TORONTO—They say all good “soles” go to heaven, and now shoes from the Fairmont Fit program will get a second life with Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization that collects gently worn and new shoes for redistribution to those in need. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is donating footwear from Fairmont Fit, a program which offers members of Fairmont President’s Club, the brand’s exclusive guest recognition program, access to adidas athletic apparel for use during their stay. Fairmont is also providing a little incentive to begin the New Year on the right foot and stick with those resolutions to get in shape. Guests...

SAN FRANCISCO—Joie de Vivre, California’s largest boutique hotel collection, has launched Joie De Vivre Green Dreams, a dedicated portal on its website that allows consumers to track the company’s ongoing efforts to preserve the environment. Joie de Vivre Green Dreams, also the name of the company’s environmental program, features the company’s green policies and practices, a green certification “scorecard” for hotels, green travel tips, and links to environmental resources. “Joie de Vivre has made a long-term commitment to incorporating sustainability into its business operations through the Green Dreams program,” said Joie de Vivre’s senior vice president of operations, Karlene Holloman,...

PORTLAND, ORE.—With the approach of New Year’s Eve, Shilo Inns’ owner, Mark Hemstreet, announced that Shilo Inns would usher in the New Year by making all Shilo Inn hotels and restaurants 100 percent smoke free. “We care about our customers as well as our employees’ health and comfort,” Hemstreet said. “We consistently get more and more requests from our guests for smoke-free rooms and since we have already had 95 percent of our rooms and suites nonsmoking for many years, we felt it was the best decision to finally turn the entire hotel and restaurant environment to “smoke free.” “Guests have...

CHICAGO—The Talbott Hotel, a luxury boutique in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast, has been bestowed the distinction of being one of the first Green Seal Certified hotels in the United States. Striving to meet the city of Chicago’s Green Hotels Initiative, the hotel worked diligently for months and at great expense to meet the environmental lodging standard, which brings with it requirements in waste management, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste water management and green procurement. The Talbott operates on a platform of “Sustainability without Compromise” as staff there insist that green initiatives only enhance the already high standards for...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) announced that Portland, Ore., will be the host city for the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference 2009 (ESTC). The event will be held from November 1 to 3. The ESTC is the annual bi-national conference focusing on greening the tourism industry in the United States and Canada. Travel Portland and Travel Oregon, the city and state’s destination marketing agencies, respectively, will co-sponsor the 2009 conference as the ESTC 2009 Destination Host. The conference will take place at the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, the first Hilton property ever to be Green Seal...

LUDLOW, VERMONT— Okemo Mountain Resort’s Jackson Gore Inn was recently designated as a Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State by the environmental business partnership between the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and the Vermont Small Business Development Center. This designation is based on the Inn’s voluntary commitment to sound environmental excellence through the placement and achievement of high environmental standards. The Jackson Gore Inn is one of 64 Green Hotels in Vermont to earn the distinguished designation. “This is an evolving commitment and we believe that eco-friendly operation can be accomplished with no negative impacts on the quality of...

ATLANTA—As ASHRAE, USGBC and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) move forward in developing the nation’s first standard for high-performance, green commercial buildings, membership on the committee developing the standard is being reconstituted. Proposed Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, will provide minimum requirements for the design of high-performance new commercial buildings and major renovation projects, addressing energy efficiency, a building’s impact on the atmosphere, sustainable sites, water use efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. It is being developed by ASHRAE, IESNA and USGBC. To better address the...

BOSTON—LEED 2009, the long-awaited update to the internationally recognized LEED green building certification program, has passed member ballot, and will be introduced in 2009 as the next major evolution of the existing LEED rating systems for commercial buildings. It includes a series of major technical advancements focused on improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and addressing other environmental and human health outcomes. LEED 2009 will also incorporate highly anticipated regional credits, extra points that have been identified as priorities within a project’s given environmental zone. LEED has also undergone a scientifically grounded re-weighting of credits, changing allocation of points among...

ITHACA, N.Y.—Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and the Johnson Graduate School of Management have joined forces with HEI Hotels & Resorts to create a course in which students will work with hospitality industry leaders to devise innovative and more cost-effective solutions to social and environmental issues. This pioneering collaboration is being led by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the Cornell Hotel School and by the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson School. Funding and strategic guidance is being provided by HEI Hotels & Resorts, a hotel investment and operating...

OTTAWA, ONTARIO—The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) announced that Green Key rated hotels can now include their Key ratings in AAA/CAA travel guides. AAA/CAA will now be supporting green certified hotels that are also “Diamond-rated” properties by encouraging promotion of their Key rating in TourBook advertising both in Canada and the United States. “We are very pleased that AAA strongly supports environmental management and sustainability throughout the lodging industry and we look forward to extending this benefit to all Green Key hotels in North America,” said Tony Pollard, HAC president. “The consumer numbers show that the greening of hotels across...