West Kitchen & Tavern
126 West St Annapolis, MD 21401 Central Maryland 410-295-3225 www.annapoliswestkt.com The West Kitchen is part of the Loews Hotel Annapolis, which is fully committed to being an environmentally responsible community partner. Management and Leadership We use the following best management practices: Environment Policy Statement Environmental Team: We are on the Loews Hotel Green Team which meets monthly to discuss ideas for improving our green practices. We have a purchasing policy to encourage the purchase of environmentally-friendly products and services List of our environmentally friendly products and services: Sustainable seafood from US-preferred waters. We purchase from local bakeries, produce providers, and local cheese producers. We have diligent inventory of all products, especially our foods to reduce wastes, deliveries, carbon footprint. Local wines and beers are always our preferred choice and we choose environmentally-friendly vendors such as Cintas Uniform Corp which makes uniforms from recycled plastic. Waste Reduction We use the following best management practices: Have a plan in place to reduce property waste Track overall waste bills and established baseline data for quantity of wastes produced Kitchen and Prep / Dining / Catering / Meetings and Events / Campground Snack Bar Use effective food inventory control to minimize waste Purchase locally grown produce and other foods Purchase organic foods Purchase sustainably grown foods Do not use polystyrene coffee cups Use cloth napkins and tablecloths Use reusable dishware and glassware and minimize use of disposables Use non-bleached napkins and coffee filters Provide condiments - (cream and sugar, etc.) in bulk Use water pitchers and filtered water to minimize the use of single-use bottles Provide organic, local or sustainable food choices Use screen-based ordering systems Launder staff uniforms using wet or other environmentally friendly methods versus chemical-based dry cleaning Restrooms Use bulk soap dispensers in public restrooms Use high-efficiency hand-dryers Registration / Office Use last-in/first-out inventory and effective labeling systems Use electronic correspondence and forms Purchase from vendors and service providers with a commitment to the environment Encourage suppliers to minimize packaging and other waste materials Purchase recycled paper with a high percentage recycled content Make 2-sided copies / printed materials and avoid making extra copies Use recycled content paper for copies / printed materials Buildings and Grounds Use green cleaning chemicals Purchase durable equipment and furniture Purchase low-VOC carpets and fabrics Properly recycle and/or dispose of thinners and solvents - required by EPA regulations Perform preventative maintenance on all appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing and vehicles Use integrated pest management - IPM Recycling We recycle all glass, plastic bottles, metal cans, and cardboard as well as grease. We actively do this for all kitchen and post-table wastes. We have clearly marked recycling bins or provide convenient drop off locations We are recycling: Aluminium Cans Cardboard Electronics equipment Glass Fluorescent Lamps Newspaper Office Paper Pallets Plastic Printer and copy machine toner cartridges Steel Cans Waste Management Water Conservation Have a plan in place to reduce property water usage Track water bills and established baseline data on water usage and wastewater generation Assessed production for water-conserving opportunities during cleaning procedures Perform preventative maintenance to stop drips and leaks Offer water versus serving automatically Discourage water-based cleanup, ie. sweep first Defrost foods ahead of time in refrigerators to avoid the need for running-water defrost Use or installed the following devices: low flow restrictors on faucets and showerheads aerators on faucets (0.5 gpm or less for lavatory and 2.2 gpm or less for kitchen faucets) low flow toilets (1.6 gpf or less) waterless urinals automatic or sensored faucets or toilets in public restrooms an air-cooled versus a water-cooled icemaker high efficiency Energy-Star rated dishwashers	Energy Efficiency We use the following best management practices: Have a plan in place to reduce property energy usage Track overall energy bills and establish baseline energy usage Have a numeric goal to reduce energy usage over time Have had an energy audit to identify efficiency opportunities Have an energy management system in place to track and meter energy usage Kitchen Regularly evaluated existing ovens and other kitchen equipment for temperature settings and energy efficiency opportunities Confirmed that all refrigerator, freezer and oven gaskets provide a good seal, or replaced Routinely clean condenser coils on all refrigeration equipment Lighting: Designed use of natural lighting Use lighting sensors to turn on/off lights Use occupancy sensors to turn on/off lights Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms Minimize the use of lighting during night cleaning Use high efficiency fluorescent ballasts and lamps - T-5's & T-8's Use LED Exit Signs Heating and Cooling Have a high efficiency heating and air-conditioning HVAC system Regularly perform preventative maintenance on HVAC system Have programmable thermostats for each room and ensure they are properly adjusted Have a centrally controlled HVAC system that is activated only when occupied Minimize the use of lighting during night cleaning Have ENERGY STAR rated windows and doors Energy Efficiency: Recycle Grease We use the following best management practices: Periodically pump the grease traps Filter the grease to prolong its life Use our grease to make bio-diesel Our grease recycling vendor is: Green Lights Biofuels Minimize Disposable Food Service Items We use the following best management practices: Use disposable foodservice items made with recycled content Green Events We use the following best management practices: Support event planners who want to hold green events Include information on Green Events / Weddings / Meetings / Conferences in our marketing materials Train all event planner staff on green event techniques Provide visible recycling at all green events Minimize the use of disposable food service items Measurable Results We are actively recycling all kitchen materials in conjunction with the hotel's recycling program -- it is estimated that we are accounting for nearly 40% of all recycling for the hotel (20 tons annual) which will equate to 8 tons a year from the West Kitchen. We are also participating in the local Oyster Recovery Project to collect shells and return them to local oyster beds -- we project that this will divert more than 3.5 tons of material from the landfill.