ADA International, in support of bees, launched a SaveTheBees! Initiative for Earth Day. Since that time the company, a maker of hotel cosmetics for hotels and resorts around the world, has done the following: sprinkled a 12,000 square meter meadow behind the headquarter building with seeds for a bee-food-paradise; distributed packages with bee-friendly flower seeds to associates, so that they can convert their gardens and balconies into a bee-friendly home; and built a hotel for the bees which the company hopes will become a home for the bees frequenting the meadow. The SaveTheBees! Initiative is just part of what ADA...

ATLANTA—UPS announced an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. This is the largest commitment for use of RNG to date by any company in the United States, with a range of 22.5 to 25 million gallon equivalents per year. RNG is a key part of UPS’s strategy to increase alternative fuel consumption to be 40 percent of total ground fuel purchases by 2025, supporting the logistics leader’s efforts to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its ground fleet 12 percent by 2025. “The world has a trash...

DALLAS—Informa and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the release of the 2018 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, highlighting valuable metrics and key benchmarks regarding the impact on sustainable sourcing, community involvement, and carbon footprint reduction at the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held last November at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event achieved an overall 86 percent waste diversion rate. “We’re thrilled to have made such great strides for event sustainability,” said Sherida Sessa, Greenbuild Brand Director, Informa. “We had a lot of ‘firsts’ in 2018 and tried new approaches that worked well. Our hope is that these achievements...

LAS VEGAS—Diamond Resorts, a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, has partnered with the We Are Water Foundation to launch an initiative that encourages travelers to make a rational and sustainable use of water. As part of the initiative, Diamond Resorts will be educating members, owners, guests and team members to make a reasonable and sustainable use of water within all of the company’s European properties. With help from We Are Water, Diamond Resorts will hold programs aimed at informing people of their water usage and encouraging them to make simple changes, such as reusing bath towels...

SINGAPORE—Come 2023, a new resort experience will open to guests at Mandai, bringing them closer to nature through a biophilic design that integrates the buildings with their natural surroundings. The design of the new Mandai resort will be helmed by local architectural firm, WOW Architects. Speaking on the appointment of WOW Architects, Mike Barclay, Group CEO of Mandai Park Holdings (MPH) said, “WOW Architects’ concept demonstrated the best design response to our brief, one that will bring our guests closer to nature. We have brought together the strengths of two homegrown brands, WOW Architects and Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts....

SAN FRANCISCO—Yelp has launched a Green Practices Initiative to begin surveying consumers and understanding how to better assess the sustainability of a restaurant’s practices. Given the complexity of sustainable food systems and restaurant operations, Yelp is focusing first on the reduction of single-use plastics in restaurants and leveraging what makes Yelp most useful: consumer feedback. Yelp will begin surveying consumers and collecting data on the use of single-use plastics in restaurants across the United States. Consumers who visit a restaurant’s Yelp page can answer whether or not the business uses compostable takeout containers, plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic utensils or...

MIAMI—As part of Club Med’s continuing commitment to a sustainable approach to tourism, the company is working on new uniforms for staff completely made out of recycled plastic material. The special collection will consist of polos, dresses and caps to serve a variety of roles. This process not only uses approximately 40 percent less energy consumption when compared to regular polyester production, but in order to create Club Med’s new uniforms, the equivalent of more than 200,000 plastic bottles have already been recycled in the process. Club Med’s G.Os (the term used for employees, short for Gracious Organizers) will debut...

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS—Caribbean enterprises that act as social change agents through tourism innovation will be recognized by the region’s tourism development agency. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is this year introducing the Tourism Social Enterprise award to its sustainable tourism awards program to demonstrate in a tangible way its support for businesses or individuals that use creative ways to show how tourism can support societal development. “Social entrepreneurship is exemplified when an enterprise’s core business activity has positive spin-off benefits to solve or bridge community-based problems,” says Amanda Charles, the CTO’s Sustainable Tourism Development Specialist. “This business development approach is highly...

SEDONA, ARIZ.—The Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau is responding to the challenges of welcoming millions of annual visitors with a revolutionary change in how tourism is managed in one of America’s premier travel destinations. The Sedona Sustainable Tourism Plan will drive stewardship of Sedona’s famous red rocks while reducing traffic congestion, overcrowding and social impacts. Sedona’s red rocks inspire artists, spiritual seekers and nature lovers around the world. “Our stunning landscape inspires people everywhere,” said Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff. “Falling in love with Sedona is easy. The community wants to be sure we...

LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA—Situated on the island of Langkawi in Malaysia, The Datai Langkawi is a luxurious ecotourism resort nestled in the heart of a 10 million-year-old rainforest. In an exciting milestone, The Datai Langkawi is the first in the world to join the EarthCheck ECO (Terrestrial) Certification Program. EarthCheck ECO is the culmination of a journey that began in 1987 and continues to this day. Using a science-based approach, the program helps travel and tourism organizations increase efficiencies, reduce their environmental footprint, support local communities and maximize guest experience. “Over 500 million years ago, Mother Earth created what is known as...