NATIONAL REPORT—Summer is here. And, with mild temperatures, comes the chance to assess the damage inflicted on your deck and porches by winter snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Your old finish may be worn leaving the wood unprotected and open to rotting and splitting. The ultimate test is to apply a few drops of water to the wood. If it beads, your wood should be well protected for another season, but if it soaks into the wood, it’s time for restoration. For many years, staining wood meant working with toxic solvents and harmful fumes. But, to meet growing demand for...

PORTLAND, ORE.—For the first time in the event’s history, delegates of the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), held September 8 to 10 in Portland, Ore., will have the opportunity to participate in volunteer activities during field sessions. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and the destination hosts Travel Oregon and Travel Portland are working with the ESTC Voluntourism Partner Planeterra, a world leader in volunteer travel, to bring volunteering to the forefront this year in recognition of the increasing importance of voluntourism as a niche of sustainable tourism. This is the first time that TIES is offering hands-on volunteer activities...

CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels & Resorts announced that it has agreed to launch the Green Key Eco-Rating Program at participating hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. The Green Key Eco-Rating Program will provide a uniform tool to recognize the environmental performance of the operations of Hyatt’s managed full-service hotels and resorts throughout the United Staters, Canada, and the Caribbean. Green Key’s rating system will complement Hyatt’s existing Web-based tracking system, Hyatt EcoTrack, which benchmarks energy use, water consumption, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions for Hyatt-managed, full-service hotels globally. Together, Hyatt EcoTrack and the Green Key...

BANGKOK—Cambodia’s business conglomerate The Royal Group has unveiled its vision to create Asia’s first environmentally planned resort island pioneering high-end international tourism on the country’s idyllic coastline. With interests ranging from telecommunications and IT to banking, international schools, media and entertainment, hotels and resorts, property and infrastructure development, The Royal Group has been at the heart of Cambodia’s economic development for almost two decades. Now the corporation led by visionary tycoon Neak Oknha Kith Meng is setting its sights on transforming the country’s tourism industry, which until now has almost exclusively depended on the attraction of world famous Angkor...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced the appointments of Michael C. Ford and Jennifer L. Silberman, who join the company as vice president, Global Diversity and vice president, Corporate Responsibility, respectively. In his new role, Ford will lead the continuing efforts to promote a culture of inclusion at Hilton Worldwide, working with corporate and divisional leadership to implement strategies that leverage diversity to grow the business across the company’s portfolio of brands. Silberman will be responsible for overseeing the development, execution and communication surrounding Hilton Worldwide’s corporate responsibility efforts, which encompass employee volunteerism, corporate philanthropy, community and stakeholder engagement, environmental sustainability and...

HARTFORD, CONN.—Do “green” buildings protect human health from environmental hazards? The answer is “not necessarily,” according to a recent report released by Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), titled “LEED Certification: Where Energy Efficiency Collides with Human Health.” EHHI is a nonprofit organization composed of doctors, public health professionals and policy experts who specialize in research that examines environmental threats to human health. The organization receives no funding from corporations or businesses. The lead author of this study is John Wargo, Ph.D., professor of Risk Analysis and Environmental Policy at Yale University. Wargo summarized the study, “Although the U.S. Green...

PHOENIX—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) announced the winners of the AH&LA Achievement Awards, part of the annual Stars of the Industry Awards, which honor stand-out initiatives at hotel properties. In a ceremony held during the AH&LA Summer Summit at the Arizona Biltmore, these awards, which have been awarded annually since 1966, distinguish individual hotels that have developed outstanding programs, events, and campaigns. Winners were chosen in the categories of Good Earthkeeping, Guest Relations, Community Service, Special Events, Diversity, and a new category, Technology. The winner of the Good Earthkeeping Award, small property, is the Hilton Garden Inn in...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Expanding on its company-wide commitment to conservation and sustainable operations, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to significantly reduce energy and water consumption at every one of its 1,000 hotels within the decade. Starwood is targeting a 30 percent reduction in energy use per available room by 2020; the company will also work toward a 20 percent decrease in water consumption per available room by 2020. The initiative will apply to all of Starwood’s owned, managed, and franchised hotels around the world. “We don’t see these goals as an obligation, but an opportunity,” said Frits van Paasschen,...

GLENVIEW, ILL.—The Metal Initiative has produced a white paper focusing on using metal in retrofit applications. With retrofit being one of the hottest topics in the commercial building industry today, the white paper addresses the reasons why building owners, developers and architects are and should be choosing metal. Metal’s benefits are more than economical and environmentally friendly; they’re also visually appealing and long lasting. The Metal Initiative’s white paper outlines the financial and environmental advantages of retrofitting with metal roof and wall systems. For architects, contractors, and business owners the paper explains how to increase business, improve building appearance,...

NORMAN, OKLA.—Oklahoma’s largest hotel and conference center has become the first property to earn the highest sustainable travel certification offered by ECO—Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma—the state’s premiere sustainable travel program. The National Center for Employee Development (NCED), located off State Highway 9 in Norman, earned the Platinum Travel Standard certification by meeting set criteria and implementing sustainability programs. Hardy Watkins, Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department executive director, said the NCED is a good sustainability practices model for all conference centers. “Since NCED is the largest conference facility in the state, its environmental impact is significant,” Watkins said. “By implementing sustainability programs...