All ITC's luxury hotels have been accorded the highest rating: LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) making it the 'greenest luxury hotel chain in the world'. This distinction is an endorsement of ITC Hotels' credo of 'Responsible Luxury' - an ethos that integrates world class green best practices with contemporary design elements to deliver the best of luxury in the greenest possible manner. The Responsible Luxury commitment of ITC Hotels blends elements of nature to deliver a unique value proposition to discerning guests, conscious of their responsibility to be planet positive.

In addition to the wide spectrum of environment friendly measures that ITC Hotels implement, the ITC group's carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive status ensures that a guest's stay at any of its luxury hotels contributes to a lower carbon footprint.

ITC Hotels' commitment to Responsible Luxury has given it the unique distinction of being the greenest luxury hospitality chain in the world. Today, all 'ITC Hotels'- ITC Maurya, New Delhi; ITC Maratha; Mumbai; ITC Grand Central, Mumbai; ITC Sonar, Kolkata; ITC Windsor, Bengaluru; *ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru; ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad and ITC Mughal, Agra are rated LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), for their commitment to perform to the highest standards of energy, water and waste efficiency and continuing to provide inspiration to the Green Building movement in India. (*Rated LEED Platinum by Indian Green Building Council-IGBC)

Commenting on the distinction, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Ltd. said, "This coveted feat uniquely positions ITC as the first hotel chain in the world to have all its premium luxury hotels accorded the highest rating: LEED Platinum by USGBC. It exemplifies the credo of 'Responsible Luxury' adopted by ITC's Hotels Division - delivering globally benchmarked quality, services and luxury in the greenest possible manner."

"The LEED Platinum rating demonstrates tremendous green building leadership", said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "The urgency of USGBC's mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and the certified ITC Hotels serve as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish."

At the heart of Responsible Luxury is product design in the form of green buildings that are energy efficient, utilize renewable energy, conserve and recycle water while taking concrete steps to preserve the eco-system around them. ITC Hotels have innovated in the use of materials that utilize renewable sources and are biodegradable or conserve scarce environmental resources. Some hotels have also innovated on their offerings in food and beverages to optimize customer satisfaction while achieving a lower carbon footprint.

Supporting national priorities, ITC's hotels business will continue to make a meaningful contribution to national economic development as an employment multiplier creating sustainable livelihoods, while enriching the tourism landscape of the country.

The U.S. Green Building Council is a non-profit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. Since UGSBC's founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 17,000 member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED® green building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry's popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org), and a network of 78 local chapters, affiliates, and organizing groups. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.

The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a feature-oriented rating system that awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria. The six major environmental categories of review include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design. Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels of LEED green building certification are awarded based on the total number of points earned within each LEED category. LEED can be applied to all building types including new construction, commercial interiors, core & shell developments, existing buildings, homes, neighbourhood developments, schools, retail facilities and healthcare.

Incentives for LEED are available at the state and local level and LEED has also been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org/LEED.

Innovation, cutting edge technology and design integration have enabled ITC Hotels to earn new benchmarks in energy efficiency, water efficiency, solid waste recycling and carbon reduction.

ITC's Hotels Division - Headquarters is housed in the ITC Green Centre, the first largest Green Building in the world with a LEED Platinum rating. US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton lauded the ITC Green Centre as "a monument to the future".

ITC Sonar is the only hotel in the world to earn carbon credits under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.

A conscious focus by the Company's hotels on design and construction practices ensures energy efficiency, conservation of resources and most importantly, a superior quality of indoor environment. All ITC's premium luxury hotels use 18-29% less energy than USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) benchmark for large size luxury hotels.

Off-site Wind Turbine Generators power total electrical energy requirements of ITC Maratha, ITC Windsor, ITC Gardenia and WelcomHotel Sheraton Rajputana further enhancing its positive carbon footprint.

Innovation measures such as ITC Maurya's carbon mitigation programme through the installation of the world's first on-site Paraboloid Solar Concentrator (with 320 sqm reflective area) in the hospitality industry, that addresses the thermal requirements (steam and hot water) of the hotel.

In line with ITC's commitment to achieve zero effluent discharge by treating/recycling all the wastewater generated in its units, its hotels have also initiated measures towards achieving rainwater harvesting and 100% waste water recycling.

Only treated recycled water is used for flushing, landscape treatment, cooling tower and miscellaneous cleaning while sensor operated waterless urinals, dual-flush water closets result in further reduction of water consumption, considerably below the U.S. Green Building Council standards.

In addition, to achieve 100% waste recycling, measures have been introduced for waste segregation at source, with more than 99% of the total solid waste either reused or recycled through recycling programmes.

Organic waste is converted into manure by an Organic Waste Converter in several properties. In addition, in most Hotels, wet garbage is converted into manure, through the 'Wealth to Waste' programme.

Sustainable material sourcing also enhances the positive environmental footprint of ITC's hotels. More than 50% of on-going consumables used at several properties are either local or recycled. Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood is used for refurbishments and renovations. In addition, sustainable site development protects the ecological stability of the immediate surroundings and landscape.

ITC's Hotels have also adopted a number of indoor environmental quality standards to provide the freshest, cleanest and most eco-friendly atmosphere within its hotels, like appropriately treated fresh air infusion for higher human productivity and better health, enhanced occupant thermal comfort, use of Green Seal certified Housekeeping chemicals and equipment and preferred reliance of mechanical means of elimination of rodents and use of eco-responsible pesticides.

ITC's premium luxury hotels ensure optimum comfort for guests while saving energy by introducing unique air-conditioning features such as carbon dioxide sensors and room climate controls. Many of the properties have multi-glazed windows with energy efficient glass to ensure minimum sunlight ingress and glare thereby reducing the air conditioning load and also provide occupant comfort by establishing project criteria for background noise levels in each room, speech privacy and airborne sound isolation between spaces.

Unique temperature control and air-conditioning standards that include Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) system, Thermal system, Water management system and Building Management System enhance performance efficiencies and contribute to a much lower carbon footprint.

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