CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA—Hotel Verde has just been awarded a second LEED Platinum Green Building Certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) making Hotel Verde the first hotel globally to achieve a double Platinum certification for LEED. The first Platinum certification was awarded in May 2014 for New Construction in the Green Building Design & Construction category. This established Hotel Verde as one of only six hotels in the world and the only hotel in Africa, to receive this accolade, at the time. The second and most recent certification was awarded for the Existing Building Operations &...

DETROIT—Thom Connors, SMG Regional Vice President and General Manager of Cobo Center, announced that Cobo Center has received the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) certification, by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), a nonprofit, membership-based professional organization, and spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provides educational resources to planners, suppliers, and venues seeking to meet the ever-rising standards consumers set for sustainable meetings.The GMIC award is the fourth for Cobo Center related to sustainability efforts. In 2012, Cobo became the largest Green Venues Michigan facility. In 2014, Cobo was designated an EcoWorks Sustainable Communities Champion....

NEW YORK—The de Blasio administration earlier this month announced a proposal to require large-scale commercial food establishments to separate organic waste. Food scraps and other organic material makes up one-third of all commercial waste, and diverting this material from landfills—to be used as a soil amendment through composting or as feedstock for clean, renewable energy through anaerobic digestion—will be a critical opportunity for New York City. The City laid out an ambitious plan to send zero waste to landfills and reduce waste disposal by 90 percent relative to 2005 levels, by 2030 in “One New York: The Plan for...

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—ECPAT-USA’s new Public Service Announcement and campaign, “Does Your Hotel Know?”, calls on hotels and travelers to learn the signs of sex trafficking and take action.Sex trafficking victims—including children—are often bought and sold in hotel rooms and exploited in prostitution, ranging from budget properties to luxury resorts. Service providers and law enforcement agencies report that nearly all victims they come in contact with have been exploited in hotels. A trafficker may run their business out of a hotel room, putting employees in a unique position to identify victims and alert authorities. From check-in to check-out there are a...

NATIONAL REPORT—Last fall, Stem, Inc. announced it had finalized an agreement to deploy advanced energy storage systems and real-time energy intelligence software across 68 of Extended Stay America, Inc.’s California locations. Approximately two months ago, the Shore Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif. officially unveiled its Green Charge Networks intelligent energy storage system. The Extended Stay America properties, Shore Hotel, San Diego’s Ocean Park Inn and many others have all installed energy storage systems. As battery storage technology has improved—Tesla announced this past May that it would enter the energy storage market—an increasing number of hotels are investing in energy...

CANCUN, MEXICO—Tres Ríos Nature Park has obtained the permits from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to launch the Integral Project for Coast Rehabilitation of the Tres Ríos Nature Park, a project that will be developed in 2016.Gabriel Santoyo, Director of Sustainable Development at the Tres Ríos Nature Park, explained that the project contemplates the rehabilitation of one mile of beaches and dunes and the construction of four artificial reefs between 328 and 492 feet long that will act as barriers to protect mangroves and the beach from storms. The type of structures to be used, Santoyo explained,...

ORLANDO, FLA.—The world’s only large-scale recycler of hotel soap recently opened an office and recycling center in Montreal. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., Clean the World is a global social enterprise that has contributed to a 30 percent reduction in pre-adolescent deaths from hygiene-related illnesses since 2009. With the new facility coming online, soap and bottled amenities collected from hotels in Canada will benefit Canadians at risk for hygiene-related illnesses.Each month, close to 850,000 Canadians receive assistance from food banks. About 36 percent of those helped are children and youth. Through a partnership with Moisson Montreal, one of Canada’s major...

NEW YORK—To mark its centennial anniversary, the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) is unveiling a new brand and mission to better capture the dynamic innovation of the hospitality industry. HX: The Hotel Experience—Rooms to Restaurants (HX), will debut November 8 to 10, 2015 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City and represents a bold new strategic direction.This multimillion-dollar investment aimed at revitalizing the largest hospitality trade event in North America is founded on the belief that true hospitality is anticipating a guest’s needs to create a memorable and unique experience. To achieve that, HX...

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Delaware North, one of the largest hospitality management companies serving national and state parks, recently announced a lineup of environmentally-friendly initiatives it is implementing across its parks and resorts properties this summer.Among its efforts, Delaware North is expanding a partnership with Tesla, completing a restoration project at an iconic attraction at Niagara Falls State Park and planting the company’s greenhouse for its hospitality operations near Yellowstone National Park. In August, the company will for the first time host a sustainability conference for its environmental managers.Delaware North began its environmental stewardship efforts in the early 1990s at Yosemite National...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) announced a new corporate citizenship commitment to provide homeless youth in the Las Vegas area increased educational resources and support during the summer school break, when they are at a higher risk to lose focus on their education.Through donations to local service organizations Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and STREET Teens, LVS will help more homeless teens focus on their academic and professional futures by providing strengthened educational sites and assistance that are available year-round, including technology, personal support and scholarships.Summer months magnify the challenges homeless youth face because they don’t have...