LONDON—The WTM World Responsible Tourism Gold and Silver Award finalists have been announced for 2019. After an extensive process, the panel of expert judges have decided on 14 global businesses, destinations and organizations to receive the prestigious awards. The esteemed panel of industry professionals filtered through masses of applications to find the best of the best to fit within six categories; Wildlife and Nature Conservation, Reducing Carbon & Other Greenhouse Gases, Benefiting Local People, Transparent Reporting, Reducing Plastic Waste and Coping with Success, Dealing with Overtourism. The 2019 WTM World Responsible Tourism Gold and Silver Award finalists are: &Beyond – Luxury...

NATIONAL REPORT—Being green is becoming increasingly important for big and small businesses around the world as everyone strives to make a difference in the advent of global climate change. For many hotels, that means taking a special interest in how they can become more sustainable, finding ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, while still attracting enough tourists to maintain their profitability. More and more, it’s not just an afterthought—people are trying to implement green design principles in every part of the process, from building and furnishing to amenities and activities. Some hotels have made it their mission to help...

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy just released its 2019 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. The 50-state Scorecard reveals increasing state commitment to energy efficiency, the least-expensive clean energy resource, even where it had traditionally been overlooked. Research has shown that energy efficiency can slash U.S. energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050—getting us halfway to the U.S. climate goals. The 13th annual report identifies the leaders—Massachusetts and California; the most-improved states, notably Maryland; the states that lost ground, such as Kentucky; and those lagging behind, including North Dakota and Wyoming. According to the Scorecard, Nevada,...

BANGKOK—The Galápagos Islands are home to some of the world’s most amazing wildlife encounters. The isolated chain of 19 islands emerged alone from the rest of the world and its ecology developed in its own unique way. Guests at the upcoming Six Senses Galapagos will therefore experience a one-of-a-kind (literally-anywhere-on-earth) natural environment. Six Senses Galapagos is located in Cerro Verde on the northeastern coast of San Cristobal Island. This is the quietest of the main islands, blessed with a relaxed, tranquil vibe. UNESCO recognized the Galápagos Islands as a World Heritage Site in 1978 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1985, and...

NEW YORK—Schneider Electric announced at Climate Week NYC 2019 that it is drastically stepping up its commitment to carbon neutrality with three new actions: (1) accelerating its 2030 goal of carbon neutrality by demonstrating carbon neutrality in its extended ecosystem by 2025, bringing forward its objective by five years (2) achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2030 as part of validated SBT target and (3) engage with suppliers towards a net-zero supply chain by 2050. These targets are expected to contribute to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) goal of capping global temperature increase at 1.5°C. Schneider Electric is...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Amazon and Global Optimism announced The Climate Pledge, a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. Amazon becomes the first signatory of this pledge. The Climate Pledge calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Accord’s goal of 2050. Companies that sign The Climate Pledge agree to: Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis; Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies; Neutralize any...

NATIONAL REPORT—Ambitious new regulations on carbon emissions and a growing focus on sustainability is driving real estate investors to consider future-proofing their assets through retrofitting. Real estate is responsible for around 40 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the World Economic Forum and cities around the world have made pledges to play their part in reduction. As more regulation is implemented, landlords are under increasing scrutiny over their buildings. For investors with inefficient buildings in their portfolios, carrying out modifications now is “a smarter choice than not acting,” says Dana Robbins Schneider, Managing Director of JLL Energy and Sustainability Projects...

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIF.—Soul Community Planet (SCP) announced a new program—“One Tree: One Forest”—with the goal of making a meaningfully positive difference in the world one small step at a time. Through the program, Soul Community Planet will help to reforest unnaturally deforested areas around the world by donating the estimated cost to plant a tree to the One Tree Planted organization every time a guest stays overnight in one of its SCP Hotels. “SCP is founded on three core values: personal wellness (Soul), social good (Community) and sustainable practices (Planet). We chose to name this new program ‘One Tree:...

ST. PAUL, MINN.—Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources, has been named to the 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) North America Index, a comprehensive assessment of leading sustainability-driven companies. This is Ecolab’s fifth consecutive year on the North America index, and the company’s sixth listing since 2012. “Every day, our 49,000 associates work to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier, and to be successful, we must operate sustainably,” said Ecolab Chairman and CEO Douglas M. Baker, Jr. “We are honored to again be recognized on the...

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS.—Watts Water Technologies, Inc.—a leading global manufacturer of plumbing, heating, and water quality products and solutions—recently funded and helped install two water filtration systems that provide clean drinking water for children and families in Sa Kaeo, Thailand. Through its partnership with Planet Water Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that works to bring clean water to the world’s most impoverished communities, Watts employees and five of its customers built “AquaTowers” at two schools inside the Sa Kaeo province. The towers remove harmful particles, bacteria and viruses, providing 1,000 people with 10,000 liters of clean water per unit daily. “We are...