CHICAGO—The American Hotel & Lodging Assn. (AH&LA) announced the winners of the AH&LA Achievement Awards, part of the annual Stars of the Industry Awards, which honor stand-out initiatives at hotel properties. In a ceremony held during the AH&LA Summer Summit at the Hilton Chicago, these awards, which have been awarded annually since 1966, distinguish individual hotels that have developed outstanding programs, events, and campaigns. Winners were chosen for awards in the categories of Good Earthkeeping, Guest Relations, Outstanding Community Service, Special Events (one-time event and ongoing), as well as exceptional diversity initiatives. The environment and community service award winners...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Impact Enterprises as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The company’s eco-friendly presentation products have been used by the lodging industry since 2003. Impact offers unique, quality, durable custom presentation folders, menu covers, guest services directory covers, tabletop accessories and corporate gifts all manufactured from materials that minimally impact the environment. To learn more, call (866) 370-0340, e-mail rsalisbury@impactenterprises.com, or go to www.impactenterprises.com.

BETHESDA, MD.—Through Marriott’s Spirit to Preserve program, the company announced It is rolling out “Green Events” at all Continental Europe JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts and Courtyard by Marriott Hotels. The largest hotel industry initiative of its kind, this program builds on Marriott’s aggressive environmental strategy, applying the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle to all events and meetings in Continental Europe, making them more eco-friendly and helping guests and meeting planners reduce their environmental impact. Last year, Marriott hotels throughout the United States began to offer green meetings and it...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Tough times may be turning road warriors into eco-warriors. The faltering economy—not the fragile environment—is the biggest motivator for frequent travelers who have become “more conscious of waste” according to a survey commissioned by Element Hotels, which is launching The Element Eco-Travel Index, an annual index of green travel habits among frequent travelers. Element is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.’s newest lifestyle hotel brand and innovation lab for environmentally sustainable construction, building and operational practices. Element is the first major hotel brand to mandate that all its properties pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in...

TORONTO—Launching across Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ 56 properties, meeting planners can now easily identify on-site environmental initiatives through Green Sheets. These pages provide quick and easy access to green information for every hotel and resort in the collection, made available at the Fairmont Meetings website or through Fairmont sales colleagues. Fairmont’s new Green Sheets are a resource for planners looking for green information, and are an asset to showcase Fairmont’s Eco-Meet program, which provides a meetings structure that is both environmentally responsible and informative for delegates. The sheets outline how each individual Fairmont hotel or resort is working within the...

ST. LOUIS, MO.—The board of directors of the International Association of Conference Centers introduced a rigorous Code of Sustainability at the 28th annual conference in March to encourage member properties around the globe to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices in nine areas: education and awareness, waste management, recycling, reuse, water conservation, purchasing, energy management, air quality, and food & beverage. According to Lois Berg, chair of IACC’s Sustainability Committee (director of administrative services at The Johnson Foundation, Inc. – at Wingspread Conference Center), the Code will “allow member properties to commit to sustain and support IACC’s Environmental Policy, adhere...

PORTLAND, ORE.—With a commitment to use less ink on business cards, to reduce the amount of CO2 generated when greeting callers and to slash the number of keystrokes needed to find the website, Meeting Strategies Worldwide is now MeetGreen. “The simple fact is,” says founder Nancy Wilson, “that after 15 years, we had to acknowledge that our company had outgrown its original name. It no longer captured the essence of our core business or the new directions in which we are moving.” Wilson and co-owner Amy Spatrisano earned notoriety for their pioneering efforts to bring green practices to the meetings industry....

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYO.—Xanterra Parks & Resorts, operator of lodges, gift shops, restaurants and activities in Yellowstone National Park, will convert its gift shop in the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel into an interpretive facility dedicated to informing park visitors about climate change and offering environmentally friendly products. “Although other stores may offer some of these products, we believe this is the first retail operation—in a national park or elsewhere—devoted to interpreting climate change,” said Beth Pratt, director of environmental affairs for Xanterra’s Yellowstone operations. “Our goal for this store is to connect the park visitor to the threats climate change...

PHOENIX—On Monday, May 4, Maui Prince Hotel Makena Resort, located in Makena, Hawaii, became the 500th lodging property to complete iStayGreen.org’s online self-audit. The property earned a 3 Green Eco-Leaf Rating. The eco-rating allows the public to know the specific environmental initiatives in place at a property, which enables the environmentally conscious traveler to make informed lodging decisions. Properties complete the comprehensive online self-audit and earn a Green Eco-Leaf Rating ranging from 1 to 5 Green Eco-Leafs with 5 Green Eco-Leafs being the highest level attainable. Ratings are based on environmental initiatives in place at the property. Only nine properties...

SAN FRANCISCO—Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants says it is the first hotel company to make every meeting a green meeting with its brand-wide standardization of 12 eco-friendly practices. As the latest extension of the company’s pioneering EarthCare program, Kimpton’s 12 environmentally responsible initiatives are now mandatory for every event at every hotel and have increased the company’s sustainable initiatives to include more than 50 daily eco-friendly practices. Ranging from communications procedures to banquet operations, standard event practices include: • All bottled water is U.S. sourced. • All meetings include water served in pitchers with reusable glassware. • All sales collateral, meeting notepads...