Andaz Maui at Wailea Wins LEED Silver Certification

andaz maui at waileaAndaz Maui at Wailea has earned the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building certification system is a program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings.

RELATED: Andaz Maui at Wailea Is Now Officially Open

“With very few LEED certified hotels in Hawaii, we have a tremendous sense of accomplishment that our efforts surrounding energy efficiency have paid off, and it’s certainly a nod to Hyatt’s philosophy of honoring the beauty of our surroundings,” said Michael Stephens, general manager, Andaz Maui at Wailea. 

Andaz Maui at Wailea has a design approach that reduces energy and water consumption, minimizes waste and harmful emissions and stresses sustainable design. Brightworks consulted on LEED program design and project management along with Hyatt’s Project & Brand Design and Development Asset Management teams. Some noteworthy elements of securing the LEED Silver status include:

  • Reuse of 93% of the existing hotel’s structural walls, floors and roof
  • An integrated master site approach offering ample open space for recreation, access to views and on-site stormwater.  More specifically, the project’s stormwater design earned an impressive 5 points, achieving both SSc6.1 and SSc6.2, each associated Regional Priority point, and one Exemplary Performance point. The project also earned Exemplary Performance for SSc5.2: Maximize Open Space
  • The use of healthy, low-emitting materials throughout. The project earned all four of the EQc4: Low-emitting Materials credits addressing:  adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, flooring systems, and composite wood products
  • Energy systems design offering an annual energy-cost savings of 19.9%
  • On-site renewable solar thermal system to provide almost 4% of project’s annual energy costs

Sustainable elements throughout the resort include a solar hot water system, variable speed chillers, motion sensor lighting controls, LED lighting and low flow plumbing fixtures. Environmental practices continue in-room, with automized temperature control and guestroom glassware made from recycled wine bottles.

The `awili spa and salon uses whole fruit to zest its house-made infused oils for massage and body treatments, and then the whole fruit (after being zested) goes to the bar lab for juices used in hand-made cocktails. Coconuts have many different uses at the Andaz Maui at Wailea, as whole, local coconuts, are husked, drained to extract coconut water, the meat is dehydrated to create body scrub, and the remainder is fermented to produce coconut oil for massage. 

In the kitchen, a food hydrator is utilized to compost food waste and repurposed for gardening/ landscaping. Bio-plastic straws and reusable bamboo cutlery are used in outdoor food and beverage outlets; biodegradable disposable potato starch cutlery and bio-plastic cups are used for to-go orders. Linenless tables are used to reduce laundry, energy and water consumption. Almost all of the hotel’s food and beverage ingredients are locally procured.

The gardening and landscaping staff does not use any gas equipment; green waste is recycled into mulch to help hold moisture for less use of irrigation.

Visit www.thrive.hyatt.com