VANCOUVER, B.C.—A green facility since it opened in 1987, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (VCEC) is on track to triple its size in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The addition to the existing building will be a dramatic one and will include a six-acre green “living” roof, seawater heating and cooling, a fish habitat built into the building’s foundation, and an on-site water treatment facility. Forty percent of the addition will sit over the water, creating a striking contrast to the famous fabric roof sails that are part of the original building. According to Catherine Wong, vice president...

ANNAPOLIS, MD.—In an era of smoke-free spaces, green energy, eco-friendly products and environmental health, Thayer Lodging Group, a privately held real estate investment company with a portfolio of 14 hotels and over 2,800 guest rooms, recently announced it will offer allergy-friendly guest accommodations at 10 of its hotels and 99.9 percent allergenic-free meeting facilities at four of its Executive Meeting Centers (EMC) and Conference Centers. “Thayer Lodging Group has emerged as an industry leader in offering travelers healthy alternatives to meeting and sleeping accommodations,” says Haley Payne, director of wellness for Thayer Lodging. “By offering PURE allergy-friendly hotel...

BUFFALO GROVE, ILL.—Profitability of America’s corporations will be closely tied to proactive sustainability practices and green building principles, according to findings from the new McGraw-Hill Construction (part of The McGraw-Hill Companies) SmartMarket Report: Greening of Corporate America commissioned by Siemens Building Technologies Inc. and Siemens USA. The study shows that most U.S. corporate leaders are interested in sustainability, with the majority looking at proactive ways to make it a consistent part of their mission. According to the study’s findings, 18 percent of responding corporate leaders are in the upper—or market transformational stages—with 15 percent viewing sustainability as a...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that it will commit $1 million to green building research. These funds will be targeted at increasing research in areas such as energy and water security; global climate change prevention; indoor environmental quality; and passive survivability in the face of natural and man-made disasters. “Our pledge to invest $1 million in research is a reflection of USGBC’s commitment to its vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of USGBC. “The industry needs to take giant steps forward in construction,...

BANGKOK, THAILAND—Six Senses Resorts & Spas’ Soneva Fushi, in the Maldives, is the first of the group’s properties to implement a program to offset its guests’ flight emissions. This step will make Soneva Fushi carbon neutral by 2008. The resort has a goal of being carbon free by 2010. The resort is a main contributor to the Six Senses Carbon Offset Fund, which initially will support the Converging World project. This project will establish alternative energy production methods—such as wind turbines—in communities of developing countries before they become dependent on energy from fossil fuels. The first initiative is...

DALLAS—Motel 6, the largest corporately owned and operated hotel chain in North America, announces the rollout of the first national fluorescent light bulb and battery recycling program within the hospitality industry. Motel 6, with nearly 900 properties across the country, is the first chain to implement this type of program without a federal mandate. The Motel 6 Fluorescent Light Bulb and Battery Recycling Program will be rolled out regionally over a six-month period, with complete implementation expected by the end of 2007. This recycling policy is a continuation of Accor’s Earth Guest initiatives that demonstrate Accor North America’s...

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.—In support of a companywide initiative for a Sustainable Summer—a new program that will encourage the company’s colleagues from all corners of the globe to put the concerns of the planet at the forefront on Friday, June 22, 2007—the employees of the Fairmont Newport Beach will do their part by staging a “sleep in” for the inaugural Dream in Green-Summer Solstice Sleepover, 2007. “Southern California and the OC are such a car-driven culture that it would be nearly impossible for some of our employees to consider walking, biking or taking public transportation to work,” says general...

NASHVILLE, TENN.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association announced the winners of the AH&LA Achievement Awards, part of the Stars of the Industry Awards luncheon, during the AH&LA Summer Summit at The Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. The awards, created in 1966, recognize individual hotel properties that have developed outstanding public relations campaigns. Two of the categories included Community Service, and Good Earthkeeping. The Washington Athletic Club in Seattle won the community service award, small property category, for its commitment to improving the quality of life for people in the community. The company matches employee donations to the local United Way;...

SEATTLE—AvStar Seattle LLC, a joint-venture partnership between Portland, Ore.-based Avalon Holdings and international real estate development firm Starwood Capital Group Global LLC, has broken ground on 1 Hotel & Residences, its 23-story, mixed-use development at Second Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle. Upon its completion, expected by the second quarter of 2009, the building is expected to become the inaugural property under the 1 brand, which will set a new standard in environmentally conscious luxury living globally by combining extraordinary five-star service and features with the best of environmentally sustainable architecture and interior design. The majority of the Seattle hotel’s...

SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.—Benchmark Hospitality International, the operator of Chaminade at Santa Cruz, has been awarded Green Business Certification for exceeding environmental regulatory requirements, preventing pollution and conserving natural recourses. The award was presented to the resort, which overlooks Monterey Bay, by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Chaminade is the first hospitality business in Santa Cruz County to receive the important certification. “We are thrilled to receive the Green Business Certification,” says Jeff Bloom, Benchmark’s general manager at Chaminade. “As a responsible corporate citizen we strive to be as green as possible and also encourage our guests...