MIAMI—The 2006 American Express Caribbean Tourism Environmental Awards, presented in late June in Miami during a special awards luncheon as part of the annual Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference (CHIC), paid tribute to the hotels that are models of responsible environmental and social performance in the region. “The relationship between tourism and environment must be intimate and continuous, especially in the Caribbean, where sustainability is indispensable to preserve our tropical paradise” says Dianelys Rodríguez, vice president establishment services, American Express Latin America and Caribbean Division. “Our congratulations to both winners for taking the lead in environmental practices and serving...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Hotel owners and operators just beginning to consider green practices should investigate the Habitat Suites Hotel, one of the lodging industry’s leading advocates of sustainable business practices. The 96-suite hotel has reduced its operating expenses by 18 percent as a result of it comprehensive environmental program. The property has come a long way since it first opened its doors in May 1985. The hotel was not designed or built with ecological considerations in mind. In 1991, it became a charter member of the Green Hotels Assn., making its commitment to sustainable management official. Fifteen years later, evidence...

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO—In May 2005, the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) Governing Council convened in Puerto Rico with the purpose of planning the strategies to advance the development of sustainable tourism in the Caribbean. During the meeting, Sir Royston Hopkin KCMG, Chairman of the Council, made the announcement of a new regional award for Green Globe-certified properties based on their benchmarking data submitted for the past two years to Green Globe and reviewed by EarthCheck. The Best Overall Performer Award was granted to Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort in Aruba, a property that achieved best practice status...

DENVER—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) recently honored the winners of the AH&LA Achievement Awards, part of the Stars of the Industry Awards breakfast, held during the AH&LA Summer Summit at The Brown Palace Hotel and sponsored by U.S. Foodservice. The awards, created in 1966, recognize individual hotel properties that have developed outstanding public relations campaigns. Among the categories is Good Earthkeeping. The Onyx Hotel in Boston won the Good Earthkeeping award, small property category, for its integrated approach to sustainable lodging practices. The hotel demonstrates a strong commitment to purchasing eco-friendly products and amenities, as well as innovative...

TURNER, AUSTRALIA—Green Globe, the worldwide benchmarking and certification program that facilitates sustainable travel and tourism for consumers, companies and communities, has launched a new Web site. The site comprises three main pages. The Program page provides an overview of the Green Globe program for the tourism industry and for those wanting to know more about the organization’s background, credentials, networks and resources. There is a Travellers’ page to assist environmentally conscious travellers to find Green Globe Benchmarked and Certified businesses and destinations. The third page is a Participants’ page to permit customers to log in and find all...

LOS ANGELES—McGraw-Hill Construction has launched a new magazine dedicated to the growing market for environmentally responsible green buildings. “GreenSource, The Magazine of Sustainable Design” will present news, features, case studies of important projects, and green product information to more than 40,000 architects, interior designers, building owners, and members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). McGraw-Hill Construction editors will collaborate on GreenSource and the related Web site with editors from BuildingGreen Inc.—an information company that provides green product information and policy analysis for building industry professionals and policy makers. BuildingGreen editors will assist with editorial content, green product...

DENVER— Xanterra Parks & Resorts has published a 48-page Sustainability Report detailing the concessioner’s extensive environmental management programs, quantifying the progress of those programs and identifying a set of environmental goals. The report is placed in Xanterra guestrooms in national and state park lodges and resorts across the country. This is the company’s second Sustainability Report. Xanterra was the first national park hospitality company to document specific results of its environmental management system. Xanterra was also the first company in the entire tourism industry to create quantifiable environmental performance metrics specific to hospitality. Xanterra’s environmental management program,...

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO—The Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) has published a list of properties in the region that have obtained the demanding Green Globe 21 certification. The Green Globe 21 page can be found at www.cha-cast.com. The Green Globe 21 company standard is a benchmarking and certification standard designed for businesses in 25 different sectors of the travel and tourism industry—accommodations, administrative offices, airlines, airports, attractions, cruise vessels, golf courses, restaurants, vehicle rentals, tour operators and more. The standard requires an operation to first establish a baseline level of performance or benchmark for environmental...

MADRID, SPAIN— Tour Operators Initiative (TOI), the international network that encourages operators to commit themselves to supporting the sustainable development of tourism, has transferred its Secretariat to the headquarters of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Madrid, Spain. “This move opens up new and exciting possibilities for our work,” says TOI chairman Tom Selanniemi. “The UNWTO network will help open doors, especially to decision makers in tourism destinations, which will greatly support the integration of the concept of sustainability into tourism development.” Formerly based at the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris, TOI was founded...

NATIONAL REPORT—One of the most extensive and comprehensive studies to date, an analysis by the California Sustainable Building Task Force released in October 2003, found that “a minimal upfront investment of about 2 percent of design and construction costs to integrate green or sustainable building practices into a facility typically yields life cycle savings of more than 10 times the initial investment.” The study indicated, for example, that an initial investment of approximately $100,000 to incorporate green and sustainable building upgrades into a $5 million facility would result in a savings of at least $1 million over the...