ROCKVILLE, MD.—Avendra, the leading procurement services provider, fresh off the purchase of BuyEfficient, is stepping up its commitment to sustainability with the hiring of a new sustainability manager, Hamzah Abu-Ragheb. He joins Stacey Dash, Vice President, Marketing, Communications & Sustainability in leading the sustainability team at Avendra. The hiring of Abu-Ragheb comes at a critical time for Avendra. The Rockville, Md.-based company, with 7,000 hospitality customers, has just a little more than one year to go to reach its goal of having 100 percent of its suppliers with a sustainability policy in place. Currently, somewhere north of 84 percent...

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK—Thanks to a years-long, and ever-expanding effort by restaurants in Yellowstone National Park, visitors can be assured of a wide range of fresh, healthy food choices. And the National Park Service (NPS) has recognized that ongoing initiative with a 2015 Environmental Achievement Award.Each of the 17 restaurants operated by Yellowstone National Park Lodges offers menu items that use as many sustainable ingredients as possible. In 2014, the percentage of sustainable sourced food in the park was 38 percent, and that number continues to grow as more local farmers and suppliers make more choices available. Each restaurant also...

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Milliken’s floor covering division launched its first-ever sustainability report to provide transparency and detailed insight into the company’s global operations and product offering.“To Milliken, success is grounded in intentional environmental stewardship and has been for more than a century,” noted Jim McCallum, President of the global Milliken floor covering division. “This report sheds light on the lofty expectations of a holistic approach to sustainability that we set for our company to create innovations that ‘do good’ for the world.”Material issues addressed include: chemical and human health impacts, recycled content and recyclability, resource consumption, supply chain impacts of products...

BREA, CALIF.—The Embassy Suites by Hilton’s Southern California hotels are joining forces with Stop Hunger Now in the fight against hunger. Recently, more than 50 Embassy Suites employees convened at the Embassy Suites Brea—North Orange County hotel to prepare and package meals to help feed the world’s hungry. Stop Hunger Now is a volunteer-based program that coordinates streamlined meal packaging events to provide highly nutritious, dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables and 22 essential vitamins and minerals.Director of Sales Lisa Kotlar says, “Embassy Suites by Hilton Southern California hotels are excited to partner with Stop Hunger Now and...

LONDON—Hilton Worldwide announced it is the first global hotel company to serve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco-labelled and certified cod in its restaurants in 41 properties across the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Belgium. These properties have achieved MSC chain of custody certified status, and Hilton’s 41 remaining luxury and full-service owned, leased and managed properties in these countries are on track to receive MSC chain of custody certification by 2017. This step is part of Hilton’s strategy toward more responsible and sustainable sourcing around the world. Last April, the company implemented a shark fin ban across all restaurants and...

TAMPA, FLA.—The schedule for the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference America is coming together. The event, slated for January 25 to 27, will be held in Tampa, Fla. at the University of South Florida in the Patel Center. The conference is a project of The International Ecotourism Society and will have the following theme: Transforming Our World Through Sustainable Tourism Solutions. More than 200 tourism professionals are expected for the event.The event’s opening ceremony will be held at Busch Gardens Tampa. Speakers during the conference will include Dr. Kelly Bricker, Professor and Dept. Chair, Department of Parks, Recreation and...

LAS VEGAS—Employees of MGM Resorts International donated more than 154,000 pounds of food to Three Square Food Bank in a continuous effort by MGM employees to extend the staff of life to food insecure residents this holiday season. The food was collected during the company’s sixth annual food drive. MGM Resorts employees gave rice, flour, beans, cereal, canned meats and other food items that Three Square will use to feed the 137,000 local individuals served monthly through its approximately 1,300 community partners. Experts estimate that about 15.8 percent of the population, or more than 305,000 Southern Nevada residents, are...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 15 finalists of the National Geographic World Legacy Awards were unveiled. The World Legacy Awards, a partnership between the National Geographic Society and ITB Berlin, showcase the leading travel and tourism companies, organizations and destinations—ranging from large resorts to small eco-lodges and from wildlife conservancies to geoparks—driving the sustainable tourism transformation of the travel industry based on National Geographic’s work of inspiring people to care about the planet.More than 150 World Legacy Awards entries were received, representing 51 countries and six continents. Finalists in five award categories were selected by an international team of judges. The judging...

DOVER, DEL.—The dates for Sustain 2016, the Mid-Atlantic’s Annual Hospitality Conference, have been announced. The event will take place March 14 to 15, 2016 at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. The conference will be presented by Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and planned and developed by HospitalityGreen LLC.Attendees will have three tracts of activities to choose from: Culture, Marketing and Sustainability. Each visitor can attend any of the workshops and other activities within any of the tracts. Topics will include introduction of new products, green training programs and advice on how to engage millennials. Day one will feature...

NEW YORK—Seven New York City hotels were honored for their environmentally friendly lodging practices and socially responsible initiatives as recipients of the second annual Sustainable Hospitality Awards, presented on Monday, November 9 by the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. at HX: The Hotel Experience 2015.The Hotel Association’s Sustainability Committee offered awards in two classifications to hotels with fewer than 250 rooms, and to hotels with 250-plus rooms. In the small hotels category, the Roger Smith hotel was presented the Social Responsibility Award for numerous charitable endeavors supported by its employees. The Hyatt Union Square was recognized with...