GREENSBORO, N.C.—After 28 years of operating one of the top-rated hotel and restaurant companies in the South, the founders of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels (QW) announced last fall that it is now 100 percent owned by its 600+ staff members. This makes QW one of only a few employee-owned restaurant and hotel companies in the entire country. Dennis and Nancy King Quaintance will continue to lead the company. Guests will not see changes at any of their six places: O.Henry Hotel, Green Valley Grill, Proximity Hotel, Print Works Bistro, and two Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen locations. According to Dennis Quaintance, “Co-founders...

TAOS SKI VALLEY, N.M.—Taos Ski Valley says it is the first ski resort in the world to become a Certified B Corporation® (B Corp) by thoroughly demonstrating its commitment to deliberate and thoughtful social, economic and environmental actions. Certified B Corps are required to meet the highest standards of verified economic, social and environmental performance, and public transparency. The B Corp certification further underscores Taos Ski Valley’s investment in the people who live in Northern New Mexico, its commitment to a sustainable economic future, its stewardship of the natural environment, and respect for the visitors who come to experience...

BONN, GERMANY—DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, is piloting a new City Hub concept that will enable increased use of cargo bicycles for inner-city deliveries. The City Hub is a customized trailer which can carry up to four containers for the DHL Cubicycle, a customized cargo bicycle which can carry a container with a load of up to 125 kg (one cubic meter in volume). A DHL van delivers the trailer into the city center, where the containers can be quickly loaded on to two Cubicyles for last-mile inner-city delivery. It can then be reloaded for...

TACOMA, WASH.—The environmental benefits of North American wood products are presented in a new guide from APA – The Engineered Wood Association. Sustainable Buildings, Sustainable Future, Form F305, contains facts and figures related to the sustainability of the forest resource, forest certification, life cycle assessment, and Environmental Product Declarations. The guide also compares energy consumption in the manufacture of wood, steel and concrete products, and provides a comparison of the net carbon impact of the building materials. Sustainable Buildings, Sustainable Future also includes an in-depth look at how sustained demand for wood products fosters a cycle of growth in North...

PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS—Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), chaired his first meeting of the Council of Tourism Ministers and Commissioners since being elected Chairman last September, resulting in positive discussions on best practices, funding cooperative regional activities and hosting the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Conference on Building Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism for Development next November. The Council of Ministers meeting took place during the recently completed Caribbean Travel Marketplace on Paradise Island, Bahamas. As the policy-making body of the CTO, the Council of Ministers worked as a team during the January meeting to...

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—Duralee Contract introduces the new FR Woven Drapery Collection. Designed with a goal of minimal environmental impact in mind, Duralee Contract partnered with a local manufacturer that is less than 100 miles from their warehouse to develop this “Made in the USA” product line. Where similar goods are commonly produced overseas, Duralee Contract is aware of their carbon footprint, and the sustainability of staying local. Sixteen diverse designs make up this 44 SKU book of large scale looks with a distinct artistic flair. These designs are complimented by open, poised and tranquil style that will evoke the feeling of...

NATIONAL REPORT—Earth Hour is scheduled for Saturday, March 25 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time. It is a lights-off event organized by WWF that now has the participation of individuals and groups in almost 180 countries. Earth Hour was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Lights will be dimmed in homes, offices, hotels and landmarks as a reminder to work toward greater efficiency, a sustainable future and to slow and stop man’s impact on climate change. The Earth Hour website features a “How Your Hotel Can Join the Earth Hour Movement” guide. It includes...

LAGRANGE, GA.—It was more than 20 years ago that Interface, the maker of carpet tile, set a very ambitious goal: to have no negative impact on the planet by the year 2020. It called its decades-long project “Mission Zero.” With less than three years to go until 2020, Green Lodging News spoke with Interface’s Mikhail Davis to learn how close the company is to reaching its goal. Davis, based in San Francisco, is Director of Restorative Enterprise and a Certified Biomimicry Specialist. Davis says two of Interface’s key metrics are energy use per unit of production and how much of...

PARIS—Sustainable procurement programs are more integral and widespread than ever before, but face a critical juncture as they scale to reach the next level of maturity, according to the results of the new EcoVadis/HEC Sustainable Procurement Barometer. “Sustainable procurement is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s an integral business function responsible for protecting and improving brand reputation, driving revenue and mitigating business risk,” said Pierre-François Thaler, co-CEO of EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains. “In order to scale up, the mature programs are investing in embedding sustainability into processes across their procurement organizations....

SYOSSET, N.Y.—Emerald Brand and WNW Hospitality Management have announced a partnership which offers WNW hotel properties nationwide a unique competitive advantage by converting to Emerald’s full sustainability program. WNW Hospitality Management is a hotel management company. “We specialize in strategically positioning hotels in local markets, while also creating product differentiation, to gain a significant competitive advantage,” says Marc Soblick of WNW Management. “Emerald’s unique sustainable disposable and cleaning solutions will be the perfect addition to further differentiate WNW hotels from their national competitors.” Emerald Brand specializes in providing innovative sustainable solutions at cost neutral or better, while measuring meaningful environmental savings...