Certified For Success: How The Westin Denver Airport Turned Sustainability Goals into Measurable Results
Background
The Westin Denver International Airport stands as a striking architectural landmark, the only hotel directly connected to Denver International Airport’s Jeppesen Terminal. Beyond its iconic design, it’s a sustainability showcase built into one of the busiest transportation hubs in North America.
The hotel operates 519 guestrooms, 37 conference rooms, three dine-in restaurants, and nearly 37,000 square feet of meeting space. Westin Denver Airport is proudly Eco-Rating certified, earning a 4-key rating.
Designed to LEED Platinum standards, the property integrates sustainable architecture, energy-efficient systems, and expansive meeting facilities, all while serving millions of travelers annually.
The Challenge
Despite being built with sustainability in mind, the scale and complexity of the property posed challenges in measuring and maintaining impact. From its inception, the Hotel and Transit Center aimed to drastically reduce energy use, water consumption, and waste while maintaining a first-class guest experience.
The goals were ambitious:
- Reduce energy costs by nearly 50%,
- Consume 30% less water than conventional designs, and
- Integrate sustainable building and operating practices throughout
The engineering team needed a structured framework that could:
- Validate their ongoing sustainability practices beyond LEED certification
- Deliver measurable reporting for RFPs and corporate procurement
- Support continuous improvement across multiple departments
For a property of its scale, this meant overcoming the challenge of balancing efficiency with operational complexity.
The Solution
As part of Marriott International’s partnership with Green Key Global, The Westin Denver International Airport turned to Green Key Global’s Eco-Rating Certification as its industry-recognized framework to benchmark performance, gain visibility, and align with evolving procurement requirements.
Guided by the Green Key Global team, the hotel approached the thorough certification process in stages, engaging engineering, housekeeping, and operations to embed new tracking, reporting, and efficiency systems. The process encouraged the property to deepen engagement in several areas:
- Energy Efficiency: Advanced monitoring for HVAC and lighting, led to significant measurable reduction in energy use compared to baseline models
- Water Conservation: Efficiency upgrades that saved 187,000 gallons of water year-over-year (Oct 2024–Oct 2025)
- Waste Management: Expanded composting and recycling programs that reduced waste from 272.9 tons in 2024 to 225.1 tons in 2025, improving diversion rates from 11% to 26%
- Team Alignment: Departmental engagement in sustainability goals, with staff empowered to champion initiatives
- Sustainable Procurement: Through collaborations with PepsiCo, Cirqu, and Replenysh, the hotel advanced its recycling initiatives and achieved measurable circularity outcomes (learn more here)
The Impact
The Westin Denver International Airport achieved a 4-key Eco-Rating, underscoring its position as a market leader in sustainability. The impact was both operational and strategic. Benefits included:
- Resource Savings:
- 187,000 gallons of water saved year-over-year
- 47 dekatherms (13,772 kWh) reduction in natural gas consumption
- 48 tons of waste reduction and more than double the landfill diversion rate
- RFP Success: Certification bolstered RFP competitiveness and stronger positioning in corporate procurement processes where sustainability is a top criterion
- Guest Perception: Certification reinforced The Westin’s reputation as a sustainability-first property, boosting trust among leisure and business travelers while improving guest engagement
- Recognition: Achieved 4-keys, complementing its LEED Platinum status and solidifying its reputation as an eco-innovation pioneer
“Green Key Global gave us the structure we needed to showcase the incredible work happening here,” said Curtis Heath, Director of Engineering. “It’s one thing to say you’re sustainable, but it’s another to have independent verification that proves it.”
“With certification, we can tell a more powerful story, not just about saving resources, but about how those efforts translate into business value,” Curtis added.
Key Takeaways
- Certification transformed sustainability efforts into a powerful business advantage
- Verified metrics, built credibility with guests, corporate clients, and stakeholders. Displaying the Green Key certification instilled pride among staff and confidence among guests
- Certification validated and strengthened existing LEED Platinum and Smart Meetings initiatives
- Operational departments gained new systems and accountability, reducing costs and waste
Looking Ahead
The Westin Denver International Airport is targeting a future 5-key rating, with plans to expand LED retrofits, eliminate single-use plastics, and upgrade major mechanical systems for greater efficiency.
Certification remains a cornerstone in proving its sustainability leadership to both guests and corporate clients.
With Green Key Global as a partner, the hotel continues to lead the way in proving that sustainability and luxury can and should coexist.