Sustainable travel at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort Lake Placid, New York Adirondack Mountains

Green Meetings: All meetings & events held at the Golden Arrow are Green. What this means is that we use only "real" plate ware/glasses 7 cutlery to cut down on waste, any waste generated is properly recycled/disposed of, all of the paper goods (including the pens) are made of post consumer content & are recyclable. We have a paperless reservations system available for groups. We do not used bottled water, rather we serve it is carafes or pitchers. Our lighting is energy efficient. If meals are required we can count on Charlie's to supply organic, locally produced cuisine.

Guest Participation Required

In-Room Recycling Program: We give our guests the opportunity to actively participate in our sustainability programs during their stays. In each guest room is a recycling bag. We ask guest to place all of their recyclable materials into these bags so we can separate them and make sure they are properly disposed of. Since the programs inception in June of 2007, we have seen approximately 85% guest participation! THANKS! We could not do it without your help!

The Green Quiz: All around the resort, there are beautiful picture frames made of reclaimed roof slate by an artist in Vermont. Each of these frames contains an "environmental fun fact" about the resort. Guest are given a quiz and are asked to go all around the resort finding the answers in the frames. Guests who correctly answer the questions get an earth prize to take home with them.

The Mr. Green Coloring Book: This one is for kids. One of our staff created "Mr. Green". He is our mascot. Each page has suggestions of things guests can do at home to be more earth friendly.

Thanks for Bein' Green Gift Bag: Any guest who travels to the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort by foot, ski or hybrid car received a "Thanks for Bein' Green" gift bag upon arrival. Just show us your mode of transportation when you arrive and claim your prize.

2007 Christmas Card: In Christmas of 2006 we sent a Christmas card to all of our repeat guests. For every card that was returned to us in 2007, we pledged to donate $5.00 to the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Thanks to your participation, we were able to donate $755 to this worthy cause.

Sheet/Towel Reuse Program: This is not very original, and thankfully many hotels have something similar in place. It is something that guests are very familiar with and are comfortable participating in. It is also an easy was for them to help conserve while they are visiting with us.

Housekeeping

Green Cleaning Agents: We are on a constant search for green alternatives for our cleaning agents. Over the past three years we have diligently tried and tested a myriad of green products. Some have been wonderful, but others have fallen short of our high standards for cleanliness. We are still on the hunt to replace some disinfecting agents that we use with greener alternatives. If you have any suggestions, please call our Head of Housekeeping at (800) 582-5540 or send an email to info@golden-arrow.com Attn: Michele

Energy Systems: We are adding 15 new guest rooms which will come online in June if 2008. Each of these will have an in-room energy management system that will automatically turn down the heat or A/C in an unoccupied room. We hope to install this system in all of our rooms over the next few years. Until then, we rely on our guests to be conscientious when leaving their guest rooms. In unoccupied rooms, it falls upon the housekeeping staff to monitor the energy management. They take pride in doing their part.

Laundry: We fill our washing machines & dryers with full loads. When possible we use cold water to wash instead of hot. The laundry soap contains no phosphorous. All of our Washers & Dryers are the most efficient on the market

Back of the House

Formation of a Green Team: We created a green team here at the resort. The team consists of Peter, Heidi & Jenn Holderied (owners & operators), our Executive Housekeeper, Michele, The Ordering Guru, Amanda, & Charlie, the owner of Charlie's Restaurant. The purpose of the green team is to be environmental stewards & hold our suppliers responsible for providing us with the most sustainable products they can offer. We are proud to say that our entire staff of the resort continually look for new ways to improve our sustainability programs and often come up with our best ideas.

Light bulbs: Back in 2005 the local boyscout troop came to the hotel selling CFL Light bulbs for $1.00 each. (This is a program that is subsidized by Lake Placid). Their timing could not have been better. They showed up right after we formalized our mission to purchase green alternatives whenever possible. We told them we would be very interested in buying the CFLs from them. They asked up how many we wanted to purchase and we told them we wanted all of them! At this point the resort is about 95% converted (we only replace light bulbs as the old ones burn out). We buy all of our CFLs from the boyscouts every year.

Purchasing: In 2005 we switched all of our paper products (both back of the house and promotional materials) to 100% recycled content. Since then we have pledged to rank "greenness" of a product right up there with cost when we factor in which products to purchase. We are glad to report that it is getting easier every year to find the products that we need to run a resort. From the carpeting in our rooms to the pens we use at the desk, each item has been chosen based, at least in part, on how green it is.

Double Paned Windows, Low Flow Toilets & Shower heads: We have to be honest with you here. We have had these items installed for as long as we can remember. The initial motivation was not environmental concerns. It was monetary savings. Electricity in Lake Placid is relatively cheap, but water is very expensive. The low flow bathroom fixtures save us gallons of money each year. As to the double paned windows...anyone who has visited in the wintertime knows that in the Adirondacks, those are a necessity! It get COLD up here! The good news is, all of these things are also good for the environment.

Grounds & Maintenance

Complete Renovation of the Pool Area: Renovated in the fall of 2007, the plumbing in the pool was over 20 years old and not operating at its most efficient levels. We completely replaced the plumbing & heating systems to use both energy and water more efficiently. Instead of chlorine, we use bromine which is a less harsh but equally effective agent. We also replaced the decking with flagstone from a local quary.

Lobby Renovation: The renovation involved purchasing renewable materials, such as bamboo flooring, & using non toxic materials (for example the wallpaper glue was non toxic). We were also able to use some wood panelling that was reclaimed from our 2006 reconstruction of the restaurant. The wood panelling in the lobby was formerly the backing of the booths in our old restaurant, Goldberries.

Storm Water Management System & Oil Separator: In an effort to keep Mirror Lake pristine, we installed an extensive storm water management system who's job it is to keep pollutants from the building parking garages and roads out of the lake.

Road Salt: We live in a climate that can have some pretty messy roads in the winter months. Salt is a fact of life up here. So we were delighted to discover Safe Step, a 100% soluble salt like product that contains no hazardous chemicals and is much safer for the environment.

Community Service

Kids Earth Day Celebration: This Earth Day we honored the Earth by inviting the local kindergarten & preschool classes to participate in a free Earth Day program . Two of our Green-Minded crew organized & put on a huge event that included all kinds of sustainable crafts for the kids to participate in including making bird feeders out of pine cones, planting herb seedlings & making "litterbugs". The kids loved it and so did we! We hope to do it again next year!

Eco-Fair: This fair, taking place the last weekend in May, will have vendors providing organic foods, workshops on green living, a magazine exchange & live music! The goal is to put together eco-minded individuals together with sustainable suppliers and tips on going green. Visit the website at

www.ecofair-ny.com.

Village Clean-Up Day: The Golden Arrow was proud to have a team of employees participate in Lake Placid's annual Village Clean-Up Day. Don't worry, the staff did not labor for nothing. They were rewarded by being paid for thier voluntarily donated time!

Formation of a Green Tourism Council for NY State: We have been diligently working with our state officials, including DEC, EPA, NYSERDA, I LOVE NY & the Governor's office in conjunction with NYSHTA towards the creation of a Green Tourism Council for NY State. Currently there is not a centralized resource for businesses in the tourism industry to turn to when looking for help on how to "green" thier business. One of the goals of this council would be to achieve that & make it easy for businesses to operate more sustainably. We are pleased to report we have had amazing success & are working hard with these agencies on the formation of this council.

Charlie's Restaurant

Although Charlie's is independently owned & operated, we were lucky enough to partner with a company that regards the Earth in the same light as we do. Charlie agrees that we are lucky to be here & is committed to doing everything he can to operate his business as sustainably as possible.

Grease Capture: Charlie actually collects the grease produced by his restaurant & donates it to a farm nearby where they are building an engine that runs on grease.

Organic Menu/Locally Grown Foods & Wines: There is an entire section of the menu dedicated to organic foods. In addition the drink made in the T-Bar are produced with the finest, locally grown fruits. This summer he will expand the wine list to include organic wines & some bio dynamic organic wines.

Local Purchasing: One of the most challenging parts on living in the Adirondacks is the supply chain. As we do here at the Hotel, Charlie buys as much as he can locally.

Sustainable Materials: Charlie chose many sustainable materials in the design of his restaurant including bamboo flooring in the dining area & recycled tires for the patio flooring. He also chose to reclaim & revamp much of the kitchen hardware.

Green Catering: Charlie's caters most of the functions that take place in the Golden Arrow. He has agreed to make these events as sustainable as possible by using real china (no disposable plates/cups) & using organic, locally produced food stuffs when requested.

Green Cleaning: They use the least toxic cleaners allowable by the Department of Health in the kitchen, restaurant & bar.