NEW YORK—Restorative Hospitality, a subsidiary of the wellness real estate firm Delos, and Leonardo DiCaprio have announced plans to create the world’s most sustainable island resort at Blackadore Caye, Belize. Upon its completion in 2018, Blackadore Caye will be the greenest island resort ever built, the business partners say, and the world’s first “Restorative Island” project designed with sustainable building techniques that restore and regenerate the surrounding ecosystem and reverse the effects of climate change. The project is being developed by Restorative Islands, LLC, designed by McLennan Design and operated by Restorative Hospitality, which will also manage the wellness...

MIAMI—Miami based Trust Hospitality announced that the Islamorada Resort Co., comprised of Amara Cay Resort, Postcard Inn Beach Resort at Holiday Isle, Pelican Cove Resort & Marina, and La Siesta Resort, has partnered with the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) to raise funds for the organization. The nonprofit conservation organization is dedicated to creating offshore nurseries and restoration programs for threatened coral species. Islamorada Resort Company will help raise funds for CRF through guest donations and a matching fund.“With our recent entry into Islamorada, we wanted to find a way to give back to the local community,” said Patrick Goddard,...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced that it will begin to eliminate the use of cages for egg-laying chickens and gestation crates for breeding pigs in its global food supply chain. The announcement was made in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation’s largest animal protection organization.  Initially all hotels in the Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton brands will be required to switch all egg usage to cage-free by December 31, 2017, ensuring that chickens are not confined in cages. All...

TUMWATER, WASH.—The Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI) is a free methodology and calculation tool to enable hotels to measure and report on the carbon footprint of a hotel stay or meeting in a consistent way. In partnership with the Association of Green Property Owners and Managers (AGPOM), the International Tourism Partnership is offering an invitation to participate in a free webinar where one can learn, step-by-step, how to use HCMI to calculate the carbon footprint of a hotel stay or meeting in order to: •    Provide carbon footprint information your customers are increasingly requesting; •    Understand your environmental impacts and...

SACRAMENTO—Following the lowest snowpack ever recorded and with no end to the drought in sight, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. yesterday announced actions that will save water, increase enforcement to prevent wasteful water use, streamline the state’s drought response and invest in new technologies that will make California more drought resilient.“Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow,” said Governor Brown. “This historic drought demands unprecedented action. Therefore, I’m issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reductions across our state. As Californians, we must pull together and save water in every way...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—UNCF (United Negro College Fund), one of the United States’ leading minority scholarship organizations, announced a $1 million commitment from The Walt Disney Co. to provide scholarships to outstanding African American students and give them the tools to realize their professional goals.The Walt Disney Co. UNCF Corporate Scholars Program, administered by UNCF, will offer financial assistance to high-achieving African American students in underserved communities across the country, while expanding educational and career resources for them.“UNCF works to ensure our future leaders have the opportunity to obtain the college degrees they need, and our nation needs them to have,”...

OAKLAND, CALIF.—Green Venue Report, a leading group of event industry professionals committed to the advancement of venue sustainability, announces the launch of the second annual survey to compare sustainability practices and performance across convention and exhibition centers worldwide. Venues are invited to participate in the multi-question survey at no cost beginning April 1 at www.greenvenuereport.com.The 2015 Green Venue Report will offer these results in a comprehensive overview of convention centers around the world, building on the participation and momentum of the 2014 report. The report compares green performance over a wide range of areas, including: energy efficiency, waste management,...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide recently announced an agreement with wasl hospitality & leisure LLC, a subsidiary of wasl Asset Management Group, to debut the Aloft and Element brands in Dubai. Scheduled to open in 2018, Aloft Dubai Raffa and Element Dubai Raffa will bolster Starwood’s presence in Dubai—the city with the second largest concentration of hotels for the company after New York City. With the debut of both brands in 2018, Dubai will soon be home to all nine of Starwood’s brands.“We are very excited to introduce the Aloft and Element brands into Dubai, and are delighted...

ITHACA, N.Y.—Certain sustainability practices are nearly universal in the lodging industry, says a Cornell University study published by the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR). Water-conserving fixtures and linen-reuse programs, for instance, are widespread, based on the study of 100 U.S. resorts. The study, “Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry: Best Practices, Guest Participation, and Customer Satisfaction,” by Alexandra Bruns-Smith, Vanessa Choy, Howard Chong, and Rohit Verma, is available at no charge from the CHR. “We found that a majority of resorts were using at least two dozen of the nearly four dozen sustainability practices that we examined,” said Verma,...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide participated in the Earth Hour global initiative by turning its lights down and encouraging energy conservation. This is the fifth year that Wyndham Worldwide joined Earth Hour to raise awareness of global energy efforts.The company recognized Earth Hour at its corporate headquarters in Parsippany, N.J., by switching off its lights during the hour and encouraged associates to turn off lights, monitors and other electronics before leaving the building. Additionally, Wyndham Worldwide encouraged its global portfolio of brands to participate by turning off or dimming non-essential lighting, with some properties creating offerings for guests such as candlelight...