Doubletree Hotel Portland

   Here at the DoubleTree Portland we prefer to partner with businesses and companies that have similar goals in mind. When we are making  decisions on the products we use, we focus on the triple bottom line; People, Profit, Planet.  Weighing out how these things will affect not only our operation but also the envirnmentment and the community helps us come to conclusions on what we purchase, how we use it, and who it comes from. This is why our partnerships are so important to us. One example of this is Pacific Seafood. We recently had a great discussions with Damion De Ment (a Food Service account manager at Pacific Seafood) at the Better Living Fair our hotel put together and got some great information on a variety of fishing techniques used to bring us great local Northwest fish. He was able to tell as all about the different types of fishing and the negative, if any, effects on the environment. 

 At Pacific Seafood they work with us to keep the freshest most sustainable seafood on the menu. The company has a great green Initiative that includes five major points; sustainability, traceability, fish byproducts, waste reduction, Marine Stewardship Council guidelines, and last of all, packaging. 

They believe that environmental responsibility and sustainability in the seafood industry is very important. They are always looking for new ways to keep seafood companies and local communities fishing and reduce their environmental impact. They work with different organizations to manage natural resources and address environmental issues.

 Organizations like Ocean Trust which is an ocean conservation foundation that promotes sustainability and coastal restoration, and MSC which is the Marine Stewardship Council which is a global program that certifies fisheries as sustainable. At Pacific Seafood, like us, they are always looking for new ways in which to have an even lower impact.

Traceability is important to keep track of where the seafood came from and where it goes. It is a way of making sure our food is safe. The system tracks fish from the boat to the processing plant then to the distribution facilities. This includes methods of record keeping and labeling. They not only meet industry standards but exceed them.

To reduce the amount of fish product going to the landfill Pacific Seafood works with BioOregon Protein up in Warrenton Or. There they convert fish waste into products like organic fertilizer and pet food ingredients. This is a much better way of using natural resources.

The Marine Stewardship Council is “an objective third party global fishery certification organization whose goal is to promote sustainability throughout the fishing industry. ” To be MSC certified, a fishery or seafood operation must meet certain standards. The guiding principles are:

 1) The fishery must maintain a level that is sustainable for that species

 2) The fishing operation must minimize the impact on the ecosystem

3) The operation must comply with all laws

 4) The fishery must have a system in place to make any necessary changes to maintain sustainability.

Pacific Seafood is currently certified in 24 species, like Pacific Halibut, Albacore Tuna, Oregon pink Shrimp and Alaskan Salmon.

Now, here at the hotel we do not accept any packaging of polystyrene foam base containers. If something comes in this packaging it is refused and sent back. However, we never get any from Pacific Seafood because they use other types of boxes. The boxes they use are a environmentally friendly Greenshield corrugated box made by Georgia Pacific. These are strong, moisture resistant and 100% recyclable. The boxes that we receive at the hotel are either re-used for storing Tribal wild Salmon that we get twice a year, in the spring and then again in the fall or recycled at the hotel in our compost bin.

Again, they are quick to emphasize the fact that they are always looking to improve for the future, an outlook that reminds us that there is never truly a beginning or an ending but always a journey.

We really appreciate working with a company that strives to protect the environment and looks for ways to harvest fish that leaves no impact. The main goal is to be able to protect the livelyhoods of fishing communities and fishermen so everyone will be able to make a living and enjoy seafood forever!