This week could be the biggest week ever for the green lodging movement. Why? This Sunday is Earth Day and at no other time in our industry’s history has there been so much awareness of the problems facing our planet and what can be done to address them. If your company or hotel has not yet made a commitment to make a positive difference, Earth Day is the perfect day to get started.
Even if you do not believe that global warming is real, there are so many other reasons to take action. One example: This past week I visited The RainForest at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. One exhibit includes a digital display counting down the number of acres of rainforest that remain on Planet Earth. Since The RainForest exhibit opened in 1992, that number of acres has dropped by 50 percent. Why is the rainforest so important? In the Amazon Rainforest alone, more than 20 percent of the world’s oxygen is produced. Feeling a little short of breath?
In early March I asked Green Lodging News readers to tell me how they planned to celebrate Earth Day. I was very impressed. Many companies and hotels are doing great things. I listed some of the projects in previous columns. Here are a few more projects you should know about.
• Accor North America plans to plant 20,000 trees—one for each employee in North America. It will also donate $375,000 to educational and charitable groups.
• Milliken Contract is inviting its customers to renew the Earth by planting a tree in recognition of Earth Day 2007 at www.milliken.com/treesforall. Since launching Trees for All on Georgia Arbor Day 2006, Milliken customers have added about 8,000 trees of renewed forests through the online program.
• The Environmental Protection Agency is challenging visitors to its Energy Star website to participate in an interactive Giving Tree. Gifts range from planting a tree to choosing Energy Star qualified products. Americans are also being challenged by the EPA to participate in its 2007 Change a Light Campaign. More than 480,000 made the commitment in 2006 to switch to Energy Star lighting products.
So, what are your plans for Earth Day? If you have none, you have clearly missed an opportunity to show your community and employees that you care about the environment. That said, it is never too late to get involved. Form a green team and develop a plan to reduce resource consumption. Start with the easy things (light bulbs) and work your way toward the more difficult projects (alternative power generation). Set goals and celebrate when you reach them.
There are many business reasons for going green. Green Lodging News repeatedly tells stories to demonstrate this. In honor of Earth Day however, at least consider the big picture that impacts every single one of us—the overall health of Planet Earth.
In the first sentence of my column, I state that this “could” be the biggest week ever for the green hotel movement. “Could” is the key word here. It really is up to you to transform the way you do business. Don’t wait for the top executive of your company or association to challenge or inspire you (although it would be nice to hear from those types regarding Earth Day, wouldn’t it?).
Happy Earth Day from Green Lodging News!
Odds and Ends
Green Lodging News welcomes Pineapple Hospitality as a Green Product Directory partner. Pineapple Hospitality is a national full-service, energy efficient lighting distributor. The Saint Charles, Mo.-based company offers property audits, proposals and customized “Lighting Made Easy” order forms for small to extra large properties. Pineapple provides high quality GE and TCP products for Maintenance and Replacement Orders (MRO) and complete lighting retrofits. Pineapple works with several utilities around the country to secure available incentive funds for its lodging customers. Go to Pineapple Hospitality, write to ray@pineapplehospitality.net, or call (636) 922-2285 for more information.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com, or by calling (440) 243-2055. I look forward to hearing from you.
