WHITE SALMON, WASH.—Travel businesses face a multitude of challenges: rising costs, shrinking resources, and increasing pressure to raise the bar on sustainable practices that reduce environmental impacts. Leading-edge businesses are turning responsibility into opportunity. They understand that long-term success requires stewardship of the destinations they serve. They also effectively communicate how their actions can make a difference by engaging customers and increasing brand loyalty. Join Sustainable Travel International’s business development manager, Andrew Grossmann, on Thursday, May 23 at 1 p.m. EST, to learn about carbon emission calculation methodologies that make sense for your business, and to explore how carbon...

NATIONAL REPORT—The bicycle is making a big comeback. More than 500 cities in 49 countries now have advanced bicycle-sharing programs—evidence of the growing interest in carbon-free travel. In the lodging industry, making bicycles available to guests is becoming more common and even standard practice in some companies. Starwood’s Element hotels, for example, are required to have at least two bicycles available for guests as part of the brand’s Bikes-to-Borrow program. All Kimpton hotel properties offer bicycles as well. Properties offering bicycles as an amenity are meeting the needs of an increasingly green-minded and health-conscious traveler community. The cost of...

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—Zagster, a company that provides bikes as a service, announced it has partnered with the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing to offer bike sharing services to guests. Hotel guests can reserve and ride comfortable, city-friendly cruiser bikes, giving them a healthy, convenient and fun way to explore the area, visit friends or attend business meetings.  “In today’s congested cities, it’s increasingly easier, less expensive and more fun to get out and see the sights or attend meetings on a bike, rather than in a cab or rental car,” said Timothy Ericson, co-founder and CEO of Zagster. “With...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia, a 168-room property owned and operated by RWK Enterprises, Inc., has completed a furniture refinishing and armoire conversion project led by The Refinishing Touch. Within 30 days, The Refinishing Touch restored headboards, nightstands, side chairs, benches, desks, micro fridge cabinets and armoires in 100 rooms throughout the establishment.With 2,500 square feet of meeting space added in 2011 and only 20 miles from Philadelphia, BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia caters to a large audience of corporate professionals. The most recent furniture renovations were a result of...

HEREFORD, ARIZ.—March was a good month for Patrick Dome and Karl Schmitt, co-owners of the 10-room Casa de San Pedro B&B in Hereford, Ariz. The 105-panel, 34-kilowatt, solar photovoltaic array positioned on the south side of their B&B supplied 125 percent of the electricity they needed for the month. The panels typically supply about 90 percent of the B&B’s electricity. Given its Arizona location, the Casa de San Pedro B&B is ideally located to take advantage of the sun’s power; the inn also uses a simple passive solar system (black piping) to heat water for the pool. Schmitt says...

EMERYVILLE, CALIF.—SCS Global Services (SCS) has earned accreditation from the Costa Rican government as a carbon footprint verification body under its ambitious new climate policy, which aims to make Costa Rica the first carbon neutral country. SCS will verify the measurement of private and public sector entities’ carbon footprints to help the government evaluate policies for emissions reduction.Costa Rica is one of six nations that have signed commitments to achieve carbon neutrality. To meet the commitment, it is necessary to measure emissions from industry, transportation, energy production, and other sources, promote policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International has launched a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) website. Branded to coalesce with MGM’s CSR initiative, “Inspiring Our World,” the website details the company’s advancements in diversity, community engagement and environmental responsibility.“Our new CSR website serves as a great forum to engage guests, customers and partners in our efforts to ‘Inspire our World,’” said Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. “Customers, today, are interested not only in the exceptional service a business provides, but also whether it serves the community and planet with the same enthusiasm. We want them to know that...

MINNEAPOLIS—Club Carlson, the hotel rewards program for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, announced that it has become the first hotel loyalty program to commit to a global meetings and events carbon offsetting initiative. Club Carlson will purchase carbon credits to offset the estimated carbon footprint of 100 percent of Club Carlson for Planners meetings and events globally, across the group’s six brands totaling 1,077 hotels in operation worldwide.The carbon offsetting—a free service for the meeting planners—will be managed through Carlson Rezidor’s new partner, Carbon Footprint Ltd. Carbon credits will be purchased and invested in renewable energy in India and with...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has selected the Cusco-Sacred Valley-Machu Picchu corridor in Peru, and the shores of Lake Llanquihue, Puerto Varas, and Frutillar in the Lakes Region of Chile for the second round of its pilot program to test its new Criteria and Indicators for Destinations.These new Early Adopters are the first South American destinations to participate.Overseen by GSTC’s Destination Working Group and managed by NGO partner Sustainable Travel International, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Criteria for Destinations are designed to orient destination managers, communities, and businesses toward the steps that are needed to sustain their...

TURTLE ISLAND, YASAWAS, FIJI—Turtle Island Resort in Fiji has recently completed a groundbreaking solar installation, making it one of the first ever clean energy resorts in the world. The installation renders the island resort nearly 100 percent self-sufficient using the sun’s clean energy. This project, which entailed a total of 968 solar panels being installed on the island, commenced in early 2012 and is now fully operational. Through its ecologically conscious operations, the resort runs on an average of 85 percent solar power, more than any other island resort in Fiji, and perhaps any luxury resort worldwide.“At Turtle Island...