PITTSBURGH—The Green Meeting Industry Council announced that their 2009 “Greening the Hospitality Industry” Conference will be held February 24 to 26 in Pittsburgh at the LEED Gold certified David L. Lawrence Convention Center. This conference will provide timely, professional education and invaluable networking opportunities through presentations, workshops, and a tradeshow. Key industry leaders will discuss green meeting practices for meeting and event planners, hotel properties, convention and conference venues, and suppliers to the meeting and event industry. Participants will have an opportunity to share practices in roundtable discussion groups. The latest environmentally responsible meeting products and services will be...

CHICAGO—For the first time in its five-year history, the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) is branching out with a local chapter. It will be located in Chicago. It is an outgrowth of a meeting that took place earlier this year at GMIC’s national conference in Vancouver, B.C. It was there that a group of Chicago area meeting professionals got together to discuss the possibility of a chapter and the need for Chicago’s hospitality and meeting community to be more proactive in seeking out and hosting green meetings. GMIC is also pursuing other chapters in the United States and internationally...

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.—For every medal Team USA receives at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, Doubletree will donate trees to a variety of need-based, reforestation projects across America through the Arbor Day Foundation. For every gold medal, Doubletree will donate 100 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. For every silver medal, Doubletree will donate 50 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. For every bronze medal, Doubletree will donate 25 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. The countdown campaign for the Doubletree U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Commemorative Forest initiative began with the first medal events...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Health-conscious travelers—especially those suffering from allergies and asthma—may breathe easier at Wyndham hotels thanks to the upscale chain’s new Wyndham ClearAir initiative to offer allergy-friendly guest accommodations. While eight Wyndham hotels offer the rooms today, all will be required to convert 10 percent of their room inventory or a minimum of 25 rooms into allergy-friendly environments by the end of 2009. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is the first national upscale lodging chain to mandate allergy-friendly rooms systemwide. The chain’s move responds to guest concerns over rising consumer health issues and costs associated with allergic reactions. According to the Asthma...

PHOENIX—Many hotels and resorts now tout their environmentally friendly practices to lure eco-conscious travelers. It can be hard for consumers to tell if a hotel is truly eco-friendly or just employing sneaky PR tactics. iStayGreen’s social network will create accountability, forcing properties to own up to whether they’re truly green or greenwashing. iStayGreen.org lists more than 95,000 lodging properties worldwide with just under 3,000 currently Green Leaf Rated (their proprietary green rating system). “Our members separate fact from hype,” says Richard Varner, founder of iStayGreen.org. “We’ve created a social network structure, much like Facebook, where our members can rally together...

SAN FRANCISCO—Keep the Green or Give the Green gives hotel guests the choice of accepting a $20 gas card from Chevron or a $20 carbon offset credit. With the help of Carbonfund.org, the carbon offset credit represents the reduction of CO2. The more people who opt for the carbon offset, the better chance we have at reducing harmful chemicals that continue to damage our ozone at an alarming pace. By requesting the carbon offset, a $20 dollar credit is donated in support of a number of different carbon-reducing projects that help save the environment. Guests can choose from reforestation, renewable...

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—Traveling green just got easier with the launch of a new website, Green Lodge. Green Lodge is a one-stop shop for individuals to research and book green hotel stays and receive carbon credits for all travel booked through the site. Green Lodge offers a database of more than 600 U.S. hotels whose rankings are based on green certification status and specific green efforts. Green Lodge also offers resources on different types of green hotels, an online community for sharing travel tips, experiences at eco-hotels, and opportunities to reduce carbon footprint by booking travel. “We are making it easy for...

BETHESDA, MD.— The average three-day meeting at a Marriott hotel attended by 1,000 people produces more than 12 tons of trash, uses 200,000 kilowatts of power and consumes 100,000 gallons of water. Beginning this summer, Marriott, JW Marriott and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts will introduce a series of meeting products that are eco-friendly and will help guests and meeting planners reduce their environmental impact. Marriott is building on an aggressive environmental strategy by adding new elements to green its meetings. Products and Services include: • 100 percent post-consumer fiber writing pads; • Bic Ecolutions pens made from recycled content and biodegradable (Marriott purchases...

TORONTO—Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced a new partnership with the National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations with a long history of supporting the achievements of renowned explorers and groundbreaking researchers. As a new Mission Partner, Fairmont will support the National Geographic’s work to inspire people to care about the planet, which is a natural fit as the two organizations share a commitment to responsible tourism and the environment. Through the partnership, Fairmont will offer its guests access to a number of exclusive events and enriching experiences with the Global Explorer Series. The series...

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.—Doubletree Hotels announced that it has received the prestigious 2008 “Promise to the Earth Award” from the Arbor Day Foundation. The Promise to the Earth award is presented annually by the world’s largest nonprofit tree planting organization to corporations for outstanding commitments to environmental stewardship and education. The award also recognizes organizations that support the Arbor Day Foundation’s mission to “Inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees.” The Arbor Day Foundation acknowledged Doubletree for their continued and growing dedication to three major projects: • Doubletree Teaching Kids to CARE Community Outreach Program. Since the spring of 2004, Doubletree has...