PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide introduces WyndhamGreen Kids, a program designed to teach children ages three to fourteen about the environment, their communities, and the world. Children from all around the world will be able to learn how to take care of the planet using six core strategies: energy conservation, water conservation, recycling/reusing, education, community involvement, and innovation. Wyndham Worldwide celebrated Earth Day by educating kids about sustainability locally at its headquarters in Parsippany, N.J., as well as nationally through the WyndhamGreen Kids website where children can find workbook activities and hands-on activities arranged by their local environmental organizations. “We are proud to...

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA—It isn’t every day that the spirit of environmentally sound practice finds a fan base among the fiscally cautious, bottom-line planning set. But an innovative new project at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is proving the compatibility of those two goals. The Hotel at Kirkwood Center is nearing completion, with a target opening of July 2010. As its creative blend of top-shelf guest services and hands-on teaching opportunities opens the doors to the public, many energy-efficient tools and systems will also go to work, providing superior comfort while keeping electric and water meters in check....

WASHINGTON, D.C.—What do 34 U.S. hospitality organizations—including Hilton Worldwide, Mauna Lani Resort, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, and Wyndham Worldwide—have in common? They are all members of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership program (GPP). The initiative is a voluntary program that supports the purchase of green power by offering advice, technical support, recognition programs, tools and resources. Green power, as defined by EPA, is electricity produced from a subset of renewable resources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and low-impact hydro. Hospitality organizations can participate in GPP by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) from Green-e certified providers,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is launching an Energy Slasher Challenge. The year-long challenge asks hoteliers to track their quarterly energy and natural gas consumption from April 1, 2009 thru April 1, 2011, and report the totals via www.ahla.com/slasher. Participants can benchmark their progress through GreenQuest, a Web-based service free to AH&LA members; EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager; or their own corporate benchmarking program. Each quarter AH&LA will update an online leader board, and Green Guru Pat Maher will provide monthly strategies, assistance, and best practices to help...

MCLEAN, VA.—Following two years of testing, Hilton Worldwide has unveiled LightStay, a proprietary system developed to calculate and analyze environmental impact. In the first full year of findings, the 2009 LightStay results show that the 1,300 Hilton Worldwide properties using the system conserved enough energy to power 5,700 homes for a year, saved enough water to fill more than 650 Olympic-size pools and reduced carbon output equivalent to taking 34,865 cars off the road. Reductions in water and energy use also translated into dollars saved for hotel owners, with estimated savings of more than $29 million in utility costs...

MINNEAPOLIS—When Governor Chris Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5543 on March 19, Washington became the first state to address the dangers of unsafe packaging and transportation of used fluorescent lamps and mercury containing devices. This new legislation is set to be the precursor of future state and federal legislation as awareness of mercury vapor dangers increases. Due to deficiencies of most current packaging configurations utilized for shipping used fluorescent lamps, the new law requires that lights and other mercury-containing devices are packaged and shipped in material that will minimize the release of mercury into the environment. The law also states...

SAN DIEGO—Barona Resort & Casino announced that it has achieved Gold certification as part of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) rating system. Barona is the first tribal resort in the nation to earn the internationally recognized certification for the design and operation of high performance green buildings. “The Barona Resort & Casino”s LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chair, USGBC. “The most sustainable way to green the built environment is through retrofitting existing buildings. Barona can...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) annual Summer Summit, held at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., will offer attendees insight from industry insiders, networking with diverse groups of industry professionals, and the opportunity to shape future AH&LA initiatives via more than a dozen committees. In addition, the annual Stars of the Industry Awards ceremony will honor exemplary employees and programs, and attendees can book a one-on-one eco-appointment with AH&LA’s Green Guru, Pat Maher. As a precursor to the Summit, AH&LA’s Women in Lodging Connect will host a panel and reception with the newly-formed Arizona...

Waste management programs can be more challenging for hotels than other green initiatives because there are many kinds of waste to address, and it takes ongoing attention to achieve good results. Yet, successful programs are financially rewarding, and they are noticed by hotel customers more than any other green initiative. This article is intended to help hotels reduce waste and reap the associated benefits. Hotels reduce their operating costs when they manage their waste stream well. Waste management programs cut costs by making some purchases unnecessary, save staff time and reduce trash disposal bills. However, disposal costs vary markedly by region,...

CONCORD, N.H.—The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) and the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Assn. (NHLRA) announced that the Gale River Motel & Cottages (GRM&C), Franconia, N.H., is the first motel labeled as an Environmental Champion under a new program coordinated between the two organizations. In November, NHLRA kicked off its redesigned green certification program for restaurants and lodging facilities to make them more accountable for keeping up their green practices. NHLRA began offering a tool to educate hotels and restaurants on making their businesses more sustainable. Michelle Veasey of the NHLRA’s Sustainability Program and Tara Mae...