ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) of 40 Kilolitres per day (KLD) has been installed to recycle all the hotel’s laundry water. 

• In-house bio-gas plant: Converts waste into biogas which is sufficient to fully supply the staff canteen for cooking purposes. The useful by-product of the process is high-quality organic sludge, which is further used to fertilize the gardens. This has allowed the hotel to completely move away from non-organic fertilizers and achieve 100% circularity as far as organic waste management is concerned, making it an industry first in the hospitality sector in India.