When creativity meets sustainability

"Each year, we present our teams with Sustainable Development Challenges," explains Justine Nadeau, Project Manager, Sustainable Development at Germain Hotels. “The most recent challenge focused on the circular economy. We undertook small but high-visibility projects, designed to get everyone thinking.”'

From coast to coast, departments draw on their daily routines to imagine better ways of doing things. And it's working! Some ideas are even being adopted by other hotels in the group. Most importantly, sharing these discoveries helps everyone move forward—and sparks new ideas along the way. 

Giving new meaning to ‘sheets of paper’  

Sabrina Bélisle, Operations Coordinator at Le Germain Charlevoix, is the hotel’s designated "sustainability champion." Ask what she’s working on these days and she lights up: "We have so many projects!"  

One idea that came to life recently is a collaboration with Papeterie Saint-Gilles in Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, Quebec. "We collect all the sheets and towels from the hotel, the spa and the pool that have reached the end of their life. They convert them into paper pulp, which is then made into paper that is used for the menus in our hotel restaurant. The fibres from the towels and bedsheets are blended together. Alt Hotel Québec and Le Germain Hotel Québec will soon take up the initiative as well.  

Thinking beyond the bin 

Lingeswaren Rama Moorthy, Director of Lodging at Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square, is passionate about finding new ways to reduce waste even further. “Composting is crucial, but we still throw away a lot. And that got me thinking.”

His team soon discovered Civil Pours distillery. “A large part of their business is based on a circular economy model. They make many of their syrups and liqueurs from ingredients that would otherwise be considered waste. So instead of buying more oranges, for example, they use peels or oranges that have already been pressed.” In addition to sending their citrus peels to the distillery, the hotel also features some of their products in their cocktails.

The hotel also collects coffee grounds and delivers them to the Toronto Islands, where the owner of The Island Café uses them to fertilize his garden. "He grows kale, which he then donates to a food bank," adds Lingeswaren.

The project that has him most excited at the moment? Transforming takeout food containers into coasters, through a partnership with Plastic Flux. “They collect containers and flatten them into plastic sheets,” he explains. “Then they use those sheets to create whatever they want — almost like 3D printing.” 

Fresh-picked greetings 

How do you give a second life to all the cardboard and paper that ends up in recycling bins? One novel idea was to turn it into plantable greeting cards.

While travelling in Guatemala, Nicole Morales, Director of Housekeeping at Escad Hotel Quartier DIX30, came across cards that could be planted to grow flowers. Once back home, she began looking for a local company that could develop something similar. Quebec City’s O’Malley et ses papiers proved to be the perfect partner, producing recycled paper embedded with seeds.

“We can make a whole range of plantable items, like place cards for the banquet teams, menus, and more. A QR code explains how to plant the item afterward.” All hotel staff have been trained to carefully sort paper products for recycling. “We have a dedicated box. Once we’ve amassed a critical amount, we send it to O’Malley et ses papiers.”

At Christmas, some hotel guests received plantable greeting cards made from recycled key-card holders, old order forms, and other papers from the hotels. It’s a fresh way to help even more creative ideas take root [alt: bloom]! 

Learn more about the sustainability initiatives at Germain Hotels.