Home Publisher's Point of View World Water Day, Earth Hour, Earth Day—All Coming Soon

World Water Day, Earth Hour, Earth Day—All Coming Soon

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Glenn Hasek

In the next month there will be several important opportunities to engage with your guests and associates around conservation and efficiency. The first is World Water Day, March 22. Our industry is a huge consumer of water and can do a lot to reduce its impact—whether through low-flow fixtures, water-efficient laundry and kitchen equipment, advanced green cleaning and maintenance systems, etc. Be mindful of your water impact on World Water Day. Be thankful for what you have as well. Today, there are more than 663 million people living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water.

On Saturday, March 25, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time, Earth Hour will be marked around the planet. What activities do you have planned? I spoke with Steven Fernstrom, Sustainability Manager at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem (Pa.) and he told me an Earth Hour Pledge website will be created for Team Members. The site’s address will be communicated through e-mails, announcements and posters throughout the property. Team Members will be encouraged to take some environmental action—extinguishing lights for Earth Hour, for example. Names of Team Members who participate will be entered into a raffle for prizes. The giant ore bridge sign at the resort will be turned off during Earth Hour.

2016 Earth Day activity conducted at local school by Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem Team Members.

Nathaly Stanley, Sustainability and Certifications Manager at Bucuti and Tara Resort in Aruba, says the resort is planning on joining in on Earth Hour once more this year. “We have previously informed/educated our guests and asked them to participate by turning off their room lights and notified that we would be turning off non-essential lighting. This year we are looking to engage them a little more,” Stanley says.

The City of Los Angeles is hosting its Earth Hour event at the Westin Bonaventure (the first hotel in L.A. to be Green Seal-certified). Both the Mayor’s office and LA Sanitation are actively promoting it.

Earth Day will take place on Saturday, April 22. The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem’s Fernstrom told me Team Members at the resort will be invited to have their pictures taken within their choice of several Polaroid style frames. Each frame will have a different “I Will” caption related to a specific commitment to helping the planet. Every Team Member who participates will receive a Sands ECO360° reusable water bottle. In recent years, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem has worked with a local elementary school on various projects. This year for Earth Day, resort Team Members will hold an Earth Day Fair at the school. Five interactive and educational games and crafts will be set up. All of the games and crafts will be focused on recycling and reusing. Students will rotate through all of the stations. Students will receive a Sands ECO360° Reusable Water Bottle for participating.

Whether for World Water Day, Earth Hour or Earth Day, I would love to learn more about your property’s activities. Call (813) 510-3868 or e-mail editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Green Lodging News Adds Clear Pool USA as Directory Partner

Green Lodging News welcomes Clear Pool USA as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Clear Pool USA offers two choices to manage algae problems. The blue cylinder kills algae and reduces scaling for up to six months—just drop it into the pump basket. The other is an automatic water purifier that kills algae, reduces scaling and kills bacteria and pathogens including E.coli, pseudomonas, legionella pneumophila (Legionnaires Disease), staphylococcus, steptococcus, salmonella and others, some of which have been proven to be resilient to high levels of chlorine. Both products will help balance pH and chlorine levels that are important for swimmer comfort, (eyes and skin). The automatic purification system can also eliminate harmful chloramines, (that chlorine smell) for indoor pools. Call (618) 698-3343 or e-mail ckozicky@clearpoolusa.com for more information.

Green Lodging News Adds reCollect2 as Trends Report Sponsor

Green Lodging News welcomes reCollect2 Co. as a sponsor of the Green Lodging Trends Report. The Green Lodging Trends Report is the lodging industry’s annual exercise to assess and catalyze green innovation, best practices, and awareness regarding the state of sustainability across hotels worldwide. This year’s Green Lodging Trends Report will summarize the results of a second annual survey produced by Green Lodging News and Greenview.

reCollect2 Co. is creator of the reCollect2 in-room recycling receptacle. Designed with simplicity in mind, the reCollect2 offers a clean, cohesive and streamlined look. Each three-piece set includes: a recycle bin, matching bin for non-recyclables and set-base for customized identification and function. Manufactured from recyclable plastic and responsibly made in Wisconsin, the reCollect2 offers a stylized solution for hotel guestroom/in-office recycling that will help promote, encourage and reinforce an organization’s sustainability message, practices and achievements. Contact: Ann Riphenburg, (262) 527-9375, info@reCollect2recycler.com. Also go to: www.recollect2recycler.com/home.

GLN Adds Green Key Global, GreenOtels as Trends Report Supporters

Green Lodging News welcomes Green Key Global and GreenOtels as supporters of the Green Lodging Trends Report. Green Key Global is a leading, international, GSTC recognized, environmental certification body whose suite of industry standard programs and resources has been designed specifically for the lodging and meetings industries. Its programs, including the Green Key Eco-Rating and the Green Key Meetings Programs, help members leverage organizational CSR activities to support their property’s sustainable initiatives, improve overall fiscal performance and community relations. Green Key Global has member properties in over 20 countries and a notable mix of branded and independent members.

GreenOtels is a media platform with a vision to involve and engage the hospitality industry towards a greener consciousness by tracking trends via print and ezines, by holding meetings and conferences for ideation and dialogues with thought-leaders, enabling solutions through consultations, training tools, and proto type experiments as well as benchmarking and recognizing best practices through research and awards.

GreenOtels is a collaborative endeavor of professionals and promoters in hospitality as well as companies and individuals engaged in sustainable development to help make the big shift to a sustainable future and a zero waste based society. This will be made possible by developing a common understanding of ecological integrity and sustainability principles across varying brand cultures and size of operations in the hospitality industry in India.

How to Search on Our Website

Similar to other search engines you find online, a search using one word will produce articles with that word included. If you would like to search for something that is more than one word long—ozone laundry, for example—you will need to put quotation marks around the words or phrase. Ozone laundry would then be “ozone laundry” in the search.

Who is Your Sustainability Champion?

Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Looking for Guest Columnists

Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Planning Advertising for 2017?

Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for 2017. Many excellent spots are available on our new website, in the weekly e-mail newsletter, and Green Lodging Survey. Many Green Supplier Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2017 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. Media kits can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.

Newsletter & Green Supplier Spotlight Circulation

The circulation of our weekly e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight currently stands at 9,539. Thank you to our new subscribers for signing up. Be sure to encourage your colleagues to do the same. There are “subscribe” links on the Green Lodging News home page. You may also e-mail editor@greenlodgingnews.com to be added to our list.

Green Lodging News & Social Media

Green Lodging News now has 1,742 Twitter followers. Thank you to all of those who follow our tweets. In addition to following us on Twitter, be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also on Facebook. Be sure to “Like” us there. Green Lodging News now has 833 Facebook followers.

As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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