West Hill House is a Green Hotel

Environmental Improvement Status Report

November 2009

In endeavoring to protect the environment, reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce the use of toxic materials, West Hill House has, so far, made the following changes and improvements. (Note also below our Environmental Policy and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy statements.)

  • Replaced the oil boiler and two direct fired propane water heaters with a high efficiency condensing propane boiler and an indirect hot water tank heated by the same boiler. This change has not only reduced energy usage, it has also significantly improved the availability of hot water for our guests at peak times due to the much faster recovery performance of the indirect hot water heater.
  • Added in February 2009 a solar hot water pre-heating system on our south facing roof, designed to supply up to two thirds of our hot water year round, reducing our propane use further.
  • All non-dimmable light bulbs have been replaced with Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs). The subsidies provided by Efficiency Vermont made this change a very cost effective undertaking.
  • Outside lights are now controlled by photocells and/or timers to optimize usage. Some outside lights have subsequently been changed to LEDs for even more dramatic energy savings.
  • While West Hill House has evolved from an original building constructed around 1856 and was not designed to be energy efficient, we continue to make improvements to insulation. All glass is now double pane or single pane with a storm window. We have added an "air lock" at the front door to minimize drafts and escape of warmed air in the winter time. We have added insulation and sealed identifiable sources of drafts where feasible.
  • We have replaced most cleaning products with environmentally friendly cleaners and we continue to evaluate alternatives.
  • We recycle all items accepted for recycling by our Waste Disposal company. This list includes paper, glass, cans, and most plastics. All guest rooms have recycling bins to encourage guests to recycle where possible. Approximately one half of our garbage (by volume) is now reycled.
  • Guests visiting during the ski season now have the option of taking the shuttle bus to Sugarbush each morning and back in the afternoon, eliminating unnecessary car trips. This is both convenient for our guests and recognizes that starting a cold car in winter for a one mile trip is incredibly energy inefficient.
  • Our main company vehicle is now a Toyota Prius: after over one full year of operation coping with the hills of the Mad River Valley, our seasonal weather and doing mainly short trips it is averaging about 42 mpg, or 5.6l/100km. We have also been impressed by its performance in the winter – with good snow tires of course.
  • West Hill House was recognized in November 2008 as a "Green Hotel" by the Vermont Environmental & Regulatory Assistance Program.
West Hill House remains committed to taking ongoing actions to reduce our environmental impact, while continuing to provide an attractive place to relax in the beautiful Green Mountains for our guests.

Peter & Susan

Environmental Policy

West Hill House B&B is committed to protecting and supporting the environment, the health and safety of our employees and guests, and the community in which we conduct our business. It is our policy to seek and implement improvements throughout our business operations to lessen our impact on the local and global environment by conserving energy, water, and other natural resources; reducing waste generation; recycling and purchasing recycled products; and reducing our use of toxic materials. We are committed to pollution prevention, continual improvement and meeting or exceeding all environmental regulatory requirements.

We will accomplish this while maintaining or improving the experience for our guests staying at the Inn, and providing a neutral or positive ROI for our shareholders.

The Management team is committed to reporting annually on the steps taken to support this policy, and to publish this policy and relevant parts of the annual report on our website.

Adopted July 2008

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy

West Hill House B&B is committed to protecting and supporting the environment, the health and safety of our guests and our employees, and the community in which we conduct our business.

Our policy for environmentally friendly purchasing is as follows:

  • Purchase through a CSA at a local farm most of required vegetables; seasonal availability.
  • Purchase from suppliers in single larger orders cooperatively with other local businesses to minimize delivery costs and environmental impact of trucking, when possible.
  • Purchase bulk packaged items of dry goods to minimize packaging waste, when possible.
  • Research and use, where possible, products with reduced packaging, reduced environmental impact and use of post consumer waste.
The Management team is committed to reporting annually on the steps taken to support this policy, and to publish this policy and relevant parts of the annual report on our website.

Adopted October 2008