Earth Day falls this month, but I was reminded of that project in February at the Developing & Financing Hotel Waterpark Resorts workshop, presented by JLC Hospitality Consulting and Uni-Systems, LLC. The conference was held at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio (featured in “Checkout”), and energy issues headed the agenda. In fact, the keynote speaker was Tom Kiser, “America’s Energy Coach.” Kiser, founder of Professional Supply Inc., has worked with many of the nation’s top corporations, as well as former Vice President Al Gore, and is considered a pioneer in the energy industry.

He and other speakers were adamant about the fact that while greener waterpark resorts will, of course, help sustain the viability of our environment, going green will save operators money. By nature, indoor waterpark resorts are huge energy consumers, and if conference attendees didn’t already know it by looking at their own energy bills, they were clued in after one glance at the large pump rooms we saw on a tour of the facility. The bottom line is, with the high price of fuel and major concerns over drought in many parts of the nation, it’s essential that operators make a serious effort to find ways to conserve.

That said, I would like to issue this challenge to you: Try your own version of my science project. With the support of your team, implement several simple water- and energy-saving measures. For example, one of the conservation strategies we came up with at my house was to use a timer to help us make sure to take five-minute showers, with the water on low.

With a little research and ingenuity, you’ll think of some similarly low-cost, resort-level ideas. Plus, new environmentally friendly products go on the market every day. After about a month or two, analyze how much water, energy and money you’ve saved. The goal is to save more money than whatever expense you incurred making the changes, and use those savings over the course of the year to implement more “green” changes.