LONDON—A report launched July 9 by Tourism Concern reveals the stark inequities of water access and consumption between tourist resorts and local people in developing countries. “Water Equity in Tourism: a Human Right, a Global Responsibility,” demands concerted action by governments and the tourism sector to protect community water rights over tourist luxury.Featuring research from Bali, The Gambia, Zanzibar, and Goa and Kerala, south India, the report finds that the unsustainable appropriation, depletion and pollution of water by poorly regulated tourism are threatening the environment, while undermining living standards, livelihoods and development opportunities of impoverished local communities.These communities often...

LONGBOAT KEY, FLA.—Longboat Key Club & Resort announced the redesign of its Library Meeting Room, which showcases the talents of local craftsmen and manufacturers, and features a multitude of sustainable and environmentally friendly elements. The most recent application, the redesign of the Library Meeting Room, boasts River Reclaimed Heartwood flooring, paints containing zero or very low VOC (volatile organic compounds), soy-based foam cushions in the new chairs, energy efficient LED lighting and an Energy Star rated television.The Reclaimed Heartwood Flooring, from Goodwin Heart Pine Company, is a Florida based flooring company that specializes in recovering original growth logs from...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Promoting balanced living at home and away, Element Hotels is challenging its Facebook friends to put pedal to the pavement this summer and replace one car trip per week with a bike ride. The trailblazing eco-wise brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has teamed with trend-setting, ultra colorful STRADA track bikes to launch an “I Pledge to Pedal” Facebook sweepstakes, which will run from July 9 through September 17, 2012. Throughout the contest period, prize drawings will award one participant each week with a sleek, built-to-order bike, which they can customize online. There will be a...

SAN JOSÉ, COSTA RICA—Kurà Design Villas, opening in November, will offer a new level of eco-friendly, boutique hotel design to the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, thanks to the creative passions of its owners and their combined expertise in architecture and biology.Starting with a commitment to protect the local environment, Alejandra Umana (the biologist) and Martin Wells (the architect) are both Costa Ricans who want to share their love of the country’s biodiversity and beauty with a hospitality experience that enhances yet does not compete with the surrounding wilderness. Set on a mountain ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean...

BARAHONA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC—What was once a family retreat for the Schiffino family, Casa Bonita Lodge is making its mark as one of the most sustainable destinations in the Caribbean. Set on 160 acres of unspoiled land in the Dominican Republic’s Barahuco Mountains, the lodge is partially powered by a 6.5-kilowatt hydroelectric generator situated on the Riosito River. The generator meets 30 percent of the 14-villa lodge’s electricity needs. According to Sandra Beltran, vice president of sales and marketing for Prohotel International, the company that manages the lodge, the goal is to upgrade the hydro plant so that it supplies...

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.—Four Points by Sheraton Tallahassee Downtown has completed a multi-million renovation and is the newest incarnation of a 12-story round building that has been a city landmark since 1969. Owned by Union Hotel Company Tallahassee RLLLP, the hotel has 164 guestrooms.To attain LEED status, Union Hotel Company Tallahassee, RLLP partnered with Boulder, Colo.-based UHG Consulting, a sustainability consulting firm specializing in LEED certification and green building. UHG worked with Four Points by Sheraton Tallahassee to advance the hotel’s sustainability initiatives, achieve total cost savings from energy efficiency, and create public awareness of its green practices.“Four Points by Sheraton...

NATIONAL REPORT—It’s a meeting at an inn in Vermont designated as a “Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State” that, among other benchmarks, composts leaf and yard waste. It’s a corporate event by a firm that checks for needed products in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing database. It’s a meeting arranged by a planner who considers a destination’s public transportation system and a venue’s recycling program. A green meeting may be any one of these things, and more. Increasingly, greener—or more sustainable—meetings are occurring across the landscape. Today, more sustainable meetings, encouraged by EPA guidance on the...

OGUNQUIT, MAINE—Committed to sustainability and preserving the environment, The Cliff House Resort & Spa has installed one of Maine’s largest solar thermal projects. The installation uses 2,100 tubes on 70 collectors. That’s 10 times the size of an average solar project. The solar installation will save an estimated 11,000 gallons of propane annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 140,000 pounds per year.Solar energy will be used to provide heat and hot water for the resort’s spa building, which includes 32 guestrooms and 10 treatment rooms. The resort estimates it will reduce fossil fuel consumption in this...

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLO.—Glenwood Hot Springs is famous for many things, particularly its two enormous spring-fed mineral hot springs pools and its award-winning Spa of the Rockies. Equally impressive, though less well known, is the fact that Glenwood Hot Springs has been an environmental trailblazer since long before terms like “carbon footprint,” “eco-friendly” and “sustainability” became commonplace. Now, in addition to harnessing geothermal heat sources on-site, Glenwood Hot Springs has adopted practices that include the use of state-of-the-art materials and energy-efficient technology that add up to not only dollars saved, but to a cleaner, healthier environment for visitors and the...

NATIONAL REPORT—There has been a lot of attention lately on green meetings—from green meeting standards to industry agreement on the measurement of the carbon footprint of a meeting. What has been little talked about is the role a simple meeting table can play in the greening of meetings over many years. Increasingly, suppliers are offering tables that are not only recyclable but that can also be used without linens. In the manufacturing of these tables vendors are also taking steps to be environmentally responsible—recycling scrap, recapturing and reusing paint, purchasing supplies locally, incorporating highly unique materials, and making quality...