Climate Neutral Group (CNG) recently announced the launch of its Climate Neutral Certification Standard. According to CNG, the Standard is the first climate neutral one to target absolute zero. The initiative is open to any organization, product or service that wants to achieve Absolute zero, a state where it no longer produces any greenhouse gases. This goes well beyond net zero, where emissions are still allowed. The standard includes a unique reduction component, requiring companies to meet an annual reduction target with the aim of reaching Absolute zero by 2050. It paves the way for organizations to only offset what they cannot reduce, following the highest quality criteria. The certification standard provides a practical process and tools towards climate neutrality, while ensuring that a company is verified against strict criteria by independent certification bodies. Managing Director at CNG, René Toet, said, “It’s time for...

When Choice Hotels International announced earlier this week that its future headquarters would be housed in a LEED Gold-targeted building, it was part of a trend followed by others in the hotel industry. Choice’s new offices in North Bethesda, Md. are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023. More than three years ago, Marriott International broke ground on its new headquarters in Bethesda, Md. Set to open next year, it is also designed to LEED Gold standards, allowing an abundance of natural light, while providing new opportunities for flexible, collaborative workspaces. The campus will also offer Marriott...

It is not something you put on your calendar, but this week is Rodent Awareness Week. A big thank you to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) for sharing some tips on how to deter rodents. Perform regular rodent inspections. Knowing where to look and what to look for can help solve a rodent issue before it gets worse. The top sign of a rodent issue is seeing a live or dead rodent. Some other common signs of a rodent infestation are droppings, gnaw marks, nests, urine stains, and tracks or rub marks. It is also important to inspect...

There are many small changes that hotel companies can implement that can make a big difference in terms of being more sustainable. HSMAI’s Rising Sales Leader Council (RSLC) discussed how their hotels are promoting sustainability on a recent call. Here are a few of their best ideas for how hotels can be more sustainable—and why it’s important. A big thank you to Kaitlin Dunn for sharing this article. Food Waste Food is one of the largest categories of waste that gets generated from hotels, especially with banquets and meetings, RSLC members said. They suggested combatting this via composting and donating food...

Every now and then I like to check in to see how our nation is doing regarding its renewable energy infrastructure. The SUN DAY campaign frequently provides updates. According to a review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data recently released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) dominated new U.S. electrical generating capacity additions during the first two-thirds of 2021. FERC’s latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through August 31, 2021) reveals that renewable energy sources accounted for 86.46 percent—or 13,868 megawatts (MW)—of the 16,039 MW of new capacity added during...

Find out more about the Living Wall that The Red Carnation Hotel Collection is using to keep cities greener. Located on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace in London, The Rubens at the Palace’s living wall reaches over 21 meters high and is packed with over 20 seasonal plant species including buttercups, crocuses, strawberries, lavender, spring bulbs, and winter geraniums. The flowers have been chosen to ensure the wall is “in-bloom” all year round. Affectionately nicknamed “The Green Lungs of Victoria”, the wall boasts significant environmental benefits, such as improving the air quality for those working in and passing through the area and attracting much-needed wildlife such as bees,...

Commercial buildings, including hotels in the United States, waste up to $60 billion in energy every year. That is not a good record, especially since by 2050, every building in the world will need to achieve the target goal of net-zero energy use to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Given that most buildings that will exist in the next 30 years have already been built, the only way to get there is more technology and digitization of buildings and the built environment. So says Paul Ghezzi, CEO and Director of Kontrol Technologies, whose company’s aim is to make...

One of the most interesting sustainability-focused megaprojects in the works currently is called GreenCity and is planned for the Richmond, Virginia metro region. The eco-district project will include commercial, entertainment and residential developments. Two hotels are planned for GreenCity, with the first scheduled to be developed in the initial development sequence, and the second to follow as the market dictates. A 17,000-seat arena is planned. Also included will be retail space and a 40-acre, publicly accessible park system. Transit connections are currently under study, but when completed will allow for easy regional access via bus and other systems. Some of...

As each week passes as editor of Green Lodging News, I am sent way more article leads or helpful websites that I can write about. I would like to share one of those with you now. Perhaps you too will want to pass the article along. 15 Ways To Reduce Plastic Pollution—This article provides some very good reasons to care about plastic pollution. From the article: Maybe you don’t understand what the hype about plastic pollution is all about. Laura Parker writes for National Geographic. She reports that “Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish...

Looking for reasons to green up your hotel? Be sure to check out the latest paper from Operto Guest Technologies. The paper is entitled, “Sustainable Hotels: How Going Green Helps Your Hotel.” Not familiar with Operto? “Our systems enable not only contactless guest entry but also personalized and automated temperature control, and powerful monitoring features,” the company says. The paper begins with what guests want. “According to our survey, a growing percentage of guests are willing to pay significantly more per night—up to 75 percent more in some cases—to a hotel that can demonstrate genuinely green policies, and we found...