ATLANTA—IHG Hotels & Resorts announced an agreement with EnviroSpark, an industry leader in the design, installation, and operation of electrical vehicle (EV) charging solutions, to make electric vehicle chargers (EVCs) available to all IHG-branded hotels across the United States and Canada. IHG hotels can now partner with EnviroSpark on EVCs depending on their individual needs and requirements. This agreement will further expand on IHG’s 1,100 hotels globally with EVCs and meet the growing customer demand for EV charging on the road while supporting a shift to a low-carbon economy. The EVCs that will be available at IHG-branded hotels in North America are...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Park Foundation (NPF) and National Park Service (NPS) announced a $40 million gift to expand and improve NPS employee housing at Yellowstone, America’s first national park. The new investment made possible by donors who wish to remain anonymous will fund more than 70 new modular units to address the critical shortage of employee housing at the park. Affordable housing for employees in and near national parks is increasingly scarce and expensive, reflecting a trend impacting communities across the country, forcing park employees to commute long distances between work and home and making it difficult for NPS to recruit and...

NEW ORLEANS—Construction at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) is expected to generate over $50 million in new small and emerging business (SEB) and disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) contracts through 2026. The contracts are for renovation project work, which is included in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The windfall of new opportunities for SEB/DBE vendors is the result of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Board (The Authority) approving the largest guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for construction in recent history. In January, the Authority authorized the milestone $113.5 million GMP for Phases I and II. SEB and DBE contracts will capture 30...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International has been recognized for leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on the organization’s annual A List. MGM Resorts is one of just 347 companies that received the prestigious “A,” out of more than 23,000 scored, placing it in the top 0.015 percent of reporting companies. Grades are awarded on comprehensiveness of disclosure, awareness and management of environmental risk and best practices associated with environmental leadership. “Our inclusion on the CDP A List is a testament to the strategic importance we place on sustainability,” said Jyoti Chopra, Chief People,...

NATIONAL REPORT—Making sustainable events easy and the norm by providing best practices, resources, and support is the mission of MUSE—Members United for Sustainable Events. Specific to the U.S. events industry, MUSE will turn three years old this summer. MUSE was founded by Michele Fox, a sustainable event consultant and event producer. “I have always worked in the event industry and have always been an environmentalist,” Fox says. “In 2019 I worked on an event where sustainability was ingrained. I realized we could really do events that have sustainability as a focus.” Encouraged by a member of the global Sustainable Event Alliance and...

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF.—Conrad N. Hilton Foundation announced that the year-end grantmaking payout was $290 million in 2023, and $29.3 million in grants, including Program-Related Investments, were approved at the fourth quarter board meeting alone. The Foundation’s Safe Water initiative awarded $36.3 million in grants in 2023, representing the largest financial commitment to a single program area within the fiscal year. More than two billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water worldwide. This presents a significant setback in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.1: universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030. The...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings. The final rules reflect the Commission’s efforts to respond to investors’ demand for more consistent, comparable, and reliable information about the financial effects of climate-related risks on a registrant’s operations and how it manages those risks while balancing concerns about mitigating the associated costs of the rules. “Our federal securities laws lay out a basic bargain. Investors get to decide which risks they want to take so long as companies raising money from the public make what President Franklin...

ATLANTA—LEO A DALY, in partnership with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, announced the progression of two innovative housing projects for veterans in Florida and Georgia. These projects are part of a broader initiative to provide veterans with dignified, permanent housing solutions coupled with comprehensive supportive services. In Florida, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has secured an 8.7-acre land donation from Manatee County in Bradenton. Plans for this site include the construction of 38 comfort homes centered around an 84-unit apartment complex, which will be complemented by a comprehensive supportive service center. Construction is poised to begin in spring 2024. Simultaneously, in Georgia, efforts are underway to transform a 101-room hotel...

MALLORCA, SPAIN—RIU has presented its new Proudly Committed sustainability strategy. This change comes after a deep internal reflection on the future of the hotel industry and its impact on the community, the environment, and employees. As a result of this process, RIU decided to transform the company and place sustainability at the center of all the organization’s decisions to ensure that the impact of the company’s activity on both the local community and the surrounding ecosystems is always as positive as possible. Proudly Committed represents a turning point for RIU. The company has always been very proud of its commitment to providing customers...

NEW YORK—HRS, the leading global corporate lodging and meeting technology platform, launched its latest advocacy effort to transform the industry with proven practices that enhance sustainability in corporate lodging. The new Green Stay Knowledge Hub offers an array of courses, downloadable guides, and videos—all focused on helping hoteliers improve their sustainable operations while also generating data and results that highlight their progress. Such metrics and attributes are vital in the evolving corporate procurement process, as companies increasingly prioritize sustainability when conveying preferred supplier status. According to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (SHA), individual hotels should reduce their carbon emissions by 5 percent annually...