PHILADELPHIA—Hersha Hospitality Trust announced that the company was selected to receive NAREIT’s 2013 Lodging & Resorts Leader in the Light Award; the highest achievement for lodging and resort REITs in the 2013 award competition. This national award, presented annually by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), recognizes Hersha and its EarthView program for superior and sustainable portfolio-wide energy use practices and sustainability initiatives.Steven A. Wechsler, NAREIT’s president & CEO, recognized Hersha’s industry leadership in sustainability and presented Jay H. Shah, CEO of Hersha Hospitality Trust, with the Leader in the Light award at REITWorld 2013: NAREIT’s...

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.—In Los Angeles County, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is available to commercial, industrial and multi-family property owners to pay for building improvements that save energy or create renewable energy on-site. The Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City took advantage of this fixed rate, 100 percent financing to fund $7 million worth of sustainable upgrades. The Hilton project is the largest commercial PACE project in the United States, more than twice the size of two projects completed this past year at just more than $3 million each.The Hilton project will result in an annual energy savings of $800,000 and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In advance of the approaching sequestration and debt ceiling deadlines in early 2014, the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. (AH&LA) and hoteliers from across the country sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging them to act quickly on two bills that would put safeguards in place in the event of future shutdowns. The two pieces of legislation are the Public Access to Public Lands Guarantee Act (S. 1750) authored by Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and the Protecting States,...

SEATTLE—Since opening seven years ago, Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle has increasingly integrated sustainable practices into its front and back of house operations, and into the community. Within the last month, the hotel has been honored with a Washington State-wide award from Seattle Business magazine and achieved re-certification from Green Globe, a U.N.-sanctioned certification that recognizes travel and tourism leaders for sustainability efforts.At a recent awards ceremony, Seattle Business magazine identified its 2013 Washington Green 50 list of outstanding sustainability organizations, and named 12 winners from diverse industries throughout the state. According to the magazine, winners were selected from a...

LONG BEACH PENINSULA, WASH.—Adrift Hotel is taking more big steps in sustainability with its current $48,000 project to add solar hot water panels and rainwater catchment for laundry. The recent announcement was made jointly by Brady and Tiffany Turner, owners of the 80-room hotel, located at the south end of the boardwalk and nearby Discovery Trail on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula.The project, with construction taking place from October through December 2013, is being funded utilizing Seattle-based Community Sourced Capital—providers of new financial tools to help local businesses access capital namely via community-sourced small business loans.“Choosing to inhabit the far...

NATIONAL REPORT—Hoteliers looking to dramatically decrease the volume of food waste sent to landfill or elsewhere for composting are increasingly turning to food waste decomposition machines. These machines quickly reduce the volume of waste down to either drainable liquid or dry soil amendment. While just a few years ago there were just a handful of vendors selling the machines, today there are more than a dozen. Machines available work similarly but features vary from one supplier to the next. The good news for green lodging establishments is that suppliers are making it very affordable to implement the machines and...

PHILADELPHIA—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that LEED v4, the newest version of the LEED green building program, launched at the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Philadelphia. LEED has revolutionized the marketplace since 1998 as the world’s premier benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. LEED v4 builds on the fundamentals of previous versions while offering a new system that prepares all LEED projects in a portfolio to perform at a higher level. “LEED v4 is a quantum leap for LEED,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “Over the past...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International employees have pledged $4.7 million this year to support nonprofit organizations serving the resort company’s host communities in Nevada, Michigan and Mississippi. Additionally, the company’s worksite giving program gives employees the opportunity to support other nonprofit organizations of their choice.Celebrating its 11th anniversary, The MGM Resorts Foundation has raised more than $54 million (including 2013 donations) and supported more than 2,000 charitable organizations since its inception in 2002. The Foundation supports community charities by distributing employee-designated donations and issuing grants to community nonprofits selected by an employee grants council.“Our employees have demonstrated, yet again, their...

LONDON—InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced its Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) results, charting substantial improvements in both its Disclosure Score and Performance Rating. The CDP results, which were released in October 2013, saw IHG achieve an overall score of 85B in the Climate Change submission for 2013—a significant rise from its 2010 score of 54C.  IHG’s substantial improvements this year have been driven primarily by the success of IHG’s Green Engage program, an online system that tracks the use of energy, carbon, water and the management of waste in properties along with the associated costs. It comprises more than 200...

LAS VEGAS—Green Chips, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing Nevada's sustainability identity, has launched a Community Web Portal to inspire collaborative initiatives among Southern Nevada's businesses, municipalities, organizations and citizens. The site will also function as a resource for individuals and businesses looking to be informed on, and connect with all areas of sustainability.“Sustainability is a multifaceted subject and all areas need to be represented to help our community grow,” said Rick Van Diepen, Executive Director of Green Chips. “We have developed this community portal, with underwriting from the Caesars Foundation, to become the pre-eminent resource for businesses and individuals...