Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

An Iconic Meeting Spot in the Heart of Toronto

As society becomes more sustainably conscious, tourism adapts to improve their practices and create a better future. Sustainability in hotel and conference properties benefits not only the organization’s bottom line, but works toward improving environmental standards, supporting local businesses, and increasing the quality of life for employees and guests alike. The Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, “Canada’s largest conference hotel, and Marriott’s largest managed property in Canada”, partnered with Green Key Global to showcase their sustainable business practices and certify their efforts.

The Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel is an iconic meeting spot in the heart of the city for friends and business travellers alike, featuring 1,372 guest rooms and suites, and over 130,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. The property is in the midst of a complete re-imagining with renovations and enhancements from top to bottom that continue to roll out throughout 2022 and mark the most extensive renovation in the hotel’s 50-year history. The property includes a 24-hour fitness centre, 360-degree skyline views from its 43rd-floor Club Lounge, unique outdoor waterfall and garden area and the city’s largest heated indoor-outdoor pool.

They joined Green Key Global in 2013 in hopes of reducing operational costs, neutralizing their carbon footprint, and reducing food waste. And, as a result of their strong commitments to sustainability and continued on-site improvements, the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel now proudly features a 5 Key Eco-Rating.

Suppliers a Pillar of Sustainability

With the help of companies like Lightenco, making these sustainable changes is becoming more accessible to business owners. Changes like switching to LED light bulbs with the help of Lightenco reduced Sheraton Centre Toronto’s annual electricity consumption by approximately 480,000 kWh and reduced the hotel’s annual carbon footprint by more than 14,000 kg.

Lightenco was founded in 2011 with the goal of developing energy savings projects for commercial clients through lighting retrofits, lighting controls installations and more. A turnkey solution is offered including procuring any incentives, offering financing for projects, electrical work and permits, labour, recycling of old equipment and more.

Lightenco worked with Marriott offering turnkey lighting solutions to other hotels such as the Westin Ottawa, Delta Ottawa, St. Regis in Toronto, and the Marriott in downtown Calgary. With a proven track record to deliver savings and manage incentive processes on behalf of the hotels, Lightenco was selected to work with the

Sheraton Centre to develop the lighting retrofit proposal. The Ontario rebate program SaveOnEnergy offered some financial incentive. Lightenco also works with the Recycling Council of Ontario’s Take Back the Light program, offering reassurance that all fluorescent, mercury containing lamps would be properly recycled.

Key sustainable features:

“Having the Green key certification gives reassurance to clients hosting meetings and events at the hotel. It’s a well-known designation in the hospitality industry.”

Nabil Mansour

Director of Engineering

Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

On the Horizon

Nabil Mansour, Director of Engineering at the Sheraton Centre Toronto, praises the guidance provided by Green Key Global in reducing their carbon footprint. The easy-to-use web portal and checklist for each department creates an accessible experience making it easy to take the proper steps toward sustainability.

“Having the Green key certification gives reassurance to clients hosting meetings and events at the hotel. It’s a well-known designation in the hospitality industry,” says Monsour. “More groups are looking to do better, reduce their own carbon footprint and make decisions based on what a hotel is offering as their green initiatives.”

• Retro-commissioning of aging Air Handling Units and HVAC systems
• Switching garbage compactor to pressure-based pick-up rather than scheduled
• Neon Exterior Signage removed and installation of LED signage
• Install smart monitors (Flowie Smart Water Metres) to the cooling towers and pool makeup water, laundry, and kitchen

Return on Investment