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...

NEW YORK—Humanscale, a leading designer and manufacturer of ergonomic office products, has fully embraced the undertaking to create a net positive future through initiatives that go beyond sustainability and give back to the world. With a commitment to transparency, the company’s 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Report details changes that reflect bold vision and inspiring leadership. Key Achievements: The first company to achieve full Living Product Challenge certification, meeting the stringent sustainability standards set by the International Living Future Institute, Humanscale offers two Living Products: the Diffrient Smart chair and Float table. The seal signifies that Humanscale’s manufacturing facility and the organization...

OAKLAND, CALIF.—To reduce global economic inequality along with greenhouse gas emissions from its corporate travel, travel industry leader Expedia, Inc. has invested in four community-owned carbon offset projects from the nonprofit Carbon Offsets to Alleviate Poverty (COTAP.org). COTAP’s carbon offset projects counteract emissions through tree planting, agroforestry and forest protection in areas where incomes are less than $2 per day. They are certified under Plan Vivo, the world’s longest-standing voluntary standard for forest carbon, which requires rural communities own their offset projects and that they receive at least 60 percent of all carbon revenues. Expanding voluntary carbon markets and using carbon...

OAKLAND, CALIF.—A new guidance program is now available for manufacturers and designers looking to create and certify products according to the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard, a continual improvement standard that assesses products across five quality categories: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness. Cradle to Cradle Certified Foundations is a free, self-paced program that helps participants understand what’s needed to get on the path toward Cradle to Cradle Certification. Comprised of four videos along with accompanying worksheets and supplemental resources, the course walks participants through a step-by-step process for collecting key...