SAN FRANCISCO—In its continued commitment to eco-friendly hospitality management and service, San Francisco based Greystone Hotels announces participation in the 46th annual celebration of Earth Day on April 22. All 11 of Greystone’s California and Oregon based properties will donate a portion of gross room revenues from Earth Day, April 22 to the Nature Conservancy, as well as an organized day of service for all employees. Day of Service local community partners include: SE Bend Park Site Cleanup (Bend, Ore.), Clean Pan Pacific Park (Los Angeles), La Comida de California (Palo Alto), “14th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup” (San...

ORLANDO, FLA.—The Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand, developed and exclusively operated by Orange Lake Holdings, announced a partnership with Clean The World to recycle partially-used soaps and bottled hygiene products from its resorts. This new partnership continues the company’s sustainability efforts through the IHG Green Engage program, which sets standards to reduce the impact its properties have on the environment. An estimated five tons of waste a year will be diverted from local landfills.Clean the World is a social enterprise dedicated to saving millions of lives around the world while simultaneously diverting hotel waste from landfills in North America,...

SYOSSET, N.Y.—Emerald announced its conversion to Penske Truck Leasing compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled trucks. Emerald’s New York based fleet will move to CNG this month, furthering Emerald’s mission of global conservation and mainstreaming sustainability.Each year, Emerald drivers deliver thousands of tons of its alternatively sourced, sustainable products to clients around the country. This conversion will greatly reduce the company’s environmental footprint by lessening the amount of gas emissions released into the air as compared to traditional diesel fueled vehicles.“We are always striving to discover new ways to help the environment and reduce our footprint, and the conversion to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the quarterly addenda to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system, which includes a new pilot Alternative Compliance Path (ACP) credit that is designed to further advance environmentally responsible forest management and help rid buildings of illegal wood by promoting the use of wood that is verified to be legal. The pilot ACP builds on the robust infrastructure that has been built around responsible wood sourcing and chain of custody to test an approach to prerequisite requirements, which could serve as a model for other building...

LAHAINA, HAWAII—After becoming Hawaii’s first LEED EBOM Silver resort in 2014 following significant sustainability upgrades, Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa has installed one of the largest rooftop photovoltaic systems in Hawaii. This system of solar panels produces more than 6 percent of the resort’s annual electricity needs, which is equal to supplying grid electricity to 158 homes. Additionally, by lessening their reliance on grid electricity, they are reducing their overall carbon footprint. The use of solar power reduces CO2 emissions by offsetting diesel generation, one of the dirtiest methods of electricity. The amount of CO2 emissions that has...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International is one of “America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises,” according to the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a national leader in women’s business development and certification. The Top Corporations list is the only national award program honoring corporations for leading supplier diversity initiatives that reduce barriers and drive growth for women-owned businesses.“We are so proud of WBENC’s Top Corporations, including MGM Resorts International, for choosing to set the standard for access and increase opportunities to women suppliers in new markets—both domestically and internationally,” said Pamela Prince-Eason, President and CEO of WBENC, a leader...

MEMPHIS, TENN.—FedEx Corp. announced the online release of its 2016 Global Citizenship Report (GCR), which details the company’s commitment to connect the world in responsible and resourceful ways. The report includes annual updates on the company’s environmental, community and economic development initiatives.Among the highlights of this report, FedEx Express announced that it has surpassed its goal to boost vehicle fuel efficiency by 30 percent—some five years early. The company achieved the goal through its “Reduce, Replace, Revolutionize” strategy: •    Reduce overall mileage by optimizing routes;•    Replace vehicles with more efficient models; and•    Revolutionize the vehicle fleet with alternative fuel vehicles. In...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, and Equality NC, the state organization working to secure equal rights and justice for LGBT North Carolinians, announced that executives from Starbucks, Citibank, TD Bank, Hilton, Starwood Hotels, Choice Hotels, eBay, Accenture, Kellogg Company, Reddit, Barnes & Noble, Atlassian, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Ingersoll-Rand, Wasserman and the Wasserman Foundation, and CA Technologies have signed onto an open letter that now includes more than 100 leading CEOs and business leaders calling on Governor Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the...

PARIS—Next spring, 14 years after being conceived by Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs and Euro Disney, Villages Nature Paris will open 20 miles east of Paris. The resort will be a showcase for green design, geothermal technology and will be based on harmony between man and nature. Villages Nature Paris will open with 916 dwellings, more than two-thirds of which will be cottages and one-third family suites. The dwellings will be owned by individual and other investors and managed by Villages Nature Paris. According to Dominique Cocquet, CEO of Villages Nature Paris, within five years the development is expected...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM—The Rezidor Hotel Group has published its Responsible Business Report. Included since 2010 in Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies List, Rezidor is committed to being an innovative and responsible hotel company with leading sustainable hotel brands such as Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson.Last year marked another impressive year for Responsible Business at Rezidor with successes in all three core areas of the company’s Responsible Business program. Highlights include energy savings of 22 percent, water consumption reduced by 29 percent, 272 eco-labelled hotels, and Meetings Minus Carbon offsets of 32,000 tons of carbon.Also last year, 65 Rezidor...