Dubbed Africa's greenest hotel, Hotel Verde in Cape Town, South Africa, continues to set the benchmark for sustainability in hospitality. From its eco-conscious design to its daily operations, every aspect of the hotel is built around environmental responsibility. Sustainability is not just a feature, it's a continuous process, with systems regularly evaluated and improved to minimize environmental impact and promote green innovation.
Here are their specific sustainability practices:
Grey Water Recycling Plant / Pontas
Water from the showers and bathtubs and condensation from the HVAC fan coil units are drained to a state-of-the-art PONTOS grey water recycling plant where it is filtered and sterilised and then used for the flushing of the toilets saving up to 6000l per day.
Rainwater Harvesting
The rainwater from approximately three-quarters of the roof is captured, filtered and used for irrigation, car washing and the cleaning of hardscapes.
Energy Generating Gym Equipment
The gym is home to 3 different pieces of energy generating equipment, namely a bicycle, a recumbent bicycle and an elliptical machine. The equipment produces power while in use which is then fed into the building grid.
Efficient Heating / Cooling System
Hotel Verde's advanced system achieves extraordinary efficiency using a geothermal loop field coupled to ground source heat pumps for central heating/cooling and domestic water heating.
Orange Wall
The orange wall is made up of recycled glass and off-cuts from the construction of this building, making it elegant and sustainable.
Brick Pavement
The hotel has installed cool pavements that help mitigate the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, which occurs when cities or urban areas experience significantly higher temperatures than their rural surroundings due to human activities, infrastructure, and heat-absorbing materials like asphalt and concrete.
Photovoltaic Panels
It generates up to 52.8kW of clean energy and reduces their carbon footprint.
Elevators
Regenerative braking technology which allows them to recover energy on their "light" cycles, saving up to 30% of the energy that a conventional lift would use.
Dematerialisation / Cobiax Void Formers
Reduces the weight of the slabs as well as save concrete during construction.
Aquaponics / Vertical Garden
The hotel has its own small urban farming setup using aquaponic units that allow them to maximize on quality and quantity of what is grown
Recycling
All waste produced on site is recycled where possible
Mosaic Wall
Exemplifies the hotel's commitment to sustainability and artistic excellence, adding a unique feature to its eco-conscious design.
Wall Out Of Alien Vegetation
Reducing the demand for new, non-renewable building materials, lowering the environmental impact associated with sourcing and producing them
Vegetative Roof / Green Roof
Improves the air quality of the surrounding area as well as acts as a great form of insulation for the space below and reduces the heat island effect that roofs normally create.
Green / Living Wall
Greatly improves indoor air and environment quality while acting as a beautiful décor feature.
Plant Room
Hotel Verde's advanced system achieves extraordinary efficiency using a geothermal loop field coupled to ground source heat pumps for central heating/cooling and domestic water heating.
Eco-Pool
considers the environment as the water is kept sparkling clean by circulating it through a living ecosystem of water plants.
Composting
Food waste is removed by a separate commercial composting company who compost the food waste and sell it as their own product.A small portion of the food waste is kept and composted on site to provide the compost needed for the hotel's gardens.
Beehive
For beauty, honey harvesting and CSR.
Sustainable Room Amenities
Wind Turbines
that generate power used in the hotel
Learn More
To learn more about hotel verde's sustainability initiatives, visit https://www.verdehotels.com/