Two important occasions and great opportunities for your properties are coming up in March and April—Earth Hour on March 25 at 8:30 p.m. local time and Earth Day on April 22. Please write to me at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com to tell me what you are planning.
Since its beginnings in 2007, Earth Hour has been known for the “lights off” moment, with individuals from around the globe switching off their lights to show symbolic support for the planet and to raise awareness of the environmental issues affecting it. Hotels and hotel companies around the world have been participating for years.
Last year for example, Fairmont San Francisco switched off façade, signage, and non-essential lighting, as well as dimming the lights in public areas, restaurants and exterior spaces, (where possible). The hotel also offered candle-light dinner specials. The Grand Residences Riviera Cancun turned Earth Hour into an all-day lineup of activities including a beach clean-up, yoga by the pool, planting trees at the resort, recreating crafts from recycled materials, and more.
According to the folks behind Earth Hour, paying attention to the environment for not only an hour but also the entire year is critical because we are on course to breach by 2030 the 1.5°C global temperature increase limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement. Nature—the source of our very livelihoods and one of our biggest allies against the climate crisis—is also under severe threat, facing alarming and unprecedented rates of loss globally.
Earth Day Led to Many Improvements
The first Earth Day was held in 1970 and for good reason. Our society was making a real mess of the environment. Growing up in Cleveland, there were days when the air was so bad, I could not go outside. By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first of their kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act. A year after that, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act and soon after the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. These laws have protected millions of men, women and children from disease and death and have protected hundreds of species from extinction. These positive actions were proof of what we can do when we all—no matter the political party—work together.
Last year for Earth Day, Costa Rica’s Hotel Belmar launched a new carbon negative initiative that encourages guests to participate in the Offset Your Footprint program by matching all donations. Created by the Monteverde Community Fund, the program offsets the impact of tourism, growth, and environmental changes by equipping the community of Monteverde, where Hotel Belmar is located, for challenges associated with change by planting and protecting trees and the local biodiversity as well as preserving water in the region, to name a few.
At the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif., on Earth Day eve, the resort held a five-course plant-based dinner using fresh produce and ingredients sourced from the Coachella Valley. The meal was served at Morgan’s in the Desert, La Quinta Resort & Club’s signature fine-dining restaurant. Based entirely on the local bounty of the surrounding area, the tasting menu took guests and locals alike on a plant-based culinary journey around the Coachella Valley, highlighting the abundance of greens and variety of grapes, seeds, nuts, and organically grown vegetables in La Quinta Resort’s backyard.
Earth Hour and Earth Day are great occasions to celebrate and showcase your progress or initiate new steps to reduce your environmental impact. The events are great PR opportunities and can help increase occupancy with green-focused packages. Don’t let Earth Hour and Earth Day go by without doing something for yourself, your team, the planet and your community.
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 greenlodgingnews@gmail.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 greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.
Get in the Green Suppliers Spotlight!
Green Lodging News, lodging’s leading environmental news source, publishes Green Suppliers Spotlight, an e-blast to 19,599 subscribers that features the lodging industry’s leading green products and services. The e-blast features multiple vendors—unlike the current Green Supplier Spotlight that allows one supplier to “own” the Green Lodging News subscriber list for one e-blast. (Click here for a Green Suppliers Spotlight sample.)
Green Suppliers Spotlight is published weekly on Thursdays to general managers, owners, management companies, directors of sustainability, directors of engineering, facilities managers and many others who are either in purchasing positions or who influence purchasing decisions. Suppliers of green products and services throughout North America and beyond are invited to participate in the e-blast. (Minimum two suppliers per e-blast.) Green Suppliers Spotlight was created to give vendors an opportunity to reach a high number of industry purchasers at a very low cost—as low as $200 per e-mail. (Click here for rate sheet.)
Those advertising in Green Suppliers Spotlight can include up to 100 words, one image, contact information and multiple links to their website in their ad. At the end of each week, a report will be sent to each supplier with information on delivered e-mails, opens and click-throughs.
Planning Advertising for 2023?
Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for 2023. Many excellent spots are available on our website and in the weekly e-mail newsletter. Many Green Supplier and Green Suppliers Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2023 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com. A media kit can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Newsletter & Green Supplier Spotlight Circulation
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As always, I can be reached at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.
