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Capstone:
Sustainability within Hotels

Thesis: Despite the perception of society to be environmentally friendly and what the media industry suggests, sustainable hotels are a viable option for a more sustainable future.

In the Global Studies Diploma Program, students need to create a Capstone on any desired topic that has to do with at least one of the program's themes; arts, the environment, religion, technology/communication, non-violence and war, globalization, global public health, sustainability, and human rights. Then, create a research paper on the topic and two additional products. As I create more of my Capstone project, I will display my products.

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Research Paper

In my research paper, the perception of the media and society on environmentally friendly practices, options in the hotel industry, the return on investment (ROI) of these products, and the overall benefits are discussed. 

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Click HERE to take a look at my annotated bibliography. 

 

The research of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance found that throughout the world, the hospitality industry is responsible for 1% of the global carbon emissions.

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Case Study: HOTEL MARCEL

New Haven, Connecticut

Hotel Marcel is a sustainable 165-room hotel on its way to becoming a net-zero hotel in 2023. This hotel is the restored Pirelli building and by restoring this building, the architect was able to prevent excessive waste than if the hotel were to be built from the ground. Hotel Marcel has solar panels, electric machinery, and electric vehicle charging stations. The hotel is platinum LEED-certified with 83 points. The LEED certification is an internationally recognized way for buildings to be graded in the sustainable practices that are implemented in the building.

 

"There are simple ways to start making a hotel environmentally friendly which can look like sourcing local soaps, creating a rain garden in the parking lot, composting all food, and having water refilling stations throughout the hotel instead of selling water bottles."

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Solar Panel Comparison

I compared monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels and created a product description for them. Renewable energy is critical in having a building become net zero emissions. It is important to use solar panels to make energy rather than methods that are consistently damaging the Earth.  I created this graphic by writing the article and then inputting my article into my created graphic.  This article graphic was inspired by a Consumer Reports article about cars in the March 2023 issue. In my opinion, Consumer Reports always displays information in an engaging and informative way. 

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Automatic showers turn off after a certain period of time. This helps with decreasing the

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Hotel Layouts with Sustainable Options

I created two layouts, one for a hotel bathroom and the other for an above exterior view of the hotel. These diagrams show different sustainable options that will help the hotel become a net-zero emissions hotel. This is an accumulation of my learning throughout the year and different sustainable options. I thought this would be interesting to create because becoming a sustainable building really comes from the start and looking at the details. I created this visual as if it was a real hotel in Windsor, Connecticut. The actual layouts are hand drawn and then the wording was put together through Canva.

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