Fairmont Copley Plaza is proud to offer guests an environment free of single-use plastics. The goal to eliminate plastic from the hotel has been years of hard work in the making, and a #1 priority for our sustainability committee to implement in all areas of our operation. Most noticeably we removed all plastic water bottles, replaced single-use mini Le Labo toiletries with large format bottles in guest room showers, debuted compostable straws in food & beverage outlets, and discarded outstanding items like plastic cups, condiments and wrapped snack foods.
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sustainable RESPONSIBLITY
Discover ways Fairmont Copley Plaza is working towards becoming a leader in sustainable hospitality.
Sustainable Certifications
Water Management
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Energy Management
Sustainable Food
Rooftop Bees
Since 2012, we’ve “checked in” and housed thousands of honeybees on our rooftop. Fairmont Copley Plaza currently hosts six hives in partnership with Best Bees, a local company with a mission to improve pollinator health and biodiversity—their data is even used by institutions such as MIT and Harvard.
Our honey harvest is primarily sourced by the hotel’s restaurant, OAK Long Bar + Kitchen. Both our bar and culinary teams infuse the honey into delicacies, for example our famous Bee’s Knees cocktail and honey-infused butter.
Our sustainable engagements
We actively participate in the Boston Building Reduction & Disclosure Ordinance program (BERDO) to decrease air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions generated by our building over time.
WaterBox is packaged in earth-conscious, 100% recyclable, mostly paper cartons that contain no BPAs, and no volatile organic compounds. They print the cartons using natural inks that are kind to the environment; WaterBox is as healthy for the earth as it is for one’s body. Fairmont Copley Plaza is proud to offer this sustainable water option in our guest rooms and suites.
For a centurion hotel, Fairmont Copley Plaza strives to embrace technology and think innovatively to make impactful eco-friendly policies. We are a member of the Too Good To Go mobile app to sell surplus unsold and uneaten food at a discount to cut our food waste (FYI: 40% of food is wasted in the U.S.) Our teams pack leftover food from Fairmont Gold’s breakfast service and OAK Long Bar + Kitchen’s dinner service—like croissants, yogurt parfaits, roasted chicken, clam chowder, and side salads—selling meals at 1/3rd of the retail value for our community to purchase.
Fairmont Copley Plaza is fortunate to have Boston’s biggest farmers market outside its doors when in season. The Copley Square Farmers Market hosts dozens of Massachusetts farmers and makers that sell a vibrant array of produce, proteins, dairy and other goods. Our culinary team sources farm bounty for rotating weekly specials, including pizzas with garden-fresh toppings and a farm-to-bar program that steeps ingredients (like beets, lemon verbena and apple cider) into handcrafted cocktails. We buy direct from farm neighbors to help strengthen our community and local economy.
Newly installed: an automated Obrisk device that uses computer vision and AI to help our culinarians track and prevent food waste. How it works? A smart camera sits on top of a waste bin, connected to a scale, and we simply present food to be thrown away up to the device’s LED light. It automatically registers the waste for analysis—even up to the ingredient level—and then “feeds” us practical insights and real-time data in a personalized dashboard, helping our hotel make decisions to use resources better and be sustainable in the kitchen.