DENVER—The Colorado Hotel and Lodging Assn. (CH&LA) hosted a “Green Practices for the Hotel Industry” workshop for 150 participants last week. It was the second in a series of five workshops aimed at helping businesses in the Denver area and across Colorado create sustainable business practices. Denver is the host site for this summer’s Democratic National Convention, and the workshops help further the host city’s goal of making the August convention the greenest political event in history. The workshops also help Denver build momentum for its Greenprint Denver program, which works to create innovation and provide leadership around improving the...

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS—Dr. David Suzuki, one of the world’s most celebrated voices on preserving the environment, will deliver the keynote address at the 10th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development to be held April 28 to May 1, 2008 at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa (by Sandals), a Green Globe Certified hotel. The conference, organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization in collaboration with the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board and the Caribbean Hotel Assn., is designed to provide attendees with information on the development and implementation of tourism practices in a responsible manner. Many experts have identified...

ATLANTA—Georgia Power recently signed an agreement with TOTO USA, Inc. to begin providing the company with green energy. Under the terms of the agreement, TOTO USA, Inc. has agreed to purchase 480,000 kilowatt-hours of green energy. Green energy is environmentally friendly electricity generated from sources like the sun, wind, water, landfill methane and biomass. Customers who participate in the program help reduce the environmental impact of energy production, conserve natural resources, and support domestic energy self-reliance. “The recent green energy purchase by TOTO USA is evidence that more and more of our customers see the value of making renewable sources...

LOS ANGELES—Jim Burba, chair of this year’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), started the event this week by announcing that the travel of every one of the approximately 3,000 attendees would be offset by a donation to the Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program. That announcement set the tone for this year’s ALIS here at the Hyatt Regency Century City. Throughout the three-day event, green hotel development and operations most definitely were hot topics. At the Hotel Leaders Outlook session, some of lodging’s leading executives were asked to give their take on the sustainability movement and whether or not it is...

DENVER—As part of its ongoing efforts to set the pace in the travel and tourism industry, Xanterra Parks & Resorts has published the third edition of its Environmental Sustainability Report. The report is used to measure the progress of the company’s environmental program—called “Ecologix”—and track the company’s environmental impacts as well as steps toward meeting long-term environmental goals. “We have learned that tracking our performance helps us to better assess where to focus our efforts in the areas of resources and staffing, regulatory compliance and sustainability initiatives,”...

ARCOLA, ILL.—Agri-Fab Holding Company (AFHC) and Bob McElwee announced that they are developing about 100 acres into a green village near Arcola, Ill. This resort, called Green Mill Village (GMV), is set to open in the fall of 2009 and will include a lodge/conference center, spa, restaurants, retail center and education center—all operated on wind power and solar power. “It will be an unprecedented midwestern sustainable project, from both an environmental and an economic standpoint,” McElwee says. The resort lodge, to be called the Green Mill Hotel, will have 200 rooms and guestrooms will feature furniture made locally. McElwee says there...

MINNEAPOLIS—Carlson Hotels Worldwide announced the appointment of Carmen Baker to the newly created role of vice president of Responsible Business. Baker, who served most recently as vice president of diversity for Carlson, will lead the company’s initiatives in the areas of corporate social responsibility including environment sustainability, charitable giving and community relations. The appointment was announced by Jay Witzel, president and CEO of Carlson Hotels Worldwide. “As we strive to build respected brands and admired reputation with all of our stakeholders, this appointment reflects the importance of Responsible Business initiatives in achieving this goal,” Witzel said. “Such areas as environmental...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes NativeEnergy as a sponsor. The Charlotte, Vermont-based company is a provider of traditional renewable energy credits and offsets. These allow its customers to help build market demand for clean energy and other carbon mitigation projects. Some of the projects NativeEnergy is currently supporting include: the Wray School District wind turbine, Brubaker Farms anaerobic digester project, Hillcrest Saylor family dairy farm methane project, and farmer-owned distributed wind. For more information, call (802) 735-0796, e-mail travel@nativeenergy.com, or go to www.nativeenergy.com.

BENTON HARBOR, MICH.—Whirlpool Corp. announced it will increase the company’s commitment to environmentally sound business practices by reducing total greenhouse gas emissions 6.6 percent by 2012. The company will make these global, voluntary reductions while at the same time increasing production by 17 percent. The positive output of this reduction is equivalent to approximately 4.47 million acres of trees, an area larger than the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Whirlpool Corp. is an industry leader in energy and water efficiency, and the only appliance manufacturer that brings an “across the board” focus to energy and water conservation,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), the world’s largest and oldest ecotourism association dedicated to socially, ecologically and economically responsible travel, is partnering with FUNDEMAS to help further establish and strengthen ecotourism and sustainable tourism in El Salvador. FUNDEMAS, the Business Foundation for Social Action, is a foundation that promotes sustainable development through socially responsible business practices, entrepreneurial values and philanthropic initiatives. A strong advocate for sustainable tourism development, FUNDEMAS has been a member and collaborating partner of TIES since August 2006. As an upcoming international and regional tourism destination, El Salvador holds unique cultural and...