Hotels in north-central Costa Rica can help the environment and reduce spending through an energy-saving program carried out by the nonprofit Energy Network Foundation (BUN-CA), according to a statement from the foundation.
The program’s goal is for hotels to learn and implement energy-saving techniques such as turning off air conditioners in empty rooms, coordinating food preparation schedules to avoid constantly opening freezers, and turning off unnecessary lights, BUN-CA engineer Kattia Quirós told The Tico Times.
“It’s an intelligent investment,” Quirós said of the 12-month program, through which participating hotels can receive energy consultation from BUN-CA experts or outside consultants.
All businesses should save energy to reduce the country’s energy demand and avoid a shortage, Quirós said. Hotels, in particular, have the ability to control consumption and can take small steps that will soon produce economic and environmental benefits, she said.
The program has already been carried out successfully with 15 hotels in the Central Pacific region, Quirós explained, and the foundation has received an equally enthusiastic response from hotels in the north-central areas of La Fortuna and San Carlos. So far, 14 hotels have expressed interest in taking part in the program, and BUN-CA is visiting each hotel to select seven to participate.
The Central Pacific hotels that participated in the program reduced their energy bills by almost 24%. They can use these positive results to work toward obtaining a Certificate of Sustainable Tourism from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the statement said.
