CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels Corp. has launched its 2012 corporate responsibility report update, highlighting critical advances in environmental sustainability in support of the company’s signature corporate responsibility platform Hyatt Thrive.The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 3.1-compliant companion piece serves as a mid-cycle reporting update to Hyatt’s full 2011 corporate responsibility report. Together, the reports offer a two-year snapshot of the company’s work to make local communities places where Hyatt associates are proud to work, where guests want to visit, where neighbors want to live and where hotel owners want to invest. “2012 offered opportunity to build on our strong foundation and extend...

PORTLAND, ORE.—GMIC in partnership with Twirl Management is launching the Certificate in Sustainable Event Planning as a 360-degree learning environment to create a new class of sustainable event practitioners. The students will be working towards the mission of creating, guiding and implementing the sustainability goals and performance outcomes of the 2014 Sustainable Meeting Conference. Through their participation the students will be responsible for the successful implementation of the sustainable event initiatives. Calls with the GMIC Sustainable Event Conference planning, marketing and client teams, communication with vendors, potential site visits and pre-conference attendance will be part of the curriculum.Adult learners...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is changing its roof top landscape by adding six wind turbines to the 25-story all-suite resort located across from the Atlantic Ocean on AIA in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 374-suite resort has been committed to saving energy since opening in 2007 and was the first hotel in Fort Lauderdale Beach to be awarded a Florida green lodging designation. Continuing the commitment of going above and beyond environmental regulations and voluntarily implementing hotel conservation programs, the hotel has begun installation of the six wind turbines that will help reduce energy consumption that will...

TORONTO—This September, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will reach out and support local charitable organizations during the luxury hotel brand’s Community Connections Month. As part of Fairmont’s new Sustainability Partnership program and the brand’s ongoing commitment to proactively engage with its local communities, hotel colleagues in participating locations will be rolling up their sleeves and pitching in, whether it be volunteering at a shelter, highlighting the preservation of a threatened species like bees, raising funds for at-risk children or lending a helping hand (or hammer) to improve facilities for the elderly. Hotel guests can also get involved from donating money...

PLAYA OCOTAL, NICARAGUA—The owners of Morgan’s Rock Hacienda and Ecolodge on 4,500 acres in Playa Ocotal State, Nicaragua, announced plans to create a second boutique lodge destination on a 5,000-acre coffee plantation surrounded by primary growth rainforest in the north of the country. The lodge will built in the next two years. Eric and Carolina Poncon envision their second upscale eco-lodge as yet another step in fulfilling their vision of putting their family lands to productive agriculture, forestry and tourism use—but only if it’s done sustainably. Instead of building mega resorts, which Eric Poncon says is not in the family’s DNA,...

OTTAWA, ONT.—The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) is now accepting entries for the 2013 Hall of Fame Awards of Excellence. In its tenth year the Hall of Fame Awards program continues the Association’s tradition of acknowledging the strong standards and values of those involved in and with the lodging industry.  The awards program recognizes those individuals, companies or properties that have demonstrated significant accomplishments, exemplary leadership and tireless commitment to the industry in the following divisions:The Energy & Environment Award—Recognizes lodging properties that have developed a culture towards integrating environmental management practices that improve everyday operations and the bottom...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new report published by the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Greenprint Center for Building Performance suggests that the global real estate industry continues to make progress in improving the environmental performance of existing buildings.Volume 4 of the Greenprint Performance Report, which measures and tracks the performance of 3,232 buildings owned by Greenprint’s members, demonstrates a year-over-year reduction of 3.2 percent in energy consumption and 3.4 percent in carbon emissions. The report finds that the reduction in carbon emissions equates to nearly 268,400 barrels of oil not consumed, 24,044 cars taken off the road, and more than 2.9 million...

DETROIT—MGM Grand Detroit has completed the light-emitting diode (LED) lamp retrofit of its 61-acre parking garage. Cited as one of the nation’s largest LED parking garage makeovers, the three-month installation boasts 3,117 LED lamps and will reduce the garage’s annual energy use by 80 percent at the Four Diamond destination resort. “As a property fully committed to the fundamental principles of environmental stewardship, we are proud to complete the LED lamp installation and further minimize MGM Grand Detroit’s energy consumption,” said Steve Zanella, president and COO of MGM Grand Detroit. “Like many of our conservation initiatives, this renovation...

NEW YORK—A new poll of more than 600 business professionals conducted on PwC US’ recent webcast, Boosting Your Bottom Line Through Eco-efficiency, found that 52 percent of respondents rank eco-efficiency as a high or growing priority. The PwC poll results indicate that businesses are putting greater emphasis on efforts to drive financial savings and build a competitive advantage in the market by being more ecologically efficient and reducing their environmental impact. PwC also launched a new report titled, “Less Can Be More: Better for the Bottom Line and the Environment,” offering ideas for companies considering eco-efficiency strategies. “Identifying...

NATIONAL REPORT—Architects, designers, facility managers and business leaders pursuing LEED certification may now be able to earn credit for specifying level certified furniture products under the USGBC’s new Pilot Credit 80: Environmentally Preferable Interior Finishes and Furnishings—a credit that specifically recognizes products that have been third-party certified to the ANSI/BIFMA e3 Furniture Sustainability Standard.Scot Horst, senior vice president, LEED, USGBC, made the announcement at BIFMA’s 2013 Annual Meeting.“BIFMA and the office furniture industry have been at the forefront of sustainability and transparency in product manufacturing and its willingness to engage with USGBC has created a uniquely collaborative process that...