Above: the Westin St John

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Starwood Hotels & Resorts will be launching a push to expand the use of green energy at its properties, including those in the Caribbean region.

The company announced the move at the Caribbean Summit of Business and Political Leaders in the British Virgin Islands last week.

Starwood will be partnering with NRG Energy on the initiative, beginning with three properties, including the installation of a 1.3-megawatt solar array at the Westin St John in the US Virgin Islands.

NRG will build, own and operate the project, while Starwood will be the enabling partner.

“At Starwood, we have established an environmental sustainability goal we call 30/20 by 20 meaning we’re committed to reducing our energy consumption by 30 percent and water consumption by 20 percent by 2020 throughout our global hotel and resort system,” said Ken Siegel, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel for Starwood, in a statement. “We are making great progress against those goals through a variety of programs in place around the world and we’re pleased to partner with NRG to be able to provide affordable and sustainable electricity that will benefit the environment, our guests and our business.”