PARSIPPANY, N.J.—RCI, a global leader in vacation, announced the latest winners of the RCI Green Awards program. These awards recognize the most environmentally-conscious resorts within the company’s exchange network. The application process includes an audit of green practices in areas including energy and water conservation, waste management and community outreach. The evaluation process, winner selection and verification system was completed by third-party eco-certification expert GreenCircle Certified, LLC. “Hospitality properties have great potential—and great responsibility—to reduce the impact their operations have on the environment,” said Brian Bruno, Vice President of Content and Brand Marketing for RCI and head of the brand’s...

KELOWNA, B.C.—When the founder of British Columbia’s first all-electric taxi fleet was preparing the launch of his Tesla service, he knew exactly where he wanted to host the launch: outside the internationally recognized environmental award-winning green Kelowna hotel with Tesla Supercharger stations. “From Day 1, we really wanted to hold it here,” says Dale Conway, owner of Current Taxi, which transports passengers in its eco-friendly fleet of Tesla cars. “This Best Western has long been known for its sustainability and that’s what drew us to this hotel—for both the launch and our corporate office.” Current Taxi’s February launch event was attended...

AMSTERDAM—To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, Booking.com released findings from its global Sustainable Travel Report. In a year that the United Nations has designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, this new research points to some promising signs when it comes to the eco-considerations weighed by both travelers and accommodations. The number of travelers staying in an eco-friendly or “green” accommodation at least once could double this year with 65 percent of global travelers expressing this intention versus 34 percent who stayed in one or more last year. In addition, 68 percent confirm they are more...

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND—Responsible Travel announced that it will no longer be promoting trips that include visits to zoos on its website. The online travel company and pioneer in responsible tourism has removed six trips from its site, the first travel company to publically make such a move. Responsible Travel and its customers have always been strong advocates for wildlife and conservation and until now has only included a small minority of trips in its collection which focus on volunteering programs to help improve zoos. However, following Liz Bonnin’s important 2016 BBC Horizon program: Should we Close Our Zoos? and consultation with...

Sustainability is now a commonly used catchword and focus for all businesses on some level. For many being a “green” or sustainable organization can be a daunting task, but is increasingly becoming a business imperative. Rest assured you are most likely doing more than you think.  The triple bottom line approach of sustainability—people, planet and profit (or more recently productivity)—focuses on ensuring financial profitability is aligned with other key performance indicators such as environmental best practice, employee health and well-being, and community stewardship. The most successful businesses realize that engaged employees are key to a winning culture and the organization’s...

LINCOLN, NEB.—April 28, 2017 marks the 145th celebration of Arbor Day. A holiday established in 1872 in Nebraska City to inspire people to plant trees, it became a legal holiday in 1885. To help people across the country get more easily involved in celebrating the country’s first environmental holiday, the Arbor Day Foundation has launched celebratearborday.com. People can visit the website to see what is going on in their local community and also act to plant trees and plan their own Arbor Day celebrations. During the month of April, to help all Americans commemorate Arbor Day, Unilever and Ahold are...

BUENOS AIRES—Unmistakably green. There is no other way to describe the 26-suite Palo Santo Hotel in the trendy Palermo Hollywood district of Buenos Aires. The hotel’s facade, terraces, balconies, patio and roof are covered with plants. A specially designed iron structure on the building’s exterior serves as a support for the vertical gardens that reach 90 feet high. In total, more than 900 plants are spread throughout the building. The plants provide a natural insulation against climate extremes, absorb excess water, and help reduce the hotel’s carbon footprint by 80 percent by providing oxygen and absorbing CO2. The plants are...

Green Lodging News’ list of Solar Powered hotels in its Renewable Energy All Stars section grew by yet another this past week with the announcement of the completion of a 269 kW photovoltaic system at the Ramada Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, Calif. The installation is projected to produce 426,000 kWh of power annually. The electricity generated by the system is expected to power at least 70 percent of the hotel’s 175 guestrooms, public lighting and three EV charging stations. The clean energy produced by the system is expected to equal a reduction of 8,727 tons of CO2 over 25 years or...

TELA, HONDURAS—Indura Beach & Golf Resort, the first five-star resort in Central America within Curio—a Collection by Hilton, will celebrate Earth Day by hosting a one-hour, informative nature walk on Saturday, April 22 at 9 a.m. on property grounds in Tela Bay, Honduras. Employees, guests, and local members of the community are invited to join this walk to learn about the green initiatives in place at the resort and what they can do at home to join the effort and combat this global issue. Being set within the Jeannette Kawas National Park, nature preservation is central to Indura and encouraged...

CYPRESS, CALIF.—The Ramada Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, Calif. recently announced the completion of a photovoltaic (PV) system by Sky Power Solar with solar modules from Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc. The 269 kW system includes 996 Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Premium solar modules and is projected to produce 426,000 kWh of power annually. The electricity generated by the system is expected to power at least 70 percent of the hotel’s 175 guestrooms, public lighting and three EV charging stations. The clean energy produced by the system is expected to equal a reduction of 8,727 tons of CO2 over 25 years or planting 203,000 trees. In...