For the past several decades, the hotel and resort industry has made impressive shifts toward more environmentally friendly operational practices. Eliminating single-use shampoo bottles and asking guests to reuse towels and sheets are some of the basic and necessary steps hotels have taken to ensure a greener planet. While these measures have undoubtedly resulted in a smaller carbon footprint, according to the New Building Institute, they are still not enough. The institute, which tracks net-zero buildings around the country, calls the hotel and resort industry’s record on energy and water consumption “lackluster.” It says this is due to several reasons, including...

In late March, BREEAM hosted the first ever online BREEAM Awards ceremony. The three-day virtual event celebrated this year’s shortlisted and winning projects with over 400 attendees joining online from all over the world. BREEAM has been the world-leading sustainability assessment method for planning projects, infrastructure, and buildings for over 30 years. The BREEAM Awards is an annual celebration recognizing the projects and organizations that, in the view of the independent judging panel, are leading the way with significant achievements in sustainable building design, development and management. The three-day ceremony, which was hosted by BRE’s Head of Building Performance Services Shamir...

NEW ORLEANS—The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) has made sustainability a top priority and is taking steps to reduce environmental impacts. While the coronavirus pandemic impacted hosting events in 2020, NOENMCC took advantage of the downtime and made critical facility upgrades that will reduce their environmental footprint, and in turn, help make the facility a leader in sustainable events. “As one of the top convention center facilities in the nation, it is crucial that we meet and exceed national standards when it comes to sustainability and environmental impact,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Convention Center President. “Nowadays, sustainability...

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—TOMbag, an Australian social enterprise brings to the world an innovative and sustainable alternative to single-use plastic garbage bags. Made from discarded plastic bottles, TOMbag reusable garbage bags are 100 percent waterproof, easily washable and extremely durable. TOMbag reusable garbage bags are a perfect and one of a kind solution for the hospitality sector that is moving away from single-use plastics in their fight against climate change and global warming. Sasha Pestano, Co-Founder of TOMbag, explains, “Single-use bin liners fly under the radar of society, but they are one of the major contributors to climate change. Globally, households use...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Scandic continues to secure its position as industry winner as Sustainable Brand Index recently published the official ranking of Sweden’s most sustainable brands in 2021. This is the eleventh year in a row that consumers and decision-makers have named Scandic the most sustainable brand in the category; Hotel. As early as 1993, Scandic decided to become the leader within sustainability and has since then driven the development of sustainability forward in the global hospitality industry. In 2020, Scandic took the next step towards continuing to be a sustainability leader, by launching a new sustainability strategy to continue to meet...

SARASOTA, FLA.—Pürlin, LLC has hired Eric Eisenberg to serve as Vice President of Hospitality. In collaboration with their University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) partners, the entire team will be working with Eisenberg to introduce Pürlin’s unique closed-loop bedlinen system to the Las Vegas hotel market. “With his extensive background in hotel operations and his professional ties to the business community, we have every confidence in Eric’s abilities to lead Pürlin’s Las Vegas commercialization initiative and to build our South West Regional Sales Operation,” says Pürlin Founder and President, Richard Ferrell. In response to the devastating impact that COVID-19 continues to...

LAS VEGAS—Sands’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report summarizes its commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen through key performance metrics in the report’s namesake areas. Measuring and reporting ESG performance has helped drive results, supporting the management of the company’s utility consumption, ensuring the disciplined execution of efficiency projects and compelling it to explore innovations to its resort operations. Along with the key metrics covered in the ESG Report, Sands is currently in the process of broadening its company disclosures to incorporate an even wider range of metrics. The areas of emphasis in environmental performance, all reflected in the report, include...

GREENOUGH, MONT.—Created by the founders of The Resort at Paws Up and set in the heart of Montana’s Blackfoot River Valley, the green o is slated to open on June 1, 2021, as a year-round, off-the-grid contemporary luxury retreat, primed for small-group buyouts. An array of customizable itineraries ideal for intimate weddings, milestone celebrations, incentive retreats, family office meetings, private board meeting getaways and more will be available. Designed for maximum privacy and seclusion, the green o will offer exclusive experiences in 12 design-forward accommodations—from the elevated Tree Haus to the Green Haus with a rooftop deck perfect for stargazing, the Round Haus with a sunken living room and the Light Haus with a glass-enclosed bedroom....

CINCINNATI, OHIO—If you were to look at all of the companies servicing the hospitality industry, there are few that have reached the level of sustainability as Cincinnati-based Melink Corp. The list of its accomplishments is long and so too are its future goals—from the headquarters it operates from to the products and services it offers. The company has been around a while. “I started the company in 1987,” says Steve Melink, Chairman & CEO. “We started as an HVAC company doing commissioning for restaurant chains.” It was not long before Melink saw that many restaurant ventilation systems were running constantly,...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—What do industry professionals need to know about the “new norm” in tourism? In this article we take a deeper look at six sustainable travel statistics. While COVID has upended the $8 trillion global travel industry, the pandemic has also paved the way for tourism and hospitality professionals to reflect, rethink and reshape the sector, making it better—and ultimately more sustainable—for people and places around the world. As UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Sustainability must no longer be a niche part of tourism but the new norm for every part of our sector. That means an opportunity to build...