Earth Day was a very important day this year for those in Canada’s tourism industry. It was on that day, April 22, that 36 industry leaders gathered in Toronto to form the Canadian Sustainable Tourism Advisory Council. Organized by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), the Council’s members represent every type of industry stakeholder: hotels, inns, universities, tourism commissions and associations, consultants, travel planners, and others. The mission of the council is two-fold: to agree to minimum standards for “sustainable travel,” and to create a uniquely Canadian accreditation system for hotels, tourism attractions and related businesses. Keep in mind...

In case you did not catch the news, as part of the 2009 Florida Legislative Session, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was asked to submit plans to reduce expenditures by a minimum of 10 percent. (The DEP runs Florida’s very successful Green Lodging Program.) As it turns out, 10 percent was wishful thinking. The Florida Green Lodging Program was actually reduced in size from $337,000 and four workers to $63,000 and one employee. The two founders of the program have been reassigned. That’s right, just one person will be charged with managing a program that currently has...

Shawn Seipler and Paul Till are not hoteliers but they have just launched an organization that could do more good for humanity than just about anything any of us will ever do. Allow me to explain. Shawn, who travels a lot for his sales job, frequently stays in hotels. He began to wonder what happened to the unused bars of soap and shampoo bottles left behind after his visits. Shawn, who is based in Orlando, Fla., called his friend Paul in Houston and they decided to do a survey. Together they called about 30 properties and representatives of those...

What to do with used vegetable oil is not at the top of my worry list. I don’t fry much of anything—probably for good health reasons. What I have in my home amounts to a small container in the refrigerator—leftovers from some beignet making (thank you New Orleans). Most food service establishments, however, have to deal with large volumes of used fryer oil. In writing an article on fryer oil recycling this past week, I learned a little bit about all of the different ways inns, hotels and resorts are handling their vegetable oil “waste.” If you are still...

Three states have added or will soon add green lodging certification programs. The Department of Environmental Protection in Connecticut and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism just launched its program. The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism is expected to roll out its program as early as the end of June. As reported here on Green Lodging News more than a week ago (see article), the South Carolina Hospitality Association, in partnership with the Division of Waste Management of that state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control, is hammering out the final details of its green hotel and...

“In 15 years I will own the system free and clear. That is when I will really rake in the cash. Long term, it will be just fantastic.” I recently spoke with Mike Freed, managing partner of the Big Sur, Calif.-based Post Ranch Inn, and those were his words when describing his property’s recently launched 990-panel solar installation. When chatting with Mike, I wondered how many property owners would be patient enough to wait that long to enjoy all of the benefits of their investment. Not many, I suspect. Freed and his team at the Post Ranch Inn worked 18...

This past week I attended the Hospitality Design Expo & Conference in Las Vegas, including Green Day, which prefaced the main event. Attendance was down by more than 50 percent for Green Day, when compared to last year. One Hospitality Design representative told me attendance for the Expo & Conference, including exhibitors, was comparable to 2008. All I can say is that there were times when there was good aisle traffic and other times when one could have rolled a bowling ball down an aisle without hitting anyone. As with most trade shows, some vendors were ecstatic with their...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Assn. announced that it is again sponsoring Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out—a week-long national restaurant event to raise funds to help end childhood hunger in America—and encourages its members to participate in the event. During the week of September 20 to 26, 2009, thousands of restaurants and millions of consumers will join together to help feed children in need. Each year, more than 12 million children in America (one of every six) worry about when their next meal will come. Share Our Strength is one of the leading organizations working to end childhood...

Towels have a huge impact on the environmental footprint of our industry. It is difficult to imagine how many towels are purchased and thrown away each year. The number has got to be many millions. Most towels currently used are made from 100 percent cotton or some type of cotton/polyester blend. Polyester, of course, is a petroleum-based product. Cotton is sprayed heavily with insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers before it ever makes its way into a towel. Most towels are manufactured outside of the United States. Most towels are laundered in hot water, with chemicals, and then dried...

If you knew a vegetable or piece of fruit was covered in pesticides, would you eat it? Serve it to your guests? Of course not. But really, how do you know whether or not what you are serving to your guests is more likely or less likely to carry pesticides than other types of produce? If you purchase vegetables and fruit from farmers who grow organic produce, you have good reason to feel safe, but what if you don’t buy organic? In a busy hotel environment there is often no time to consider such things as pesticides but it...