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...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is challenging hoteliers across the country to track and improve their green business operations by taking the AH&LA Green Guidelines Challenge. Participants completing the challenge will be able to identify themselves as eco-friendly establishments based on benchmarking their operation procedures against AH&LA’s 11 minimum green guidelines, released in November 2008 by the association’s Green Task Force. The winner of the six-month challenge will also receive a green prize package from an allied AH&LA member. The challenge began when AH&LA members received a tracking tool to aid their measurement of occupancy statistics, monetary...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released the LEED regional credits as part of LEED 2009, the new version of the LEED Green Building Rating System. These LEED credits encourage that specific regional environmental priorities be addressed when it comes to the design, construction and operation of buildings in different geographic locations. “Because environmental priorities differ among various regions of the country—the challenges in the Southeast differ from those in the Northwest, for example—regionally specific credits give LEED a way to directly respond to diverse, regionally grounded issues,” said Brendan Owens, vice president of technical development,...

PORTLAND, ORE.—What was once a vacant bank building in downtown Portland will open in May as the Courtyard by Marriott—Portland City Center. The 256-room hotel was built to earn LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The structure, which has been given a new shell, three new floors and brand new mechanical systems, is expected to be the first LEED Gold hotel in the Pacific Northwest. Certification is expected this fall. Green hotels are becoming the norm in Portland. The Avalon Hotel & Spa announced its LEED certification last summer, The Nines hotel is expected to be...

CHICAGO—Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is launching a proprietary worldwide training program to teach employees additional ways to reduce their environmental impact in hotels and in their own homes. The training program focuses on the following areas, which align with Hyatt’s overarching environmental mission to minimize carbon emissions and other harmful pollutants: waste, energy consumption, and water consumption. “Hyatt is committed to fostering a culture of environmental consciousness among our employees and this training is an important step toward that goal,” said Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO, Global Hyatt Corp. “Across countries and cultures, members of the Hyatt family have embraced...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL—Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found most containers employed for storage and transportation of used fluorescent lamps to recycling centers do not provide necessary levels of protection against mercury vapors emitted from broken lamps. The release of mercury vapors, which can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, presents an environmental and occupational hazard for workers involved with handling and transport. Mercury is a toxic chemical that can lead to neurological damage. The results of the study were published in a recent issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. The...

MADISON, WIS.—Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, announced that all its U.S. properties have achieved Green Seal certification for the lodging portion of its operations, making Great Wolf Lodge brand resorts the first and only national hotel chain to earn that distinction. Green Seal is a 20-year-old, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a more sustainable world. Green Seal created a rigorous, science-based environmental standard for the industry, which includes nearly three dozen environmentally responsible criteria for lodging properties. Along with the Green Seal announcement, Great Wolf Lodge executives took the occasion to unveil...

NEW YORK—As part of its commitment to the environment, Loews Hotels encourages even its furriest guests to do their part in promoting responsible, sustainable consumption (literally). The new Loews “Grrreen Dog” package features a specially created “Dog Gone Green” room service meal, a veterinarian approved healthy feast which mixes locally grown ingredients from neighborhood farms with a lot of love. The “Grrreen Dog” package will launch on Earth Day (April 22) and features several additional Earth-friendly components. Available April 22 to September 5, 2009, “Grrreen Dog” package rates vary by hotel, starting at $119 per night. The package includes: • A one-night...

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—Montage Beverly Hills, the 201-room luxury hotel that opened November 2008 in Beverly Hills, Calif., has earned Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for New Construction rating system. This is the first certified ultra-luxury hotel in Southern California for LEED for New Construction, one of just four Gold certified hotels worldwide designated by this third-party benchmarking system designed to encourage the design, construction and operation of more sustainable buildings. Montage Beverly Hills is also the first newly constructed mixed-use hotel and residential project to be LEED certified as a single development, denoting it...

NEWTON, MASS.—TripAdvisor announced the results of its environmentally-friendly travel survey of more than 1,200 U.S. respondents. Seventy-six percent of travelers sometimes incorporate green choices in their travel plans and 27 percent of respondents intentionally made environmentally-friendly travel choices in the past year. Fifty-two percent regularly find it challenging to incorporate green choices into their travel plans and 44 percent of travelers find that environmentally-friendly options are not readily available when traveling. Forty-five percent of travelers won’t go green if it means spending more green. However, 27 percent are willing to spend $50 or more to be environmentally-friendly when traveling. Thirty-three...