TORONTO—As part of Earth Week, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is making a global commitment to plant 10 million trees as part of its long term efforts to support sustainability. The initiative will now form the cornerstone of the company’s substantial existing corporate social responsibility program. “For 50 years, our company logo has depicted the annual cycle of a tree, and as we look to the future, its symbolism will translate into concrete action,” says Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “In cultures throughout the world, trees represent growth, prosperity and longevity. They also play a...

PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN—St. Maarten recently established its first national marine park—the Man of War Shoal Marine Park. The aquatic area is the first step St. Maarten has taken towards preserving the area known as the Proselyte Reef, the island’s most important underwater habitat. “The development of the marine park has been long in the making and we are pleased to have begun the first and most crucial phase of the process,” said Honorable Franklin Meyers, Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Telecommunications. “By creating the marine park, St. Maarten is taking steps to preserve the local environment as well...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and Planeterra, a leading nonprofit foundation dedicated to sustainable community development and environmental conservation through travel, are collaborating to develop a set of criteria that will help international voluntourism providers plan and manage their programs in a responsible and sustainable manner. An increasing number of travel companies are adding volunteer opportunities to their tour itineraries worldwide, and the trend, which is now commonly known as voluntourism, is growing rapidly. The 2008 Condé Nast Traveler/MSNBC poll, for example, stated that the number of regular volunteer vacationers has doubled since 2002, and the number of those...

NEW YORK—Tourism entrepreneurs and travelers who want to explore tourism that benefits local communities, respects cultural diversity and contributes to conservation can now take a tour of a virtual SmartLodge. Developed by the Rainforest Alliance, an international sustainability organization, the SmartLodge is an interactive hotel room packed with practical advice on the simple steps that tourism companies and travelers can take to advance toward sustainability. “The SmartLodge is the perfect complement to the training and technical assistance that the Rainforest Alliance already provides tourism businesses,” said Ronald Sanabria, the Rainforest Alliance’s vice president of sustainable tourism. “It’s a tool that...

SEATTLE—Coastal Hotel Group, a privately held Seattle-based hospitality management company, continues to build upon a commitment to operating its collection of hotels and resorts efficiently, with websites powered with 100 percent renewable energy. Desert Compusulting, Coastal Hotel Group’s Web developer and hosting provider, has teamed up with Datapipe for service and support. Datapipe recently announced all of its U.S.-based data centers are now powered by 100 percent renewable energy, making it one of only 13 IT companies nationwide to be a member of the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club. “It is important to have partners like Desert Compusulting and Datapipe,...

DALTON, GA.—At Yellowstone National Park, another sight that’s as predictable as the park’s famous Old Faithful Geyser are recycling bins stuffed with food wrappers, plastic bottles, and other items generated by the park’s 3.5 million annual visitors. In recent years, Yellowstone Park has been a leader in recycling innovation with programs that have significantly reduced the park’s dependency on area landfills. A new and unique recycling partnership, forged with Universal Textile Technologies, Four Corners Recycling, CPE, Inc. and the United Soybean Board (USB), will reduce and ensure the reuse of the amount of plastic bottles that go into landfills,...

NATIONAL REPORT—The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte in North Carolina has one. So does the Hilton San Francisco Financial District, Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco-Union Square, and Boston’s Seaport Hotel. All Element Hotels properties have them. A TownePlace Suites by Marriott being constructed in Frederick, Md., will soon have one, as well as the Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth, Wash. What these properties all have or will have is at least one electric vehicle (EV) charging station. EV charging stations are still extremely rare at lodging properties but they are beginning to pop up across the United States as an increasing number...

HOUSTON—Choice Energy Services, a retail energy consultant and broker, announced it has completed a two-year contract to provide the new Trump SoHo Hotel with 100 percent green power. The contract offsets the hotel’s carbon footprint and delivers substantial cost savings for the newest property in the Trump Hotel Collection. Opened in February 2010, the luxury property did not have substantive historical usage data to inform the procurement process. Even without a detailed usage profile, Choice was able to tap its network of more than 20 suppliers in the New York City region and leverage its extensive knowledge of the wholesale...

ITHACA, N.Y.—Cornell’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, Gap Adventures, and Planeterra have partnered to assess the underlying costs and benefits of sustainable tourism for the country of Belize. The partnership kicks off with a project involving a team of Cornell graduate students in the Sustainable Global Enterprise Immersion program, who are working with the Belize Tourism Board to measure the social, economic, and environmental costs of tourism development. “Tourism brings large financial resources to countries around the world, but it is without a true understanding of the capital and operating costs to make...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—With the prices of cotton continuing to rise dramatically around the world, Valley Forge Fabrics announced that it would lock in pricing for its Tencel+Plus through the end of the year. There have been several factors that have influenced the cotton price surge including flooding in Pakistan and China, stockpiling from cotton yarn suppliers in China, and the emerging middle class economies in Asia, India and South America. Valley Forge has been able to secure long-term fiber contracts with Lenzing Fibers of Austria; the sole producer of Tencel+Plus Lyocell fiber from Eucalyptus. These long term contracts ensure more...