WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) announced their alliance to help raise awareness of foodservice packaging recovery among restaurant operators and consumers. As part of this new effort, the groups are hosting a first-of-its-kind, industrywide Foodservice Packaging Recovery Summit November 7 to 8 in Austin, Texas, that will bring stakeholders together to collaborate on industry-driven solutions that increase the recovery of valuable resources and landfill diversion.At the inaugural summit, NRA and FPI members and invited guests will share expertise to gain a better understanding of how the industry is working to increase recovery...

NATIONAL REPORT—Lodging owners are increasingly turning to service companies to handle the cleaning and maintenance of their packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs). Benefits include increased air flow and energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality within the guestroom, elimination of unpleasant odors, fewer breakdowns, the extension of the life of the PTACs by as much as three to five years, cost savings, and peace of mind knowing that the job has indeed been done. A few of the companies that now offer cleaning and maintenance services throughout the United States include Cintas Corp., Dream Green Services, LLC, and Fibercare. These...

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS—The pioneering Finch Bay Eco Hotel in the Galapagos Islands recently won a travel industry “Oscar,” a World Travel Award, for its commitment to the environment of the Ecuadorian archipelago. The hotel has implemented many measures to make it more eco-friendly.On the isolated Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, creating a green hotel is a challenge for everyone involved: it’s about taking an integral approach to crafting an establishment that is sustainable for the future while generating secure jobs and a healthy working environment for the present. With this concept in mind,...

DENVER—Walking the halls in the new TownePlace Suites by Marriott at Gateway Park (Denver), you’d be hard pressed to find a difference between these and the corridors in almost any other prototypical TownePlace Suites across the country. To the guest there is no difference. To the owner, there is a huge one. Although just as bright, these corridors contain special fitted LED lighting fixtures. Lights may not seem like a big deal, but these use far less electricity and will make a big impact on the energy that the hotel consumes. Less electricity equals less operating costs, which equals...

DOHA, QATAR—Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) is encouraging Qatar’s rapidly expanding hospitality sector to adopt best environmental practices in preparation for the coming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (CoP 18) by launching its Green Hotel Interest Group (GHIG).The CoP18/CMP8 UNFCCC Conference will take place in Doha beginning November 26, and attract thousands of delegates from all over the world. The GHIG launch, which took place last month at the Wyndham Grand Regency Hotel, Doha, saw leading hotels, organizations and individuals come together to create a forum that will support and advance greater...

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND—The International Golf Federation (IGF), which includes member organizations representing more than 150 countries, agreed to a policy that will make sustainability a core priority within the sport through a number of initiatives aimed at conserving water, reducing impact on land and increasing awareness. The IGF outlined eight sustainability measures, including a commitment to expand awareness among golfers and golf facilities; help golf facilities to incorporate sustainable principles and practices into daily business decisions; conduct high profile golf events in an environmentally responsible manner; and embrace measurement, target setting, transparency and verification. The IGF also said it would continue to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the US Composting Council (USCC) announced a partnership to raise awareness about food waste diversion, composting education, and other sustainable activities for the benefit of restaurant operators of all sizes nationwide.  The NRA and USCC will share educational resources and identify collaborative opportunities that promote awareness of the role composting plays in waste reduction and improved soil and water quality.“We are pleased to join with the US Composting Council to better serve our members by providing resources on composting, waste reduction, and other sustainability efforts they can adopt to strengthen their businesses,”...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the opening of the fifth public comment period for the proposed update to its LEED green building program. The comment period, which will close on December 10, enables the building community to view the most recent draft of the rating systems and provide comments where any substantive changes have been made.“LEED v4 will have the greatest impact of any rating system we’ve developed by focusing on building performance and rewarding innovative product manufacturers who offer best in class products,” said Scot Horst, senior vice president, LEED, USGBC. “LEED v4 will help...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—The InterContinental Hotel Cleveland is the first hotel in Northeast Ohio to install an on-site bee apiary, with the purpose of generating natural honey for use in the Table 45 restaurant and furthering the hotel’s sustainability initiatives. An estimated 35 pounds of pure honey will be harvested annually from the beehive. The honey can also be bottled, labeled and used as guest amenities, and possibly sold in the hotel gift shop.The apiary installation follows the recent recognition of Table 45 as a two-star Certified Green Restaurant from the Green Restaurant Association. Table 45 and the other InterContinental Cleveland...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Trump SoHo New York has partnered with Orlando-based social enterprise Clean the World to collect and recycle hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and gels to help fight the global spread of preventable diseases. The soaps collected by Trump SoHo will be shipped to Clean the World for recycling and distribution to communities and countries in greatest need through the efforts of Clean the World Foundation. Trump SoHo has a total of 391 rooms and is projected to provide nearly 35,000 bars of soap and bottled amenities—more than two tons—to Clean the World annually, which is enough to provide hygiene...