LAS VEGAS—The following statement is from Steve Wynn, Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO: “It is a very sad and tragic coincidence that in two major cities where we have our employees and customers—Macau, in the People’s Republic of China, and Houston, Texas—tragedy struck within a few days of each other. “In Macau, our employee’s homes have been damaged and their lives have been interrupted; many of them have suffered. So, too, have our customers who were caught in the grip of the typhoon. In the United States, in the state of Texas, many of our customers and business associates have experienced...

LAKE CITY, COLO.—In the wise words of President Woodrow Wilson, “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” His sentiment embodies the genesis of Green Builder Media’s upcoming Sustainability Symposium: Champions of Change, planned for January 8, 2018 at the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando, Fla. The event will directly and honestly confront the reality of climate...

TAOS SKI VALLEY, N.M.—Following a dedicated and ongoing effort to enhance sustainability and environmental efforts throughout the resort, Taos Ski Valley received top honors in the 2017 Golden Eagle Awards for Environmental Excellence in the medium-sized ski resort category in April. The awards are the ski industry’s most prestigious honor for recognizing resort environmental programs and projects. The awards program, presented by SKI Magazine and the National Ski Areas Assn. (NSAA), recognized Taos for its far-reaching environmental efforts, including: This year Taos became the first B Corp ski resort in the world. Certified B Corps are required to meet the highest...

HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND—To coincide with World Day Against Trafficking in Persons late last month, Shiva Hotels has launched industry-leading measures to tackle modern slavery and raise awareness of the issue across its portfolio of hotels, which include prestigious hotels like Kingsway Hall Hotel in Covent Garden, as well as others in Waterloo and Heathrow. The new measures will include practical training for more than 400 employees and a consumer-facing campaign for guests in five United Kingdom hotels that receive more than 750,000 guests every year. COMBAT, a European Commission funded project, found that annually 93,000 people were sexually exploited and another 4,500...

BANGKOK—Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas has taken its leading position in sustainability one step further with the launch of Earth Lab. From Vietnam to Portugal, Seychelles to Thailand, Six Senses is dedicated to focusing on sustainability engagement and education at each resort’s Earth Lab. Earth Lab is a place where every Six Senses property showcases their sustainability efforts to reduce consumption, produce locally, and support communities and ecosystems. Guests are invited to visit Earth Lab to reconnect with the natural world and learn some simple life-hacks that will allow them to make a difference. The venue was named Earth to...

NATIONAL REPORT—Chefs become farmers, eggs are more edible than ever, the drinks of the ‘20s roar again, onions appear in jams and desserts, while the demand for sustainable fish is rising like the tide. It’s largely driven by Millennials with adventurous tastes, disposable income and a good bit of nostalgia for the foods they may have missed growing up. “Chefs from Benchmark Resorts & Hotels and the Gemstone Collection are not just tracking culinary trends; they are setting them with a commitment to sustainability, quality and creativity,” according to Todd Parmelee, Vice President Food & Beverage at BENCHMARK, a global hospitality company, which includes both...

BETHESDA, MD.—Element® Hotels, part of Marriott International, announces support of National Secondhand Wardrobe Day on August 25, 2017 by introducing The Element Exchange, a series of secondhand clothing pop-ups. All of the brand’s properties in North America will participate, using their public spaces to encourage hotel guests and local communities to swap, not shop, for their next item of clothing. With the launch of this new initiative, Element Hotels will contribute to combatting the global issue of fashion waste, as well as support the sustainability efforts of the local communities around each of Element’s hotels in North America. Each hotel...

NEW YORK, N.Y.—The sustainability seminar, “2020 Vision—Lodging’s Leaders Set the Sustainability Bar Higher,” has been finalized for HX: The Hotel Experience. The panel will take place on Monday, November 13 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Hotel stage at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Sustainability leaders at America’s leading hospitality companies will report on their companies’ current, 2020 and beyond goals in the areas of energy, emissions, water and waste reduction, as well as green building, community involvement, staff training, and procurement. Thanks to the collective goal setting of U.S. hotel companies and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 2017 Green Venue Report: The State of Convention and Exhibition Center Sustainability is now available. The 4th annual Green Venue Report compiles data from 66 convention and exhibition centers across 16 countries and four continents (a 50 percent increase from 2016). The report evaluates a collective environmental footprint of industry meeting and events, highlighting best practices and innovative programs. In its fourth year, the Green Venue Report compares green performance over a wide range of areas, including: energy efficiency, waste management, water usage, food and beverage services, cleaning practices, staff involvement, communications, and certifications. The survey consisted of 131...

LAS VEGAS—Sands ECO360, the global corporate sustainability program of Las Vegas Sands, has released its 2016 environmental report. The report marks the company’s first annual measurement against its revised sustainability goals, building upon the success and key learnings of original targets set in 2011 and reported on through 2015. Since Sands ECO360’s inception, LVS has established its sustainability strategy around four key pillars to achieve the greatest impact, including Green Buildings, Environmentally Responsible Operations, Green Meetings and Events, and Stakeholder Engagement. While these pillars remain the core of Sands ECO360, LVS used two guiding principles to set its sustainability goals...