This text is part of the special Business Tourism booklet
Renewable energy, rooftop vegetable gardens, vermicompost bins, carbon offsetting of employee travel: the Hôtel du Vieux-Québec is fiercely fighting climate change.
“We have problems. You must come and see. A wall is falling! In 2005, this phone call from hotelier Chris Keating to his son Justin marked the beginning of a turning point for the Hôtel du Vieux-Québec. Three years later, the young Torontonian, who was working in the construction sector to finance his music and philosophy studies, agreed to move with his family to the Quebec capital and take over the family establishment. But on the condition of doing things differently…
Well-insulated walls, double-glazed windows, two green roofs: upon his arrival, the new director gradually adopted a host of measures to reduce the energy used for air conditioning or heating the building. “A big financial challenge, because the hotel is an old building,” said owner and manager Justin Keating, adding that the repair of just one wall cost half a million dollars.
The green roofs are located on the fourth and fifth floors of the building. As he inspects the tomato plants, Justin Keating releases the contents of a transparent bag from which red insects with black spots gently escape. “We don’t use any pesticides, only ladybugs! he enthuses. Greedy in aphids, these beetles replace chemical products.
“That’s so much fun, I love it! exclaims Justin, opening one of the vermicompost bins where the worms are busy decomposing the waste. The hotel produces its compost in a “closed circuit”: produced from leftover food, the organic fertilizer is used to grow the vegetables which are then used in the kitchen. The establishment has five worm compost bins on the ground floor and several traditional compost bins on the roofs.
Ambitious projects
The Hôtel du Vieux-Québec is also equipped with a solar panel that powers the LED lights on the fourth floor. “Initially, it was just for Christmas lights,” says Justin Keating, who is currently working with an engineer to install an industrial solar water heater.
“I’d also like to have a four-season greenhouse… We’ve started experimenting with mini-greenhouses,” says Justin Keating, who would like to continue harvesting vegetables in the fall. He also does not hesitate to undertake large-scale projects such as biogas water heating, launched in 2016. The system is powered by methane fumes recovered from landfill sites. “I don’t have any investors, so I can put the money back in the hotel to reinvest on that side [dans des systèmes verts]. But if I had big debts, forget it, it would be impossible. »
The hotel uses glass bottles, washed in a special machine, and natural cleaning products that are purchased in bulk, thus limiting the use of plastic bottles and detergents in pods and, therefore, their production emitting greenhouse gas.
“I see that the employees are happy,” says Justin Keating. Training the staff and involving them in the steps aimed at reducing the establishment’s carbon footprint as much as possible is one of the most important criteria for obtaining environmental certification from the Hotel Association of Canada.
“Me, I want to go to another level completely,” says the owner. In 2018, he bought the building next to the hotel for his new projects, including the installation of geothermal systems, gray water recovery and recovery of heat produced by fireplaces and the kitchen. He even has the ambition to green the whole district. “For you, nothing is impossible? we ask him. To which he replies, laughing: “No. Finally, I will see. »
Guests of the Hôtel du Vieux-Québec are not necessarily aware of all the environmental efforts of the management team. Sean and his wife Zoe, two English tourists living in the living room during our visit, had no idea. ” Absolutely wonderful! exclaims Sean when he learns. ” Definitely a bonus! “How the war on greenhouse gases can be profitable!
A first version of this text was published on November 7, 2018 on Onepointfive.ca
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.