The International Facility Management Association has updated its Sustainability How-to Guide: Global Green Cleaning. The green cleaning guide for facilities managers is free to download. This guide outlines the steps to establish a comprehensive green cleaning program, covering key topics such as indoor air quality, green cleaning products and equipment, greenwashing, green cleaning service providers, the business case for green cleaning, how to develop a green cleaning program, and performance measurements. The authors of the guide have decades of experience in commercial and green cleaning. According to the authors, “The guide has been created to serve as an instrument for...

As published on Green Lodging News, The Rezidor Hotel Group just published its Responsible Business Report 2016. For those of you not familiar with the company, Rezidor’s current core brands include Radisson Blu—the largest upper upscale brand in Europe—and Park Inn by Radisson. Radisson RED is another Rezidor brand. The report, 61 pages long, describes the most important corporate responsibility and sustainability aspects of the company’s operations. Last year was a good one for the company with it being named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the eighth straight year by Ethisphere. The Rezidor Hotel Group also...

As highlighted in my weekly column this past week, Earth Hour will take place on Saturday, March 25, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time. Pranav Jampani, Director of Sustainability at The Venetian | The Palazzo | Sands Expo, has been sharing the Las Vegas properties' Earth Hour plans with me. The Venetian | The Palazzo | Sands Expo will celebrate Earth Hour in grand style in the Doge’s Palace plaza, in front of The Venetian. The resort’s official “Earth Hour DJ” will lead a countdown to the 8:30 p.m. start of Earth Hour, when all exterior building lights...

This week’s guest blogger is Will Harmon, Marketing Associate at BlueCart. Sustainability is a word that’s tossed around relentlessly, especially now as we transition from winter to spring and we enter the growing season. Sustainable food, sustainable communities, sustainable transportation; almost everything has a sustainable variant these days. That’s fantastic. It wasn’t too long ago that these variants didn’t exist. With viable options for reducing waste, whether it be food scraps or C02, more and more people are able to tap into sustainable resources to streamline their operations for maximum efficiency. One of the cornerstones of the sustainable movement is the...

When it comes to consumer travel habits and the degree to which sustainability comes into play in their travel decisions, little research has been conducted in recent years. To get a recent picture of how travelers make decisions based on sustainable practices, I recommend getting the 2016 report entitled, “The Role of Sustainability in Travel & Tourism.” Research partners included Sustainable Travel International and Mandala Research. Visit California was the lead research sponsor. The purpose of the study was to learn how travelers make decisions based on sustainable practices and commitments and their economic value to the travel industry....

In my years covering green lodging I have written quite a few articles about equipment and technology found in the kitchen to help one save energy, water and reduce waste—bio-digesters, pre-rinse spray valves, warewashers, variable-speed hood controllers, and more. You can read about such topics on the Green Lodging News website in the “Kitchen & Laundry” category. Every time I chat with a supplier I learn something new and that was certainly the case today when I interviewed Craig Gavson, CEO of Hyginix LLC. In case you are not familiar with Hyginix, they manufacture the FOG Tank, a heated...

Solar and wind power continue to grow in importance and as a proportion of overall electricity generation in the United States. Two recent reports indicate this. First, according to the American Wind Energy Assn., American wind power just achieved its second strongest quarter ever for newly installed energy generating capacity. Wind surpassed hydropower dams to become the largest source of renewable electric capacity in the United States, and the fourth largest overall. More than 100,000 people are employed in the wind industry. At the close of 2016, the American wind fleet totaled 82,183 MW, enough to power 24 million average...

Green Lodging News recently featured Pranav Jampani, Director of Sustainability, Las Vegas Sands Corp., in its Personnel Profile section. During my conversation with Pranav, he said the following, “On a daily basis, we proactively try to reduce our environmental impact. Our goal is to align with science-based targets.” In an article posted on Green Lodging News last August, Caesars Entertainment Corp. was also mentioned as committing to science-based carbon reduction goals. What exactly does science-based mean? According to the Science Based Targets website, targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are considered “science-based” if they are in...

Wyndham Worldwide recently released its 2015-2016 Corporate Responsibility (CSR) Report. I read through the report and there were many things that stood out to me. First, Wyndham achieved a 22 percent reduction in carbon emissions and 18 percent reduction in water consumption since 2010. This applies to the company’s owned, managed and leased assets. According to Stephen P. Holmes, Chairman and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide, the carbon emissions goal was reached six years ahead of schedule. Faith Taylor, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility Officer for Wyndham Worldwide, said in the report that Wyndham has saved an estimated $68 million...

Wyndham Hotel Group just opened its new-construction, 343-room Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach in Clearwater Beach, Fla. The two-tower resort, owned by Florida philanthropist Dr. Kiran Patel and managed by Wyndham Hotel Group, sits just steps from Pier 60 and the white sands of Clearwater Beach, one of the best beaches in the United States. Interestingly, the hotel was designed with turtles in mind. According to Alexandra Piscitelli, a spokesperson for the property, an exterior glazing was designed to meet various requirements including the need to comply with a 45 percent light transmittance standard that is specifically established in order...