ACCP and YourCause from Blackbaud surveyed the corporate social impact field to better understand the trends impacting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) professionals. Many hotel companies have at least one CSR/ESG professional and in some cases an entire team. The survey was conducted in April of 2023 and garnered responses from 149 companies representing more than $1B in community investment. The survey results show a profession experiencing continued instability and change, which may hinder its ability to successfully maintain momentum toward the goals of positively impacting society and meeting key stakeholder expectations. Most survey respondents (86...

When I first started Green Lodging News, there were still many in our industry who supported keeping a percentage of their rooms as smoking rooms. Many factors have led to the mass elimination of smoking rooms in the industry—consumer demand, legislative action, brand policies, etc. At The Hospitality Show in Las Vegas last month, there were many exhibitors of interest, including a couple of companies that make it easy to catch guests who violate nonsmoking policies. The two companies include alerteer and FreshAir Sensor LLC. The companies’ products function similarly. In the case of alerteer, it provides a system of...

Green Lodging News has reported on the efforts of Outrigger Resorts & Hotels many times. The Outrigger ZONE conservation initiative serves to provide enriching experiences for guests, hosts and local communities; as well as to ensure that properties actively do their part to protect our oceans and help them to thrive for generations to come. This month is World Ocean Month and Outrigger Resorts & Hotels has pledged to continue making a difference at its premier beach resorts worldwide. Activities connected to ocean health and conservation are taking place at each Outrigger resort. Each event is geared to empower, educate...

I believe I attended my first International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York City in 1989. At that time the show was huge with two levels of New York’s Javits Center occupied. There were more than 1,000 exhibitors each year for years and the food and foodservice section went on and on. You could grab lunch and dinner by grabbing samples during a stroll up and down the show aisles. Even the hotel school area was large. In my early years attending the show, I worked for Hotel & Motel management magazine and helped them produce “show dailies”. It...

At last month’s HD Expo in Las Vegas, there were many companies that caught my attention. One was Vancouver, B.C.-based ChopValue. The company is diverting millions of wooden chopsticks from landfills by converting them into high-performance composite material. The material is manufactured using proprietary technology that compresses recycled bamboo chopsticks along with a water-based resin, making it harder than maple, stronger than oak, and as durable as teak. Tables, wall décor, coasters, cutting boards, and many other items can be made with the material. The chopsticks are picked up from local businesses and converted to useable products in micro...

Bradley Corp. just released the results of its annual Healthy Handwashing Survey. What is really no surprise—thanks to the years of Covid—Bradley found most Americans are so averse to encountering germs in public restrooms that they go out of their way to avoid surfaces and touchpoints in these shared spaces. According to the survey, 62 percent of Americans use a paper towel as a barrier to avoid touching flushers, faucets, and doors. Women are even more likely to use the “paper towel as a glove” approach, with 67 percent taking this evasive measure. Others employ sheer physicality to steer clear...

For years we have all been told that plastics recycling is the right thing to do. Here is one very good reason not to create plastic waste in the first place. According to reporting by James Bruggers for Inside Climate News, “the chopping, shredding and washing of plastic in recycling facilities may turn as much as six to 13 percent of incoming waste into microplastics—tiny, toxic particles that are an emerging and ubiquitous environmental health concern for the planet and people.” A team of four researchers measured and analyzed microplastics in wastewater before and after filters were installed at an...

Hospitality Investor just released a white paper entitled, “Embracing Sustainability in Franchised Hotels.” It is written by Philip Halanen, Head of Sourcing & Sustainability EMEA at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how sustainability is being embraced in franchised hotels, especially in the midscale and economy segments and in markets such as India, the Middle East and Türkiye. It will also explore the steps we and our owners are taking to accelerate progress,” Halanen says. The author proves that what is driving interest in sustainability in hotels is consumer and investor demand. Geographically, Europe and...

In the past month, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, which represents over 7 million rooms globally, and includes 22 world-leading hotel companies and 35 supply chain and strategic partners, has recently announced a series of planet- and people-positive initiatives of note. First, it announced a partnership with Travel Unity that will see both alliances act in close collaboration, holding consultations and participating in Working Groups to enable the world’s hospitality industry to become more open and accessible to all. This mutual collaboration will see the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance hold Association-level membership in the Travel Unity Alliance and see the alliances work...

I don’t hear often about hotel companies committing to eco-rate all their properties to a well-recognized green certification program but that is what Noble House Hotels & Resorts did on April 21, just a day before Earth Day. According to a press release issued by Noble House & Resorts and Green Key Global that day, all Noble House Hotels & Resorts within the United States have applied to be certified in sustainability through Green Key Global’s eco-rating program for the hotel and lodging industry. The release did not state the number of properties that will be certified in the...