LAS VEGAS—For the third consecutive year, Caesars Entertainment Corp. is distributing 45,000 energy efficient light bulbs such as Compact Florescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) to low-income residents in the communities they serve across the United States. Energy saving light bulbs are environmentally friendly and reduce energy costs substantially when compared to conventional incandescent light bulbs. Many of these bulbs last 10 times longer and produce 75 percent less heat, reducing home cooling costs. “We recognize the most incremental changes often make the biggest difference at our resorts and in the communities we serve,” said Gwen Migita, corporate director Sustainability and Community...

MINNEAPOLIS—Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company, announced on Earth Day that it has registered for the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the company’s corporate headquarters in Minneapolis. Carlson is pursuing LEED certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, which helps building owners and operators measure operations, improvements and maintenance on a consistent scale, with the goal of maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance addresses whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues including chemical use, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs, and systems upgrades. Below...

BOWEN HILLS, QUEENSLAND—Ecotourism Australia has released its Green Travel Guide Australia 2011/2012. “Ecotourism Australia celebrates its 20th birthday this year, and this year’s Green Travel Guide Australia is a tribute to the growth of responsible and sustainable tourism in Australia,” says Kym Cheatham, CEO of Ecotourism Australia. “The 2011/2012 Green Travel Guide Australia features more than 1,000 Australian tourism experiences.” The Green Travel Guide Australia 2011/2012 also features the newly launch Eco Lodges of Australia brand, a marketing initiative of Advanced Ecotourism Certified accommodation experience in Australia. “Australia is globally recognized for outstanding ecotourism experiences,” Cheatham says. “Eco Lodges of Australia...

GLEN ALLEN, VA.—Just in time for Earth Day, the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center will share a different kind of “green” with its guests traveling in hybrid and electric vehicles. With its new “Go Green, Get Green” package, guests who arrive at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel in a hybrid vehicle and stay for two nights or more through September 1, 2011, will receive a $25 Visa gift card. The Go Green, Get Green package includes deluxe, overnight king- or double-bedded accommodations, a $25 Visa gift card, and wireless high-speed Internet access. The package is based on qualifying...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Clean the World, a social enterprise committed to saving lives and protecting the planet, today announced a corporate agreement to collect and recycle hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and gels to help fight the global spread of preventable diseases. An estimated 1.6 million pounds of hotel soap may be recycled each year through this partnership. The agreement, potentially involving 500 Starwood hotels in North America, is the first corporate agreement for Clean the World, which now has hospitality partnerships in place with more than 1,000 hotel properties around the globe. Starwood brands...

SILVER SPRING, MD.—Choice Hotels International, Inc. announced a number of efforts it has undertaken to underscore its ongoing commitment to the environment. These initiatives are in support of the company’s Room to Be Green environmental protection program and in honor of the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, being celebrated Friday, April 22. At the hotel level, the company has significantly increased the number of hotels in its Room to Be Green program to more than 1,300 hotels. Since the program launched in 2009, these hotels have achieved significant reductions in energy and water usage, measurable in billions of kilowatt hours...

TORONTO—As part of Earth Week, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is making a global commitment to plant 10 million trees as part of its long term efforts to support sustainability. The initiative will now form the cornerstone of the company’s substantial existing corporate social responsibility program. “For 50 years, our company logo has depicted the annual cycle of a tree, and as we look to the future, its symbolism will translate into concrete action,” says Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “In cultures throughout the world, trees represent growth, prosperity and longevity. They also play a...

NEW YORK—Hilton Worldwide Inc. has become the latest hotel company to take a strong stand against the commercial sexual exploitation of children by signing the tourism Code of Conduct (The Code), ECPAT-USA announced. The Code specifically focuses on the protection of children from sexual exploitation in the travel and tourism industries. While The Code has been signed by almost 1,000 travel industry members worldwide, Hilton Worldwide is the fourth U.S. company to agree to work with ECPAT-USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies to protect sexually exploited children. Just last month, Delta Air Lines became the first U.S....

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—The city striving to become the world’s greenest metropolis by 2020 is getting a hotel to match. Greater Vancouver will become the site of Canada’s first Element, a trailblazer in eco-conscious hospitality from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Set to welcome guests in 2014, Element Vancouver Metrotown is owned by Bosa Properties and will be managed by Atlific Hotels. Element hotels are green by design and inspired by nature. Element hotels’ energizing, eco-chic environment offers bright public spaces, smart design, and modern touches. Every Element property is also a high-performance building where sustainable practices reduce waste and...

PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN—St. Maarten recently established its first national marine park—the Man of War Shoal Marine Park. The aquatic area is the first step St. Maarten has taken towards preserving the area known as the Proselyte Reef, the island’s most important underwater habitat. “The development of the marine park has been long in the making and we are pleased to have begun the first and most crucial phase of the process,” said Honorable Franklin Meyers, Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Telecommunications. “By creating the marine park, St. Maarten is taking steps to preserve the local environment as well...