ST. LOUIS—Maritz Travel recently joined the fight against human trafficking by signing ECPAT-USA’s Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct (The Code) during a company-wide town hall meeting. Signing The Code, a set of business principles travel and tourism companies implement to specifically combat child sex trafficking, symbolizes Maritz Travel’s commitment to helping raise awareness of human trafficking and child sex trafficking throughout the travel and tourism industry. Nearly 21 million people around the world are victims of modern day slavery. In the United States alone, at least 100,000 of those victims are American children with another 200,000 to 300,000 at risk...

BOSTON—The Patrick Administration announced final statewide commercial food waste disposal ban regulations to take effect on October 1, 2014. The ban will divert food waste to energy-generating and composting facilities and reduce the Commonwealth’s waste stream. “We are committed to protecting our natural resources and creating jobs as the Commonwealth’s clean energy economy grows,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan. “The disposal ban is critical to achieving our aggressive waste disposal reduction goals and it is in line with our commitment to increase clean energy production.” The ban, regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), will...

ORLANDO, FLA.—The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) has launched the Charter for Sustainable Cleaning, a voluntary initiative to promote and demonstrate continual improvement in the cleaning products industry’s sustainability profile. The Charter was unveiled during the ACI’s 2014 Annual Meeting & Industry Convention.The Charter, which is designed to go beyond basic legal requirements, provides a framework for driving the industry toward common sustainability goals. It requires companies to have systems in place for continual assessment, review, and improvement of sustainability performance, including raw material selection, resource use, and occupational health and safety, at every important stage of the product lifecycle.“By...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—It is not often that an investment in renewable energy is celebrated with fireworks and mayoral visits but that is what happened this past Wednesday evening at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. The fireworks and visits by City of Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler and Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief marked the official unveiling of six 52-foot, 4 kilowatt wind turbines that rise above the hotel’s rooftop. Approximately $500,000 was invested in the turbines that required the tallest crane in the state of Florida to install.“It is an exciting day for us,” said Andreas Ioannou, general...

CORAL GABLES, FLA.—The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Assn. (CHTA) will conduct its first hospitality and tourism conference since 2007 under the banner of the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Education Forum (CHIEF). According to CHTA, the event will include opportunities to learn how to adopt green sustainable development strategies to improve energy efficiency in every area of both hotel and tourism infrastructure. “The time is right to have a forum that brings together hoteliers and our allied members,” said Richard Doumeng, president of CHTA. “It will be an educational and sales setting with a strong focus on the use of technology...

DENVER—Xanterra Parks & Resorts has assumed operations of lodging, restaurants, retail and the famous Red Buses in Montana’s Glacier National Park. The 16-year contract includes the operations of Many Glacier Hotel, Lake McDonald Lodge, the Apgar Village Inn, Rising Sun Motor Inn and Swiftcurrent Inn featuring approximately 500 rooms and cabins, four restaurants with more than 500 seats and five retail outlets. Xanterra will also conduct tours of the park in 33 historic Red Buses.“We are all excited to work in such a spectacular park with a long and fascinating history,” said Andrew N. Todd, president and CEO of...

LOS ANGELES—Often lost in the conversation about green lodging certification in the United States and Canada is the Green Globe brand. There is good reason for it. Only one hotel in the United States—the Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle—is Green Globe certified. There are none in Canada. The InterContinental Chicago will soon be certified. A handful of non-lodging businesses in the United States are also certified but that is it. Yet, the Green Globe brand is thriving outside of the United States and Canada. Guido Bauer, CEO of the Los Angeles based Green Globe, says there are now 433 lodging...

NEW YORK—For the past two decades The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York has brought together thousands of restaurant, foodservice and hospitality professionals from throughout New York State and surrounding areas. In 2014, Urban Expositions, new owners of the event, along with sponsorship from the New York State Restaurant Association, are excited to experience the energy and excitement of their first International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, scheduled for Sunday, March 2 to Tuesday, March 4 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.  The tradeshow and conference provides opportunities for vendors...

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, WASH.—Kalaloch Lodge in Olympic National Park, operated by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts at Kalaloch, Inc., has taken their environmental efforts to a new level by achieving ISO 14001 registration. Registration to the standards put forth by the International Organization for Standardization signifies Kalaloch Lodge and Delaware North’s continued commitment to stewardship.ISO 14001 is an internationally recognized set of standards for environmental management. ISO’s 14001 environmental standards are designed to help organizations comply with related laws, regulations and requirements, minimize how their operations affect the environment and look for ways to improve their operations from...

EXETER, N.H.—Hay Creek Hotels announced that the Ethan Allen Hotel, located in Danbury, Conn., was recently certified as a Connecticut Green Lodging Facility. Presented by the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CDEEP), Daniel C. Etsy, the award recognizes Ethan Allen’s commitment to operating in an eco-friendly manner, with particular attention paid to environmental matters. Ethan Allen Hotel was awarded this certification based upon multiple systems that they have put in place to save on energy and water waste, paper re-use, and more. The hotel created a green committee comprised of the front office manager,...