ITHACA, N.Y.—Why should hospitality leaders embrace uncertainty, disruption, and risk when the world (and perhaps a boss or two) prizes confidence, calmness, and security? Does innovation really pay? And does sustainability? These questions and many more will be answered at Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), April 12-15, 2007. The theme of this year’s conference is rather fitting for an 82-year-old organization: “Sustainability Through Innovation.” When the student leaders of HEC chose the theme, they aimed to answer the question, “What must innovative hospitality organizations do in order to survive and to thrive?” The theme includes, but is certainly not...

PORTLAND, ORE.—The Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center Portland-Lloyd Center is doing its part to help make Portland one of the greenest meeting destinations in the United States. Host to the Green Meeting Industry Council’s recent Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference, the 476-room hotel is a national leader because of its commitment to sustainable hotel operations. From the lobby area, where recycling containers can be found, to the back of the house, where food scraps are collected for composting, the Doubletree’s commitment to waste reduction is evident. Purchasing policies ensure that waste and recycled content is considered before anything is...

PORTLAND, ORE.—Meeting Strategies Worldwide (MSWW) has launched the MeetGreen Calculator, a gauge for environmentally friendly meetings. The Web-based calculator is available to anyone who wants to measure the environmental impact of their meetings and conferences. To assess an event’s environmental impact, the MeetGreen Calculator compares practices of a specific event against the greenest alternative practices. Results provide a benchmark for future events and a comparison with other green events. For example, environmental practices include use of locally produced food, selecting meeting sites where attendees can walk or use mass transit, and diverting a significant portion of garbage by...

BOULDER, COLO.—After completing a successful pilot launch, NSF International (NSF) and Sustainable Travel International (STI) announced the official launch of the new Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Program (STEP) Program. The STEP certification program addresses consumer and travel industry concerns regarding negative environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts. Areas addressed include environmental pollution, introduction of invasive species that could potentially cause harm to ecosystems and human health, loss of cultural heritage, and leakage, which occurs when a tourism business buys supplies from outside the region, providing no assistance to the local economy. In many parts of the world, tourism standards...

PORTLAND, ORE.—A little more than 100 meeting planners, hoteliers, vendors, convention and visitors bureau representatives and others gathered here last week for the 2007 Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference. The event was held at the Green Seal-certified Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center and organized by the Portland, Ore.-based Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC). The purpose of this event, according to GMIC, was to “encourage the meeting industry as a whole to embrace environmental responsibility in order to reduce the impacts of our activities as well as capitalize on the opportunities and benefits reduced waste presents.” Sustainable...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Cleveland, Ohio-based Lodging Hospitality magazine, Saint Charles, Mo.-based Pineapple Hospitality and Boulder, Colo.-based Sustainable Travel International (STI) have announced that the Green Hospitality Conference (www.greenhospitality.net) being held March 14 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas will be carbon neutral. “Carbon neutral” represents the point at which greenhouse gas emissions have been identified, measured and, where possible, reduced, and remaining emissions have been offset through high-quality renewable energy, energy-efficiency and/or reforestation projects. “This will be one of the first carbon-neutral Green Hospitality Conferences,” says Brian T. Mullis, STI president. “As an educational-based event, we collaborated with Lodging Hospitality...

LAGRANGE, GA.—All Milliken Floor Covering modular products, including those developed specifically for residential and hospitality markets, have been certified to the new preeminent green carpet standard—Sustainable Carpet Assessment Draft Standard NSF 140. Notably, all products with ESP backing meet the very stringent California Platinum Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) certification. “We are particularly pleased to announce that our full line of commercial and residential modular products have undergone stringent third party review to provide our customers with further assurance of our commitment to sustainable practices,” says Dave Caples, president of Milliken’s Floor Covering Division. The carpet industry worked...

SAN FRANCISCO—For nine hotel and restaurant managers at the Serrano Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in San Francisco, driving to work is now an eco-friendly effort. As the fourth part of a multi-phase rollout of the EarthCare Program, a companywide environmental effort launched in 2004 by the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, the Serrano Hotel has committed to offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from the cars owned by its top management. This will be accomplished through a partnership with San Francisco’s DriveNeutral, a nonprofit that offers individuals and organizations opportunities to participate in market-based solutions to global climate change. “We are...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Fairmont Washington, D.C. has awarded a contract to Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings Inc., to supply the hotel with 10 percent wind power. Fairmont’s hotels and resorts have been dedicated environmental stewards since 1990 with the development of the company’s comprehensive Green Partnership program, designed to minimize its properties’ operating impacts on the environment. “Every business has a responsibility to be environmentally responsible,” says George Terpilowski, general manager. The three-year contract calls for Pepco Energy Services to supply the 415-room Fairmont Hotel with more than 3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity...

KENNESAW, GA.—In a significant step to reduce the carpet industry’s environmental footprint, The Mohawk Group introduces Encycle, a patent-pending, PVC-free (polyvinyl chloride) modular carpet backing system. A model of sustainable design, Encycle is the only carpet tile designed with three thermoplastic layers and zero water-based components, enabling complete recyclability back into itself without separation. The innovative new backing system also incorporates 35 percent pre-consumer recycled content by total product weight and utilizes 28 percent less virgin raw materials. “The Mohawk Group’s investment in the development of revolutionary products like Encycle underscores our commitment to sustaining a healthy...