Agri-Eco Efforts

• The Great Shawna Farm - Development of a 37,000 square foot farm to supply produce to our restaurants and kitchen.  Daily tours available for our guests May through October. 
• Herb gardens for The Gem and Keystone Brewpub™ and the River Room Restaurant.
• The Shawnee Apiary - Apiary for production of our own honey and to assist in the pollination process at the Great Shawna Farm.
• Spring Maple tree tapping for production of our own maple syrup.

Resort Wide

• Resort recycling includes cans, paper, cardboard, glass and plastic. We encourage staff members and guests to recycle.
• All staff members are asked embrace this commitment to environmental stewardship through our staff “green pledge.”  Making a conscious effort to recycle, turn off lights when leaving offices, storage areas or event spaces, keep air conditioning to a minimum as well as heart to conserve energy.
• Car-pooling is encouraged and incentives are offered to staff members who commute to Shawnee together.
• It is encouraged that staff members bring containers from home for coffee, tea, and water.
• Spring water coolers have replaced bottled water throughout several departments.
• We use Eco Guard, a natural bacillus bacterium, which attacks fungus without the use of chemicals.
• Every spring, we partner with the National Park Service and with local and staff volunteers for the annual Delaware River Clean-up. We provide complimentary rentals of canoes, paddles, and life jackets to help keep the Delaware River clean and pristine.
• In keeping with our desire to promote the health not only of our planet, but also of our guests, we went smoke-free in November of 2006 and The Gem and Keystone™ Brewpub went smoke-free in April 2007.
• Research and development efforts being expended to assess our ability to implement a plan to for the installation of geo-thermal or solar panels for resort-wide energy use.

Golf Course

• Our mowers place clippings back into the ground helping to facilitate the growing process.
• We continue to maintain naturalized areas for birds and other wildlife on our golf course, as well as, using the Rain Bird System for irrigation.
• Electric golf carts have replaced gas-driven models to reduce carbon emissions.
• We conduct most of our irrigation during the dew period so that water is most efficiently absorbed. This practice reduces the need for pesticides and helps to prevent disease.
• In cooperation with the Audubon International, we have established protected bird sanctuaries on our golf course island. These areas are being naturalized with wild flowers, planted, no mowing, no spraying, and nest boxes.

Guest Rooms

• Signage is placed in our guest rooms to encourage re-use of towels and other linens to save water and reduce the use of laundry detergents.
• We have installed new windows throughout the resort to improve energy use and lessen our carbon footprint.
• Resort housekeeping and laundry has become chemical free.
• We encourage our guest room water conservancy program by allowing guests to delegate which towels require refreshing.
• Low flush toilets were installed to lessen our water usage.
• Automated in-room heating and cooling system is set to 24-hour activity mode – meaning that there has to be a movement to activate.

Food and Beverage

• We handcraft our own artisan ales and lagers at our own ShawneeCraft Brewery.  Our brew master focuses on using local and organic ingredient whenever possible.
• Our Gem and Keystone Brewpub focuses on offering seasonal fare in order to deliver the highest quality food possible.  Concentrating on partnering with local food suppliers and using seafood from the Smithsonian sustainable seafood list, our Brewpub is the culmination of our “green efforts.”
• We strive to use perishable products such as butter, ketchup, cream cheese and other items in bulk instead of individually wrapped to reduce waste.
• Individual office garbage bins are not lined with garbage bags, but rather, emptied into single large bags when disposed of.
• Whenever possible water, juices and other liquids are served in bulk to lessen the amount of individual container waste.
• We have purchased compostable cups, plates, straws and lids to lessen impact of waste.
• We use China service rather than paper, plastic, or Styrofoam.
• Researching and developing a composting program on site for kitchen waste and other compostable items.