WARRENTON, VA.—Kevin Carter, general manager of the Airlie Center, recently announced that the Airlie Conference Center received the Green Seal Certification-Silver for compliance with the Green Seal Standard for Lodging Properties (GS-33, 2008). Airlie received original certification in August 2004 and was recently awarded the Silver Certification based on Green Seal’s compliance monitoring evaluation for environmental and performance requirements, according to Mark T. Petruzzi, vice president of certification for the Washington, DC-based Green Seal. Founded in 1989, Green Seal is devoted to setting the standards for environmental certification. In 1995, Green Seal partnered with the lodging industry (the nation’s...

CLEARWATER BEACH, FLA.—Clearwater Beach’s Sandpearl Resort, developed by locally-owned JMC Communities and managed by Coral Hospitality, has been awarded LEED Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Sandpearl is the first resort or hotel in Florida to achieve this distinguished honor and one of only 15 worldwide. Sandpearl Resort opened in August 2007 and is also a designated member of the Florida Green Lodging Program. “This certification is the culmination of extraordinary efforts by the entire JMC Communities development team, and proves Clearwater Beach’s commitment to caring for its natural resources,” said Michael Cheezem, CEO of JMC Communities. “We’ve...

MIAMI BEACH, FLA.—Cambean Hospitality, a Miami Beach-based hospitality group that owns and manages four boutique hotel properties in the historic South Beach area, announced that it plans to install solar panels and a wind turbine on the roof of the Clifton South Beach Hotel. Cambean also announced that it will purchase carbon offsets and renewable energy credits (RECs) from Boulder, Colo.-based Renewable Choice Energy to offset its fuel and electricity consumption. “While many hospitality companies have embraced being ‘green,’ their involvement, and the involvement of their guests, is purely a voluntary or opportunistic approach and is not mandated by corporate...

BIG SUR, CALIF.—Post Ranch Inn, recognized throughout the world as a leading green coastal property, has switched on a 990-panel solar installation, the largest hotel solar project in California and one of the largest in the United States. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the system is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 611,000 pounds annually. That is equivalent to removing more than 50 vehicles from the road or serving nearly 39 U.S. households’ electricity needs. The solar array is owned and operated by Recurrent Energy, a distributed power company and leading provider of onsite solar energy. Post...

DEVENS, MASS.—Fifty employees of the Devens SpringHill Suites by Marriott donned green wristbands and “gathered for the green” in a hotel ballroom in late April to convert approximately 140 guestroom and public-space trash cans to single stream recycling bins. The Devens SpringHill Suites by Marriott is the first area hotel to adopt this recycling approach. Single stream (also known as “fully commingled”) recycling refers to a system in which all recyclable materials are mixed together in the same collection container, eliminating the need for separate and/or specific bins. “Making recycling more convenient will likely encourage more recycling,” said Maura Peeler,...

LAS VEGAS—MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World through subsidiary Infinity World, 50/50 joint venture partners in the CityCenter project, announced that the companies have reached an agreement on a revised joint venture agreement and also reached an agreement with CityCenter’s lenders on a comprehensive plan to fully fund the completion of CityCenter for its scheduled opening later this year. Under the plan, Dubai World and MGM MIRAGE will fund their remaining equity contributions to CityCenter through letters of credit. In addition, CityCenter’s lenders will immediately fund the full $1.8 billion senior secured credit facility. Additionally, Dubai World will dismiss its lawsuit...

SAN FRANCISCO—Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants says it is the first hotel company to make every meeting a green meeting with its brand-wide standardization of 12 eco-friendly practices. As the latest extension of the company’s pioneering EarthCare program, Kimpton’s 12 environmentally responsible initiatives are now mandatory for every event at every hotel and have increased the company’s sustainable initiatives to include more than 50 daily eco-friendly practices. Ranging from communications procedures to banquet operations, standard event practices include: • All bottled water is U.S. sourced. • All meetings include water served in pitchers with reusable glassware. • All sales collateral, meeting notepads...

DALLAS—La Quinta Inns & Suites announces the opening of its first hotel in downtown Chicago. It is located inside the Financial District. Following the conversion of the existing structure, the Jewish Federation Building built in 1958, along with the addition of two newly constructed wings, this hotel has a total of 241 guestrooms. The hotel will participate in Chicago’s Green Roof Program which helps conserve energy by lowering air temperatures and reducing “urban heat island effect.” Green roofs help clean and retain rainwater, improve air quality and create conditions for longer-lasting roof systems. The La Quinta Inn & Suites—Chicago Downtown...

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WYO.—Purchasing wind power credits equal to 100 percent of overall energy consumption and maintaining a 50 percent waste-diversion rate by recycling or reusing everything from food waste to horse manure are just a few of Grand Teton Lodge Company’s (GTLC) environmental achievements outlined in the second edition of the company’s Envision Sustainability Report. GTLC celebrated Earth Day by releasing the report in an effort to encourage continuing dialogue within the tourism industry on best practices for reducing environmental impacts. With a mission to preserve, protect and inspire, GTLC runs the equivalent of a small...

PORTLAND, ORE.—A conference content portal designed as a one-stop knowledge source on green meetings practice, policy and technology was launched this week by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), in partnership with The Conference Publishers Inc. Organizers expect the site to bring together key content from at least a dozen conferences in its first six months of operation. Coverage will continue for at least a year. The portal went live thanks to a generous Platinum sponsorship from the Vancouver Convention Centre. “With the whole rationale for meetings under serious attack, the Green Meetings Portal reinforces the incredible value participants...