PHOENIX — Cleaning the sheets of some of the Southwest’s biggest hotel names just got a lot greener.
Specialty Textile Services (STS) says it has become the first commercial linen service provider in the Southwest—and just the third nationwide—to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification for an existing building.
The U.S. Green Building Council’s program is the gold standard for businesses to show their operations have achieved environmentally friendly status, STS says.
LEED Certification came with a significant cost but satisfying reward, STS owner Ted Miotke says. The company spent about $160,000 to complete the certification process, in addition to $2 million STS has already invested in energy- and water-efficient equipment.
“We spent a lot of time and money to achieve LEED status, but we wanted to show our authentic commitment to the environment,” Miotke says. “Achieving LEED status shows conservation and customer service go hand in hand.”
Even before achieving LEED Certification, the company’s eco-friendly service saved the city of Phoenix 150,000 gallons of water a day. STS uses about 1 gallon per pound of laundry, whereas the average consumer uses about 3 gallons per pound.
“We’re in a desert where water is scarce. Laundry service doesn’t have to be a drain on water resources,” says Miotke.
STS employs 278 people in Phoenix and San Diego, providing services for more than 9,000 hotel rooms and numerous high-end restaurants.
In March, the company started providing linen service to the award-winning Phoenix Convention Center, in part because of its LEED efforts.
