2023 Sustainability Report - Guest Services, Inc.

2023 Sustainability Report

Guest Services’ sustainability program, “ourPlanet,” is designed to encourage employees to think about their actions as affecting their whole environment, both at work, and outside of work.

The “ourPlanet” program focuses on the three Rs of environmental sustainability:

• Reducing consumption when possible

• Reusing items if possible

• Recycling or composting items that cannot be reused or saved through reducing use.

Most at-work initiatives focus on how employees’ actions affect their customers, or their company.

The “ourPlanet” program goes further by increasing employee awareness that their actions at work, whether in conserving energy, reducing food waste and other resource use, or recycling, can affect every aspect of their lives, and their families’ lives.

We invite you to read below about the 2023 “ourPlanet” program successes at our more than 135 locations.

2023 Initiatives

REDUCE—OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Bulk Amenities

We enhanced our sustainability program by rolling out a program to replace single-use lodging amenities with bulk amenities. We have continued to add properties and by the end of 2022 all lodging properties were participating in this program.

Ionized Water

We are currently utilizing a new system for cleaning using ionized water. This system cuts cleaning chemical use by over 25% in the average lodging facility. It is non-toxic and only uses a small amount of electricity, while releasing no chemicals into the environment. This system is currently used at four Guest Services hotels and lodges, and by the end of 2022 should be installed at all Guest Services managed lodging facilities.

Single-Use Plastic

Guest Services committed to ending the use of single-use plastic at all properties. The initiative stopped distribution of single-use plastic bags and drink stirrers at 100% of the units in which Guest Services operates. In addition, we continued our “Skip the Straw” initiative to reduce the use of single-use straws across the portfolio.

Charging Stations

We have invested in charging stations at many of our managed properties including Bear Mountain Inn, The Marbella Pelican Bay and DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Naples, Florida.

In addition, there are plans to add additional charging stations at many of our condo properties in Florida.

LED Lighting

Guest Services has been replacing conventional bulbs with LED bulbs, wherever possible, saving 70% of electricity compared to conventional bulbs.

Non-Carbon Dioxide Electricity Sources

Guest Services seeks to purchase electricity for its heavy electricityconsuming units from non-carbon dioxide buying sources. Guest Services buys over 40 percent of its electricity from non-carbon energy sources, substantially reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere compared with conventional electricity-generating sources.

Solar Power

At Guest Services, we have instituted various opportunities at our units for use of alternative electricity sources. For example, at Everglades National Park we currently use solar power for hot water and have installed solar lights in our eco-tents that are on property.

Electronic Records – Paper Saving Systems

Guest Services’ initiatives have lowered paper consumption by more than 870,000 sheets a year. We continue to commit to eliminating paper waste whenever possible.

Our Human Resources Department has migrated to 100% electronic job applications and hiring paperwork saving more than 326,000 sheets a year.

Our lodging facilities continue to utilize a paperless check-out system. This saved an additional 86,100 sheets a year.

Corporate and regional accounting have committed to migrating more vendors to ACH and P-Card payments to decrease the amount of paper checks being cut.

In addition, many units have been able to reduce normal paper usage by 50% simply by going digital on daily sales reports.

Instead of two copies of cash reports units can now upload onto the shared drive. Just one hard copy is retained in the unit for 13 months.

Use of Recycled Paper

Guest Services uses 30 percent recycled content paper whenever possible. In 2023, more than 22 million sheets of this recycled paper were used, reducing the demand for the resources used in producing virgin paper. Thirty percent recycled paper saves 7 trees per ton of paper compared to virgin paper; recycled paper also consumes 10 percent less energy and 10 percent less water to produce than virgin paper.

Guest Services continues to increase its use of 100 percent recycled disposable napkins and bathroom paper towels. These purchases save more than 50 percent of the energy used in producing virgin paper products. Packaging is also reduced, saving the equivalent of 543 trees, and 4.8 tons of plastic in a year.

Sustainability Progress Report

The DoubleTree Suites hotel tracks energy and water consumption to test the efficiency of its sustainability programs. This program at the DoubleTree has reduced water consumption by almost 64 percent over the past five years.

Responsible Purchasing

Purchasing environmentally-friendly products reduces demands on the environment. For each category of purchasing (for example: uniforms, cleaning supplies, equipment or food products), Guest Services has a Managed Order Guide (MOG), which functions as a catalog for the operating units.

By company policy, units are encouraged to purchase those items that are identified in the MOGs as environmentally friendly. The MOGs are continually updated to maximize the number of environmentally friendly items available, and those items are highlighted for easy reference. Eighty percent of Guest Services’ units currently participate in this environmentally friendly purchasing program.

Among the MOG enhancing sustainable practices is the EcoSmart™ program. The EcoSmart™ program has reduced total waste, carbon dioxide production, and fossil fuel emissions by 61 percent below the amounts generated by using conventional paper and disposable products. Another example is the MOG for cleaning supplies, which promotes the use of Ecolab’s “Apex” cleaning system and products in all units. The Apex products use non-caustic chemicals, and 90 percent less packaging material than conventional dishwashing products. Guest Services’ use of the Apex system and products produced the following reductions in 2023 (versus use of conventional cleaning products):

• 3,596 pounds less plastic waste in cleaning product packaging;

• 702,693 fewer gallons of water consumed;

• 9,426 fewer therms of natural gas consumed;

• 50 metric tons less carbon dioxide emitted.

This is in addition to the reduction of chemical products from the use of ionized water, as noted previously.

CULINARY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Under the direction of our Purchasing Department, Guest Services is reducing the environmental impact of the company’s food service operations. In 2023, we:

Continued implementing our Sustainable Seafood program. We use the Marine Stewardship Council’s guidelines to offer our guests quality sustainable seafood. Through agreements with our seafood purveyors, we not only have access to sustainable seafood, but are able to support their Local Abundance education efforts, as well as their GreenFish Projects that help with the Carbon FishPrint System. In 2023, we served more than 25.3 tons of sustainable seafood to our guests.

• Implemented our Dolphin Safe canned-tuna program where we utilize only Albacore and Tongol tuna that are harvested in a dolphin-safe manner. More than 1,000 pounds of eco-friendly packaged sustainable tuna were served by the company in 2023.

• Purchased and prepared more than 3.4 tons of locally-raised poultry for our customers.

• Used only trans-fat free cooking oil, almost 9 tons in 2023, of which over 50 percent is recycled after use.

• Expanded our Go Local program with emphasis on seasonal, local produce. Through our produce purveyors, we now have seasonal access to farms throughout Virginia, New Jersey, New York, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida.

• Purchased more than 274.7 tons of growth-hormone-free dairy products.

• Continued to expand our local pork program, with 17.55 tons of pork products purchased locally.

• Served coffee from the Rainforest Alliance, which assures that coffee is grown and harvested in a manner that is friendly to the ecosystem.

• Served cage-free eggs, where available, totaling over 104,000 pounds of liquid, over 17,000 dozen shells and over 13,500 dozen hard cooked eggs in 2023.

• Continued to train our cooks and kitchen staff to turn on ranges, ovens, and other equipment on an “as needed” basis to reduce energy usage.

Bottled Water

As part of its commitment to reducing waste, Guest Services began installing hydration stations at various properties in 2019. Our corporate office has multiple stations throughout the building that employees can utilize.

In addition, there are currently three hydration stations at Mount Rainier National Park for staff and visitors alike. These stations promote the use of personal water bottles and in turn discourage the use and discard of plastic bottles and cups. In 2023, guests filled 238,642 bottles using the station at Paradise Inn.

The same year, the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton in Naples, Florida, which is owned and operated by Guest Services, began a program of using refillable glass bottles for both still and sparkling water for meetings held at the hotel, instead of providing disposable plastic bottles.

REUSE—TO AVOID GENERATING WASTE

Lodging – the “Clean the World” Program

Much of the illness in poorer areas of the world results from lack of basic sanitation articles, like soap for handwashing. Clean the World is a national organization that accepts donations of used guestroom amenities (primarily soap and shampoo), and after sanitizing the products, sends them to people around the world who are unable to afford these basic personal hygiene items.

Guest Services’ lodging facilities joined this program in June 2010.

Linens and Blankets

In the past, Guest Services’ lodging operations have donated over 5,000 gently used linens to local homeless shelters, including Tacoma Rescue Mission in Washington State. When sanitation guidelines allow our properties to do so again, we fully anticipate the re-instatement of this program.

RECYCLING – TO PRESERVE RESOURCES

Composting

Guest Services’ food service operations at Mount Rainier began separating food waste for composting in 2010. The food waste is taken off-site and turned into soil-enhancing material that is sold to area farms.

Other Guest Services units have begun their own composting efforts, both on- and off-site.

Conventional Recycling

Many of Guest Services’ operations have long-standing programs of recycling paper, glass, cardboard, plastic and aluminum. In 2023, total conventional recycling companywide equaled over 135.37 tons.

Cooking Oil

Guest Services recycled over 22.2 tons of cooking oil in 2023. The recycled cooking oil is processed and converted to either biodiesel or animal feed, depending on market demand at the time of processing.

Electronic Equipment

Guest Services operating units contain various types of electronic equipment, all of which is gradually replaced. Our Environmental Policy #302 requires that all such waste be recycled at the end of its useful life. We utilize an organization called WiseTek for this effort. In previous years we have recycled over 3,700 pounds of electronic equipment through this program.

Hazardous Waste Recycling

In late 2011, Guest Services began utilizing Waste Management’s Lamptracker system for tracking the recycling of fluorescent lights, batteries, and disposable items containing potentially hazardous waste.

In 2023, Guest Services’ recycled 2,206 pounds of batteries, light bulbs, and fluorescent light ballasts.

Ink Cartridge Recycling

Guest Services has also developed a companywide program to recycle printer ink cartridges which has contributed to over 800 pounds of recycled cartridges in the last five years.

Other Environmental Initiatives

Clean-a-Park

Since 2009, Guest Services employees have volunteered on Earth Day to clean trash from various national parks in Washington, D.C.

In 2023, Guest Services had 23 employees and their families in and around the DC area come together for our annual cleanup. The group picked up 14 bags totalling 79 pounds of trash at Haines Point in Alexandria.

The program has quickly spread to other Guest Services divisions. Our team at Weeki Wachi Springs State Park does monthly river cleanups on the state park property. They waive the fee for the first 15 volunteers on the third Wednesday of every month. These collective cleanups have made a huge impact on the environment and quality of the experience for guests.

St. Andrews State Park does cleanups on Shell Island multiple times throughout the year. These cleanups are done by GSI staff and have produced large quantities of trash. In 2023, the company also began supplying trash receptacles at the tour boat docks to be proactive in assisting with trash control on the Island.

Our team at Temple Bar Marina at Lake Mead Mohave Adventures began an Earth Day specific cleanup which resulted in 53 tires being pulled from the lake.

Volunteer clean-up team at Haines Point, Alexandria, Virginia.

Focused on their environmental impact in and around the park our team at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park has made sustainability a top priority.

We take our stewardship of local lands and bodies of water seriously, implementing measures that ensure they remain clean and habitats enabled to nurture the wildlife they support.

Below are some examples of environmental initiatives at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park:

• Majority of products on site are “green” and free of any harsh chemicals

• Any pest control or vendor must work from an approved list of compounds free of pesticides

• Discontinued use of all single use plastics

• Park-wide program of waste minimization, prevention and recycling

• Closely monitor propane usage and replace equipment with energy efficient appliances whenever possible

• Switched to LED lighting fixtures throughout the park and lodge

The Lodge at Wakulla Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park

Flamingo Lodge and Restaurant Opening

We recently completed the construction of our Lodge and Restaurant at Flamingo Everglades in Florida including 24 new guest rooms created from repurposed shipping containers.

The following sustainable initiatives were put into place during construction with a keen focus on helping reduce our carbon footprint and create the least disruption to the natural habitats within the park.

• All operations within the park during and after construction adhere to a rigorous set of environmental protocols set forth by the National Park Service.

• The Lodge does not provide stayover services which enables us to limit bedding, towels and other amenities which would otherwise require significant water usage.

• Biodegradable paper products and green cleaning supplies are used as much as possible for example: our key holders utilize vegetable based inks and recycled paper.

• The Restaurant team uses local, organic ingredients and sustainable agricultural practices when possible.

• Bulk amenities in The Lodge room showers to include soap, shampoo, and conditioner

• Updated solar hot water systems in the campground

• The Lodge has a solar hot water system which is supplemented with energy efficient hot water tanks

• The Lodge parking lots lights are LED

• Using biodegradable and/or recycled products in the restaurant and marina store such as straws, napkins, and silverware

• Using wire baskets instead of disposable plates for food service

Future opportunities and initiatives include:

• Adding solar hot water system to T Loop of the campground

• Converting employee housing units from AC wall units to a more energy efficient split unit system

The Flamingo Lodge features 24 guest rooms built from repurposed shipping containers,

Newly-created Everglades Flamingo Restaurant in Everglades National Park.

One bedroom suite living quarters at Everglades Flamingo Lodge in Everglades National Park.

Dining space for events at Giants Ridge.

As Minnesota’s premier all season recreation area – Giants Ridge Recreation Area – has a responsibility to guests and the state alike to be mindful of resources.

The onsite team consistently works together to maintain the highest standards and is always implementing new initiatives. They have established a formal sustainability committee and work has begun on the following areas to further sustainability efforts and idea sharing:

• Creating annual goals

• Setting priorities

• Mission Statement

• Employee Survey

• Employee education information

• Working with the National Ski Areas Association sustainability program

• Monthly tracking of recyclables and waste with reporting to the state

• Staff has attended Minnesota State Smart Salting Certification program to reduce chloride pollution

• Continue to replace older lighting with LED fixtures

Giants Ridge Recreational Area

2023 Awards and Certifications

ISO Certifications

ISO certifications recognize recipients for adhering to practices and record-keeping to continually improve the operations.

Mount Rainier National Park

• Maintained the International Standard’s Organization (ISO) 14001(Environmental) certification and the 45001 (safety) certification in 2023.

• Obtained the International Standard’s Organization (ISO) 9001 (quality management system) certification in 2023.

National Capital Region

• Met international standards for sustainable operations. Around the National Mall, 12 Guest Services’ units maintained the ISO 14001 and 50001 (Energy Reduction) certifications in 2023.

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Naples Hotel

• The DoubleTree Suites maintained a Three-Palm rating with the Florida Green Lodging Program in 2023. This Guest Services hotel is also ISO 14001certified.

Lake Mead Mohave Adventures

• Lake Mead National Recreation Area Achieved International Standard’s Organization (ISO) 14001(Environmental) certification in 2023.

LEED® Certifications

Lake Mead National Recreation Area’s Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina on Lake Mohave’s operations office obtained a LEED® Gold rating. It is the first floating building project in the world to be registered for LEED® certification.

Cottonwood Cove Marina was also selected to host the Association of Marina Industries’ Clean and Resilient Marina Professional Training in February of 2024.

Clean Marinas

Four marinas, that Guest Services operates, are certified as Clean Marinas for following the best environmental practices in vessel maintenance and storage of chemicals.

Looking Ahead

Plant-Based Commitment

In an effort to commit to more environmentally friendly food and beverage practices Guest Services established a goal that 40% of meals/entrées on our menus will be plant-based options by 2028 and we will reduce the purchases of animal protein by 5% by the year 2027.

Go Fish

We will create a partnership with Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation to further our sustainability efforts within our marinas and recreational facilities alike. These initiatives may include fishing line recycling as well as additional beach and other waterway cleanups.

Summary

During this past year, Guest Services maintained commitment to the environment through multiple proprietary programs.

The company reduced consumption of materials and energy in numerous ways throughout multiple units and continued to find creative ways to maximize efforts.

We expect continued progress toward the goal of sustainable operations in 2024, coupled with a re-invigoration of the “ourPlanet” program and the implementation of new ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle!

The 2023 Sustainability Report is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.