TORONTO—Keeping with its commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will participate for the fourth consecutive year in Earth Hour, a global event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness about climate change. On Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 8:30 p.m. local time, all of Fairmont’s 64 world-class hotels and resorts will participate by turning off their lights for one hour. “Climate change impacts us all and is an issue we must address collectively,” said Chris Cahill, president, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. “We continually encourage our hotels to be innovative with their energy conservation...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Greenview as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Greenview provides expertise to organizations interested in publishing a sustainability report. The company can advise on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, manage the reporting process, analyze and format data, write the report, and engage stakeholders as well. Greenview’s goal is to advance sustainable development within the hospitality industry by increasing the presence of sustainability reporting, measuring, and metrics. According to Greenview, sustainability reporting is becoming more important. Environmental and social issues are increasingly considered by clients and guests...

MADRID, SPAIN—Produced in partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the tourism chapter of the United Nations Environment Program-led (UNEP) Green Economy Report demonstrates how investing in environmentally-friendly tourism can drive economic growth, lead to poverty reduction and job creation, while improving resource efficiency and minimizing environmental degradation. Tourism is one of the most promising drivers of growth for the world economy, according to the report, but its development is accompanied by sustainability-related challenges. An investment of 0.2.% of global GDP ($135 billion at current levels of GDP) per year between now and 2050 would allow the tourism...

PORTLAND, ORE.—Highlighting day two (February 22) of the sixth annual Sustainable Meetings Conference at the Doubletree Hotel in Portland was a "Sustainable Meetings Standards" session summarizing the progress of the Green Meetings and Events Voluntary Standards. The lodging industry is anxiously awaiting the completion of the standards—the result of an effort led by the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), and ASTM International. According to Lawrence Leonard, APEX program director and a session panelist, the industry will have to wait a little more. “The standards are...

BOSTON—Some 4,000 renewable energy and green building experts will bring their cutting edge thinking—and very strong opinions—to Boston in March for the BuildingEnergy11 Conference and Tradeshow. Now in its 36th year, BuildingEnergy11 (BE11) is organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), and is the oldest and largest regional renewable energy event in the country. On Tuesday, March 8, three workshops at BE11 will highlight different constructs for gauging energy efficiency and environmental impact beyond the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system: Zero Net Energy, Passive House, and The Living Building Challenge. “NESEA believes in the...

PORTLAND, ORE.—The sixth annual Sustainable Meetings Conference, organized by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), kicked off yesterday with a full slate of educational sessions and news that GMIC has grown to 600 members in more than 30 countries. The conference, which has drawn 250 people in person and 60 “virtual” attendees, is being held at the Doubletree Hotel Portland. Four years ago, when the conference was also held in Portland, total attendance was closer to 60. Guy Bigwood, president of GMIC and director of sustainability, MCI Group, told attendees that GMIC currently has 20 chapters up and running...

CHICAGO—Companies that occupy office space around the world consider sustainability a key factor in their space occupancy plans, and half of corporate real estate executives say they will pay extra for space in green buildings, according to the fourth annual Sustainability Survey conducted by CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle.  Conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010, the survey results reveal a corporate real estate industry in the process of reconciling the focus on reducing environmental impacts of buildings with the need to control costs and support corporate financial performance. CoreNet Global, the association of corporate real estate professionals worldwide,...

ASHLAND, OHIO—A 160-acre parcel located just southwest of Ashland, Ohio could soon be the home of the United States’ greenest retreat center. Developer Wendy Kertesz says she hopes to break ground this summer on Windy Retreat Center, a 25,000-square-foot, 16-guestroom facility that will include two indoor conference rooms, one outdoor conference space, three classrooms, great room, dining room, commercial kitchen, fitness center and conservatory. The goal is to open the center by late 2012. Constructed in part using straw bales, Windy Retreat Center will pursue at least Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification and Passive House...

SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA—In a symbolic passing of the “baton,” Bermuda’s Junior Tourism Minister Marc Bean recently received the Caribbean Tourism Organization Sustainable Tourism Mahogany Scroll from the Permanent Secretary in the Barbados Ministry of Tourism, Andrew Cox, confirming Bermuda as host of the 12th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-12). The event will be hosted by the Government of Bermuda and will be held from April 3 to 6, 2011, at the Fairmont Southampton. Costas Christ, the National Geographic Traveler Editor at Large who helped officially define the term “ecotourism,” will be the keynote speaker. His presentation, "Global Sustainable...

MANUEL ANTONIO NATIONAL PARK, COSTA RICA—The push for sustainable tourism was given a boost late last month with the establishment of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism that unites all stakeholders in the industry in influencing policies, developing projects and providing a global communication platform.  The Partnership was established at the first annual General Meeting in Costa Rica, hosted by the Costa Rican Ministry of Tourism and supported by the French and Norwegian governments, together with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). During the meeting, France was elected President of the Partnership Steering Committee and...