STAMFORD, CONN.—In celebration of the brand’s sixth anniversary of Breathe Westin, Westin Hotels & Resorts announced that The Westin Paris—Vendôme is the latest addition to its growing global portfolio of smoke-free hotels. In January 2006, Westin became the first major hotel chain to introduce a brand-wide smoke-free policy across all its North America properties. The Westin Paris—Vendôme, which boasts impressive views of the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum, joins a host of international properties that have gone smoke free since the brand first introduced Breathe Westin six years ago. Westin continues to explore opportunities to introduce Breathe into new...

SALT LAKE CITY—Utah’s largest rooftop solar powered electric system is now operational. The 1.65MW system atop the Calvin L. Rampton-Salt Palace Convention Center was turned on late last month by Salt Lake County and its project partners. It is one of the largest roof-top solar panel installations in the United States. The 600,000-square-foot system was assembled at the convention center and will provide 17 percent of its annual power needs. County Mayor Peter Corroon has set a goal of installing up to 10 megawatts of solar power on county-owned facilities. He is encouraging all sectors of the community to...

FRANKFURT, GERMANY—Accor unveiled its Carbon Optimizer for professional customers with an exclusive worldwide preview at the IMEX Frankfurt trade show. This tool will allow meeting and seminar organizers to know and cut their events’ carbon footprint. Accor is a leading player in meetings and seminars, with venues in roughly 2,000 hotels. The Carbon Optimizer is interactive, user-friendly and combines a comprehensive set of variables, including the number of participants, the number of nights they plan to stay, how long the seminar will last, how big the meeting rooms are and the energy mix in the host country (the proportion of...

PORTLAND, ORE.—The world’s first guide to aligning meeting and event planning practices with the scientific principles of sustainable development is now available as a free download, thanks to an innovative collaboration between The Natural Step and the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC).Meeting the Future was launched on the GMIC website after the two organizations pooled their knowledge to explain sustainability in a set of simple terms and clear examples for meeting organizers and suppliers.“The meetings industry has been clamoring for a practical approach to creating better events through sustainability,” said GMIC president Paul Salinger, vice-president of marketing at Oracle...

CHICAGO—The Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) received a warm official welcome from one of North America’s most sustainable destinations when Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel formally announced that his community would host the 2013 Sustainable Meetings Conference next April.“This is a perfect example of the City of Chicago and its tourism and convention industry working together to achieve a key goal: attracting more visitors to Chicago,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This conference is one of many that have committed to the city and will create jobs and economic opportunity for our residents.”“We are honored to host this conference and demonstrate the...

DALLAS—MPI and MPI Foundation announced a substantial upgrade of its Sustainable Event Measurement Tool (SEMT) now residing on the evolution Platform. The enhanced functionality of SEMT 2.0 will help meetings and events professionals save money, reduce resources and elevate their sustainability credentials.The tool provides unique measurement capabilities that allow planners and suppliers to track—and take steps to reduce—their environmental impact. It also answers the hospitality industry’s demands for a common disclosure platform and aligned reporting.“SEMT 2.0 is the painkiller for sustainability headaches,” says Bruce MacMillan, MPI president and CEO. “We’ve developed something that’s never been done before, a rigorous...

VISTA, CALIF.—Waterless Co., Inc., the oldest and one of the largest companies in the United States manufacturing no-water urinals and other restroom products, announces the official launch of its new Facebook Fan page. The site has been in the planning stages for the past few months. The company already has a successful blog, which is primarily used to discuss water conservation and efficiency issues. According to Niki Bradley, marketing manager for Waterless, the goals of the new Facebook site are to foster interaction between the company and its customers and potential customers, bolster brand identity, and enhance customer service.“We...

PULASKI, N.Y.—PURE Global announced that PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms has been awarded the PTPA (Parent Tested Parent Approved) Winner’s Seal of Approval. PTPA Media has North America’s largest volunteer parent testing community, with more than 40,000 parents and was rated the Most Trusted Seal by 22,000 parents.The PTPA Winner’s Seal is evidence of a product’s excellence from having been evaluated by unbiased parent testers.Independent parent volunteers evaluate products in their own homes or on a commercial site—in this instance several hotels across North America—to ensure that PTPA winners are chosen based on merit and consumer experience, not on commercial...

ITHACA, N.Y.—A new tool from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration gives hotel operators specific strategies for explaining their sustainability efforts to customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders. The hospitality industry has taken great strides toward sustainability, but in many cases those initiatives go unnoticed, or (worse) unheeded. The new tool offers a framework for creating a communications strategy to publicize and promote a hotel’s green operations. The tool, “Telling Your Hotel’s ‘Green’ Story: Developing an Effective Communication Strategy to Convey Environmental Values,” co-written by Daphne Jameson and Judi Brownell, contains...

NEWTON, MASS.—TripAdvisor announced the results of its eco-friendly travel survey of more than 700 U.S. travelers. The green travel trend is gaining momentum among TripAdvisor members, as 71 percent said they plan to make more eco-friendly choices in the next 12 months compared to 65 percent that did so in the past 12 months.Fifty-seven percent of travelers said they “often” make eco-friendly travel decisions, such as their choice of hotel, transportation, or food source. Forty-four percent of travelers said they are more environmentally conscious at home than while traveling. Forty-seven percent of travelers said they are equally eco-friendly at...