ITHACA, N.Y.—Travelers and other consumers increasingly want to know about the carbon footprint and other sustainability information connected with their hotel stay. In response, most hotel companies have developed methods to answer this question—but so far, no single method for calculation has been widely adopted. As a result, travelers find it difficult to compare one hotel to another, and many industry leaders have called for a uniform method of reporting on the many items relating to sustainability. A new report from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) analyzes the wide diversity of sustainability factors, and explains how those measurements...

BETHESDA, MD.—Leaders in the recently launched Hospitality Sustainable Purchasing Consortium welcome its newest member, Contract Decor International, a source for high-quality, custom-manufactured window treatments and bedcovers. The Hospitality Sustainable Purchasing Consortium, led by MindClick SGM, is working collaboratively to develop an industry-wide Hospitality Sustainable Purchasing Index (HSPI). HSPI will help hotel owners purchase products that both reduce their properties’ environmental impact, and contribute to guest comfort, health and well-being.“We recognize and fully support the Consortium’s commitment to greening the hotel industry through purchasing,” said Michael Handler, CEO of Contract Decor. “Working closely with designers, brands, purchasing firms and owners...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International this week debuted the company’s first electric vehicle charging station and the first such facility on the Las Vegas Strip for environmentally conscious consumers driving the cleanest, most advanced vehicles on the road. This new charging station is located at the valet entrance to The Shoppes at Mandalay Place, between Mandalay Bay and Luxor resorts. Charging service is available free of charge to retail and resort customers driving personal electric vehicles, like the Nissan LEAF and the Chevy Volt. “This is a tremendous first for The Shoppes and our customers,” said Brian Robison, vice president and general...

LOS CABOS, MEXICO—The Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar Golf & Spa Resort and The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos are participating in Los Cabos’ sea turtle conservation program and allowing guests to experience the nesting of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles on the resorts’ sandy shores.  Last year, the Sheraton Hacienda del Mar and The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos oversaw the release of more than 4,000 sea turtles. Guests were able to participate in the releases, as well as learn about the nesting process and protection of the Olive Ridley turtle throughout the incubation and hatching season. Named for...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Kimberly-Clark and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced the expansion of Kimberly-Clark’s membership in the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), a WWF initiative to eliminate illegal logging and conserve the world’s most valuable and threatened forests. Kimberly-Clark will now include its worldwide operations in the initiative, building on its existing GFTN membership in select countries. The participation scope now includes all wood fibers sourced for all of the company’s products sold globally in the Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and Kimberly-Clark Professional businesses. The announcement was made at the GFTN’s 20th Anniversary Reception at the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) General...

BOSTON—The Westin Copley Place general manager Michael Jorgensen announced that The Westin Copley Place is the first Starwood Hotel in the United States and the first hotel in Boston to join Green Hotels Global, an environmental program that requires hotels to disclose their carbon footprint, energy consumption, water usage and waste generation associated with room-night usage and event bookings. “We are proud to carry the torch for the Green Hotels Global program for Starwood in the United States,” said Jorgensen. “We have made great strides in reducing the hotel’s overall carbon footprint over the past four years. We are committed,...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Scandic Hotels was rewarded by the Nordic Council for its efforts to promote sustainable tourism in the Nordic Region and beyond. A conscious environmental strategy and a series of apparently minor and simple initiatives have proven highly successful. The theme of the Nordic Council Nature and Environment Prize 2011 is sustainable tourism. Businesses, organizations and individuals with a proven track record of lessening the environmental impact of tourism in the region were all eligible to be nominated for the $68,000 prize. The winner is the Norwegian part of Scandic Hotels, a pioneer and trendsetter in sustainable tourism for the...

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—In response to a growing demand for independently-verified sustainable furnishing fabrics, NSF International, an independent developer of American National Standards that protect public health and the environment, has developed an official American national standard for sustainable commercial furnishing fabrics—NSF/ANSI 336: Sustainability Assessment for Commercial Furnishings Fabric. Developing national standards by which to measure a product’s sustainability attributes brings transparency and credibility to the sustainability marketplace and helps eliminate greenwashing. Independent, third-party organizations can now certify commercial furnishing fabrics against the new Sustainable Commercial Furnishings standard to verify the furnishing fabrics are sustainable. This satisfies a growing demand from...

MORROW, GA.—TOTO announced that it has expanded its sustainability initiatives at its manufacturing facility in Morrow, Ga. The company has formed a cross-industrial strategic partnership with Crossville, Inc., manufacturers of premium Porcelain Stone tile, which has developed proprietary systems for processing pre-consumer sanitary ware, fired tile, and filtrate waste back to powder that is used in the manufacture of new tile. Crossville will introduce its new EcoCycle Recycling Processes at NEOCON, where both companies will display in Chicago, June 13 to 15, 2011. “There’s no ‘silver bullet’ when it comes to reducing a facility’s carbon footprint,” said Bill Strang, senior...

DALTON, GA.—Shaw Industries Group, Inc. has increased the recycled content in Eco Solution Q, the company’s premium branded Cradle to Cradle Silver certified carpet fiber, to 45 percent. Eco Solution Q now contains 20 percent pre-consumer recycled content and 25 percent post-consumer recycled content sourced from caprolactam (the monomer or ‘building block’ of Nylon 6) recovered through Shaw’s Evergreen Nylon 6 Recycling facility in Augusta, Ga. The recycled content is based on allocated nylon fiber from Shaw’s total nylon fiber production and determined as a percent of total Eco Solution Q nylon output; based on this method, recycled content...