Interface, the world’s largest commercial modular carpet company, demonstrated its leadership yet again last week with the announcement that its Americas manufacturing sites now operate using 96 percent renewable energy. Globally, the company operates on 84 percent renewable energy. The Americas milestone was achieved with the addition of directed biogas to meet the thermal energy needs of the company’s flagship operations in Troup County, Ga. It was 22 years ago that Interface launched Mission Zero, a quest to eliminate its carbon footprint. Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface at the time, declared that Interface was committed to becoming...

Late last year I reported on Avendra’s hiring of a new sustainability manager, Hamzah Abu-Ragheb, and Avendra’s requirement that all of its suppliers have a sustainability policy in place by the end of 2016. For those of you not familiar with Avendra, it is a procurement services provider formed in 2001 with the support of companies such as Marriott, Hyatt, Fairmont and Club Corp. Marriott (managed hotels) is Avendra’s largest customer. The bulk of what is purchased through Avendra is F&B related. I just heard from Hamzah and he informed me that Avendra just posted a document on its...

Since publishing my Earth Day column last week I have heard from a number of other companies and hotels with their Earth Day plans. First, a representative of Destination Hotels sent me a long list of activities that will take place at Destination Hotels properties as part of the company’s Destination Earth program. Upon checking in April 21 through April 22 at Hotel Derek, A Destination Hotel in Houston, each guest will receive a Texas shaped paper, which will bloom into a Texas wild flower garden. Additionally, the property will be featuring a farm to table menu to include...

Would you trust your guests to pay what they believe is appropriate for food and service? That is what is happening at China’s Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain. There, a pay what you believe is appropriate pay policy is being implemented at the Chef’s Table at the Farm2Fork restaurant. The policy went into effect this month. Each Saturday morning after the chef has finished his rounds at the vegetable farm and confirmed with the local suppliers for the day’s availability of fresh produce, a four-course dinner menu is devised and written on the chalkboard at the upper level of...

The Valencia Group is touting its commitment to protecting the planet with a number of different green initiatives this month. First of all, the predominant image on its website is Earth as seen from space. Below that image is a summary of some of the steps the company is taking this month—eco-friendly cocktails in its bars, for example. “We are proud to say that we do our part to protect Mother Earth by sourcing local ingredients, beautifying our areas, supporting community gardens, planting trees in our areas, and paying careful attention to sustainability efforts in each of our destinations,”...

Following last spring’s earthquake in Nepal, employees of the Radisson Blu Resort Fujairah (UAE) donated an average of five percent of their salary to support their four Nepali colleagues whose families were affected by the earthquake. One of the affected staff lost two close family members in the quake. This is just one example of steps taken by employees of Rezidor Hotel Group properties to help those in need. The story comes from the Rezidor Hotel Group’s 2015 Responsible Business Report. Be sure to read the report. Rezidor has long emphasized responsible business. It implemented its first environmental policy...

Dawn Baldwin, Director of Sales for the Halifax Convention Centre, recently wrote a case study detailing how the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) was able to green its 2015 meeting at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax. The four-day, 537-attendee meeting was held last August. CMA wanted its event to be a model of event sustainability by focusing on three areas: food, pollution and waste, and power. Creating a sustainable menu was the first step. According to Baldwin, the Convention Centre culinary team focused on sourcing local menu items that were organic, fairly traded, seasonal and not processed,...

Earlier this week I attended Sustain 2016, the Mid-Atlantic’s Annual Hospitality Conference. The event was held at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, Del. It is one of just a few green lodging oriented events being held this year. The conference was a two-day event. Critical to the success of any conference is attendance and I have to say this one was easily the least attended conference I have experienced. I was told that attendance was 110 but if you subtract the exhibitors and the speakers, there were very few actual lodging owners or managers in the room—especially...

Fortune Magazine recently released its annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The list is in its 19th year and recognizes companies that have exceptional workplace cultures. There are five lodging companies on the list: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (No. 20 and now owned by IHG); Hyatt Hotels (No. 47); Hilton Worldwide (No. 56); Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (No. 70); and Marriott International (No. 83). Google (Alphabet) is the No. 1 company on the list. How does Fortune determine what companies will make its annual list? Each year Fortune partners with Great Place to Work...

I am currently working on an article on hydration stations. They are not water fountains but are sometimes paired with them. They make it easy to fill bottles with water and sometimes offer filtered water. Some machines even calculate the volume of plastic bottles you have filled or diverted from the landfill. The Hilton San Francisco Union Square has four of them. Zion Lodge in Springdale, Utah also has installed them. Hydration stations are an ideal way to eliminate, or at lease dramatically reduce, the volume of plastic bottle waste flowing from your property. Plastic bottle waste is a...