SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—Snowmass Base Village (SBV) introduces the all-electric and appropriately named Electric Pass Lodge. Designed to be 100 percent powered by renewable energy, this development will be one of the first of its kind in the country. The building will include 53 ski-in/ski-out, for-sale residences at the base of the iconic Snowmass Ski Area. “If you own a home at a ski resort, you’re inherently invested in the preservation of snow,” says Andy Gunion, Roaring Fork Valley Managing Partner for East West Partners. “Nobody wants their ski home to contribute to climate change, but the reality is most do—either...

DALTON, GA.—Troy Virgo, Director of Sustainability at Shaw Industries, has been selected by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) to receive a 2020 IWBI community award recognizing outstanding members of the WELL AP and WELL Faculty community. Virgo joins a group of honorees from around the globe who are leading the charge to revolutionize the way we think about our buildings, communities and organizations, and the impact they have on our health and quality of life. Virgo has served as a member of IWBI’s Materials Concept Advisory team since 2018, an advisory created to explore, better understand and ultimately, more...

With multiple effective COVID-19 vaccines emerging, hotels are looking forward to hosting more guests in 2021 and beyond. Even after most of the population has been vaccinated, many guests will likely maintain heightened awareness of hotel cleanliness. At the same time, the environmental crisis is worsening, and a growing number of Americans are feeling its impact. A recent Pew Research Center survey found a majority (62 percent) of Americans see the climate crisis affecting their local communities. These conditions create a perfect opportunity for hotels to emphasize sustainability in their cleaning programs. It is crucial to understand that green cleaning...

The government of Spain recently announced a public process to identify projects to which to allocate European Recovery Funds. Meliá Hotels International, one of the world’s largest international hotel groups, revealed the third of the projects it has submitted to the government’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. The project aims to help combat climate change and push forward the decarbonization of the hotel industry. Specifically, the project presented to the Ministry aims to accelerate the transformation of hotel management (and its entire value chain) towards a more sustainable and responsible business model, something in which Meliá has been working...

SINGAPORE—Park Hotel Group, a leading hospitality company in Asia Pacific, announced the launch of its Room For Trees program in partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects (Eden), a nonprofit organization that is committed to reforestation and ecological restoration by working with people in their local communities to restore their forests. Through Room For Trees, Park Hotel Group will plant a tree for every booking made with its portfolio of hotels via their website. The partnership with Eden supports the mangrove reforestation project in Biak Island, Indonesia, which involves collaborating with local villagers of Biak to replant, restore and protect their wetland...

BANGKOK—For Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, sustainable travel is the first step in establishing a collaborative relationship with nature and understanding how operations can fit into the design of the whole system. Regenerative travel takes the idea of sustainability a step further to consider a more reciprocal relationship with future ecosystems and generations. While the future of travel remains uncertain, the appeal of traveling more consciously and carefully is growing among guests. Initiated in 2012 and led by the group’s Vice President of Sustainability Jeff Smith, all properties monitor and measure their actions closely. “Our ultimate aim is to do...

BOSTON—Schneider Electric, a leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has been named one of Fortune’s 2021 World’s Most Admired Companies. It is the fourth year in a row that the company has been featured on this high-profile list. The inclusion comes hot on the heels of Schneider being named the world’s most sustainable corporation, by Corporate Knights, a media and research company focused on corporate sustainability performance and is testimony to the company’s ongoing work to promote innovation, sustainability, and equal opportunities for all. This year, Schneider Electric ranks #3 in the electronics industry sector, +1 position...

LOUISVILLE, KY.—Sunny Dronawat, Managing Partner of the La Quinta Inn and Suites by Wyndham Louisville East, along with his partners, recently opened one of the country’s only solar and wind powered hotels and certainly the only one in Kentucky. The 94-room hotel, which had its soft launch on January 1, is doing well so far, Dronawat says. “We want to make sure every room is perfect,” he says. The property’s official opening will depend on how quickly the economy opens. Unique to the hotel is its 60 solar panels on its roof, each of which generates 300 watts for a total...

WILMINGTON, DEL.—DuPont launched its reduced global warming potential (GWP) solution for Styrofoam Brand Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Foam Insulation. As Canada continues the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) blowing agents, DuPont is ready with a reduced GWP formulation—in a new, design friendly grey color—that maintains the same industry-leading performance of the familiar blue insulation material. The quality and properties of the new Styrofoam brand grey insulation products meet the strict Underwriters Laboratory of Canada (ULC) classification listings, and the assemblies evaluated achieve the same reliable ULC and Factory Mutual (FM) approvals. Additional third party, industry certifications publishing soon include an Environmental Product...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Some of the world’s leading hoteliers and hospitality academics have joined forces to launch LeadingHôtelières, a pioneering initiative that aims to accelerate the path to improved gender equality in higher level positions across the industry, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5. LeadingHôtelières is founded by CEO and President of the prestigious HoteliersGuild community, Frank M Pfaller, and co-founded by Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO at Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Considerate Group Founding Partner, Xenia zu Hohenlohe, leads as Chairwoman for the inaugural year and is joined by co-chair Associate Professor of Management at the leading Ecole hôtelière de...