Alto Hotel Melbourne Green Star Accommodation

Environmental Initiatives - Australia's first carbon neutral hotel

Alto Hotel on Bourke is the first Melbourne CBD Hotel to receive the coveted EarthCheck Silver
Certification, and has been awarded several sustainability awards. Also the first city hotel in Australia
to offset all calculated carbon output and therefore be carbon neutral.
Environmental Sustainability Fact Sheet
Carbon
Carbon audit conducted by the Carbon Reduction Institute shows a one night stay at Alto
Hotel produces an average 11.8 kilograms of carbon, compared to the estimate for hotels as
set by Sustainable Tourism CRC of 24-26 kilograms
Electricity
100% of all electricity used is generated from renewable sources - we use only Green Earth
Electricity
95% of all lighting is based on energy efficient, FCL or LED globes
Rooms are fitted with energy saving key-tags that switch off lighting on leaving the rooms.
Our energy use (electricity & gas) is limted to 36.3 megajules per guest, per night
NABERS 6 star rating - (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) is a
performance-based rating system for existing buildings
Air-conditioners
Our A/C plant has a 6 star energy rating that uses inverter & movement sensor techology
Water
Rain water is used for public toilet cisterns, gardening and cleaning duties
Water flow restrictors to all showers and taps, 8 liters and 6 liters per minute, respectively
All toilets have a AAA rating. Our water use is limited to 123.1 litres per guest, per night
Gas

Hot water is heated "on demand" the energy savings of this is substantial
Carbon produced from gas use is offset via Origin Energy. Our energy use (electricity & gas)
is limted to 36.3 megajules per guest, per night

Windows
All windows are double glazed, heat reflecting and are able to be opened. Balcony glass
doors are heat reflecting and are 13mm thick, all this dramatically lowers air-conditioning use
Food

Select locally grown or produced items where practical

Honey from our own rooftop beehive & fresh herbs from our planter box garden

Toiletries
We have eliminated all plastic bottles for toiletries and replaced them with refillable, pumpaction dispensers. These dispensers will hopefully never see landfill and the shampoo,
conditioner and hand-soap used in them are biodegradable
Paper
Our Library works as a Book Exchange, enhancing the opportunity to have books read by
another bookworm
Newspapers are complimentary, but must be ordered in order not to deliver to those rooms
which may not want one
We use recycled or plantation timber paper on all printed items, copy-paper, toilet paper, etc
Waste
Waste is separated by Paper, Organic [vegetable], Plastic, Glass and General. Landfill is
limited to 3.9 litres per guest, per night
Organic [vegetable] waste is composted onsite and does not do to landfill. Used cooking oil is
collected and recycled into biodiesel
Transport
We use bio-degradable bin-liners and reuse all bulk containers
Complimentary recharging of electric vehicles from Green Earth electricity (100% renewable
resources)
Airport transfers in a hybrid limousine available - fee applies
Encourage guests to walk to most major attractions which are within 2-10 minute walk of hotel
Encourage guests to use public transport including airport shuttle bus, trams & trains all within
50-100 meters
Management initiatives such as:
Using recycled / refilled ink cartridges in all compatible printers
Using non-hazardous chemicals wherever possible
Submitting all energy, water and waste for benchmarking by outside agencies
First hotel in the Pacific region to use Saflocks biodegradable key cards made from
cornstarch. Even our pens are biodegradable
Guest involvement initiatives
Guest involvement is welcome, yet not necessary as most systems and initiatives are
designed to work automatically without any effort form our guests therefore to a point be
unnoticeable
Rooms are provided with dual-chamber waste bins - Our guest are encouraged to help by
separating their waste into recyclable and general waste
Guests are given the option not to have their toweling & linen changed daily
Green Team:
All environmental initiatives are team efforts, implemented by the ALTO GREEN TEAM and
supportedby everyone on the staff.
Green Team Members are:
Pippa Clarke
Jenny Trimboli
Gary Stickland
Robert Chester
Shane Hillard
Suzanne & Ricardo Krauskopf