LONDON—For the fourth year running, World Travel Market will host the Responsible Tourism Awards, sponsored for the first time by Virgin Holidays. The awards celebrate tourism ventures that make a positive contribution to conservation and the economies of local communities while minimizing any negative impacts on tourism. The awards, the biggest of its kind in the world, are again organized by online travel agent responsibletravel.com, in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine—the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society. In 2006 the awards received an unprecedented response with more than 1,200 nominations. This year’s...

NATIONAL REPORT—Metal roofing has a long, successful history in the United States and the world. Its proven track record spans all types of projects—commercial, industrial and residential, new construction and remodeling. With today’s heightened interest in and demand for ecologically-sound building materials, metal roofing is an ideal choice. In fact, The Metal Construction Assn. says metal roofing should be included on all lists of environmentally friendly or “green” roofing materials. Metal roofing’s durability can virtually eliminate the need for future raw materials to be used to produce roofing. Other roofing materials are heavily affected by weather extremes. Metal roofing, however,...

LAS VEGAS—It was pretty easy to determine what vendors were selling green products at this year’s HD 2007 Expo and Conference. A separate vendor directory was created for them and green, circular markers sat within each participating exhibitor’s booth. A separate Green Room on the show floor also featured environmentally friendly products. Vendors had to pony up additional funds to have a presence there. There is no possible way to mention every company that introduced a green product at this year’s show but here are some noteworthy examples: Simmons Hospitality Group announced its EverNU mattress top to help hotels get the...

LAS VEGAS—Like a professor teaching his students, Kip Richardson taught a little bit of Sustainability 101 during “Beyond Green: ‘The Talk,’” at the HD 2007 Expo and Conference. A packed room of attendees listened to Richardson, director of business development for Portland, Ore.-based Ankrom Moisan Architects. What is sustainability? Richardson said it is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” “Sustainability touches everybody,” Richardson added. “This is not a political issue. It is a human issue. Almost every hotel brand is talking about it,...

MONTREAL—Groupe Germain announced a brand new concept for cheap-chic hotels that will be gradually introduced in Canada. A first in that country, ALT Hotels will offer the qualities sought by a growing range of consumers who want affordable accommodation without compromising on design and comfort. The hotels will feature a series of energy-efficient measures: heating and cooling with geothermal systems, recovery of heat from outdoor air and exhaust air leaving the building, recovery of heat from water used in commercial washers, energy-efficient lighting throughout, a main light switch for controlling all lights in the room when guests check out, geothermal...

LAS VEGAS—The HD 2007 Expo & Conference got off to a green start with the second annual Green Luncheon on Wednesday. The luncheon featured case study presentations by representatives of San Francisco-based design firm Gensler and by Larry Traxler, vice president architecture and design, Hyatt Hotels Corp. The three case studies included: Hyatt Regency Chicago, Lower Wacker Exhibit Hall and Riverfront Development; MGM Mirage City Center, Las Vegas; and Eagle Lodge Sky Resort, Mammoth, Calif. The Hyatt Regency Chicago is in the process of adding a zero-energy building addition to its Lower Wacker Exhibit Hall. Hyatt intends to...

ATLANTA—To reduce the building design industry’s impact on the environment, key leaders in that sector are collaborating to establish carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Architecture 2030, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), supported by representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, finalized an agreement of understanding, establishing a common starting point and a goal of net zero energy buildings. “This agreement allows the building design sector to move forward with...

TOLEDO, BELIZE—Outpost International celebrated the grand opening of Machaca Hill Lodge at Laughing Falcon Reserve, their first world-class eco-development, on April 14. The eco-chic lodge is nestled amidst the lush landscape of the Toledo District in Southern Belize, idealistically situated on a private 11,000-acre reserve that is home to many of Belize’s jaguars, and is bordered by densely forested limestone hills and the Rio Grande River. From the rainforest canopy just beneath the plateau summit of Machaca Hill, the lodge offers an awe-inspiring look at the jungle and in the distance Seven Hills and the Caribbean Sea. The airy main...

ATLANTA—IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced that The Hotel Management Group, the company’s Americas Operations division, will launch a new environmental initiative to replace more than 250,000 incandescent light bulbs with new energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL) in guestrooms at over 200 company-managed hotels across the Americas. This is the first of several new environmental programs, both global and regional, that the company is scheduled to introduce throughout 2007. According to Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, a CFL’s...

NATIONAL REPORT—If you are looking to reduce water consumption in your kitchen and still have not implemented pre-rinse spray valves that conform to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), now is the time to do so. Thanks to EPAct 2005, all spray valves sold today must have a flow rate of not more than 1.6 gallons per minute (gpm) at 60 pounds per square inch (psi). According to Phil Germinario, director of marketing, sales and customer service for Niagara Conservation, Cedar Knolls, N.J., there was a time when these valves used 3 to 6 gpm. “If you switch from...