SANYA, CHINA—Twenty-four Marriott International hotels in the Hainan Area went dark for one hour to shine a light on climate action in support of Earth Hour 2018. To bring Marriott’s Spirit to serve live in the local community, there was a charity donation initiative for Hainan. On March 24, every guest dining at any of Marriott International Hainan hotels’ restaurants for lunch or dinner, RMB 5 donated to the certified nonprofit organization Sanya Bright Connection supporting children with autism and cerebral palsy. “Marriott is committed to making a positive and sustainable impact wherever it does business, and create opportunities for the...

LAS VEGAS—For the 11th consecutive year, MGM Resorts International participated in Earth Hour, the worldwide effort that puts climate change in the spotlight. MGM Resorts dimmed the exterior lights at 18 of its properties around the globe on March 24 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The annual event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. Earth Hour brings together people and organizations to demonstrate the importance of energy conservation and to support action on climate change. Millions joined communities, businesses and iconic landmarks around the world in switching their lights off for one hour. Exterior lighting, rooftop signage, marquees and...

ST. LOUIS—Since 2006, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation has funded a massive reforestation effort with more than 12 million tree plantings. Every year, 1 million trees are planted as part of the Enterprise 50 Million Tree Pledge—a unique public-private partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation that will continue through 2056. The 12 million plantings represent more than 100 projects in Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom—as well as in diverse forests throughout 16 states in the United States: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. 2017 Plantings Address Critical...

STOCKHOLM—The Electrolux Group published its latest Sustainability Report, For the Better, with facts and figures showing progress and achievements in key areas during 2017: reduced carbon emissions, improved energy and water consumption within manufacturing and products as well as increased use of recycled plastics. The Group is also adding new long-term targets to reduce its carbon emissions within operations by 80 percent in 2025, supporting the Paris Climate Agreement. Read the report here. “Sustainable development is a key element of our business model and essential to realizing our company purpose that we launched in 2017, ‘Shape living for the better’,”...

NEW YORK—Evoqua Water Technologies named Cintas Corp. the inaugural recipient of the Evoqua Water Sustainability Award, recognizing excellence in water stewardship. Cintas saves up to 599 million gallons of water per year through its companywide system. Of note, Cintas Industrial Laundry can deliver significant improvements in water use compared to home laundry by providing approximately 20 percent water savings—in addition to significant energy and soap savings. Cintas has also demonstrated leadership in sustainability by taking steps to lower water use and minimize environmental impact at several facilities through enhanced wastewater treatment, as well as enhanced water reuse efforts. For example, at...

SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Marriott Marquis got a head start on its resolution to create a cleaner community when the downtown hotel launched its “Own Our Block” program on December 4, 2017. Since then, San Francisco Marriott Marquis volunteers have clocked in 156 hours of cleaning sidewalks and streets and removed approximately 780 pounds of trash from the surrounding neighborhood. “Our grassroots effort has improved the look of our community,” says General Manager Chuck Pacioni. “Hotel colleagues are proud to support this ongoing, seven-day-a-week program. We’re part of San Francisco’s thriving hospitality industry and are doing our part to make...

BETHESDA, MD.—Delta Hotels by Marriott announced a new amenity partnership with Soapbox, providing premium bath products to guests worldwide while donating soap to communities in need worldwide. The naturally-derived Soapbox products featured in the guestroom amenity kits including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, liquid hand soap and bar soap will begin rolling out to all 50 properties within the brand’s global portfolio this month. “We are very excited and proud to enter into this relationship with Soapbox,” said Gregory Durrer, Global Brand Leader of Delta Hotels by Marriott. “Not only are we giving guests a great bath experience with quality...

It is difficult at this point to understand the potential magnitude of the news Westin Hotels & Resorts made this past week, but it could be huge for not only the lodging industry but other industries as well. Be sure to read this entire column and you will understand why. First, to the news. Westin announced the launch of Project Rise: ThreadForward, a sustainability program that collects, processes and reweaves hotel bed linens—transforming them into thousands of pairs of children’s pajamas. The first-of-its-kind, “upcycled” pajamas will be distributed to children in need in cities around the world. Also, guests...

BETHESDA, MD.—Westin Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of Project Rise: ThreadForward, a sustainability program that collects, processes and reweaves hotel bed linens transforming them into thousands of pairs of children’s pajamas. The first-of-its-kind pajamas will be distributed to children in need, whose circumstances can contribute to shortened and more fragmented sleep. Beginning April 16, Westin will give the gift of better sleep beyond the brand’s hotels, in cities around the world: from New York and Toronto, to Mexico City and Cape Town, and will encourage guests to support by purchasing a pair of pajamas on westinstore.com to benefit...

Name: Laura Abshire Title: Director of Sustainability Policy and Government Affairs Organization/Location: National Restaurant Assn./Washington D.C. Years in Position: 5+ years Primary Responsibilities: “I view my role as someone who is increasing education around sustainability—monitoring everything around the sustainability space and how it impacts our members.” Organization’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “The NRA has done a lot of work linking sustainability efforts with restaurateurs and their daily operations. Raising awareness and inspiring action has been a very big accomplishment.” Organization’s most significant sustainability-related challenge moving forward: “There is so much more work to be done to educate members on sustainability. The lack of infrastructure for...