NEW YORK—Spotnana, the world’s first Travel-as-a-Service platform modernizing the infrastructure of the travel industry, announced the release of Spotnana Carbon Removal, a new offering that enables corporate travel programs to achieve their sustainability goals. Through Spotnana Carbon Removal corporations can remove carbon from the atmosphere through advanced technology that is fast, exact, and permanent. “Corporations need effective solutions for true carbon removal to ensure travel is sustainable for current and future generations,” said Johnny Thorsen, VP of Partnerships at Spotnana. “To achieve net zero impact, we believe it’s essential to provide access to carbon removal technology that is effective, accurate,...

SWORDS, IRELAND—Trane—by Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, has introduced its Thermal Battery Storage-Source Heat Pump System—a first-of-its-kind solution to advance electrified, low-carbon heating in buildings, including in climates below zero-degrees Fahrenheit. The innovative system converges four proven technologies to accelerate building decarbonization: Thermal energy storage ice tanks, reclaiming and storing excess building heat like a battery, for optimal efficiency; Air-to-water heat pumps utilizing a reverse vapor compression cycle to extract heat from the air outside to warm the building; All-electric chiller-heaters, recovering the excess building heat from the ice tanks to expand air-to-water heat pump applications further into dense urban...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA—Leaders from across the global tourism sector are set to unite in Riyadh for this year’s UNWTO World Tourism Day (WTD), which will be celebrated from September 27 to 28. Through a range of impactful events, global ministers, industry leaders and experts will highlight the power of tourism and explore avenues for collaboration to foster growth of the sector, placing people, the planet and prosperity front and center of proceedings. Under the theme of “Tourism and Green Investments”, WTD 2023 will examine the role of investment in people and planet to secure livelihoods and foster mutual understanding, while exploring opportunities to...

SOLON, OHIO—Johnsonite, which joined the Tarkett family of brands in 2005, has long led the industry in delivering the broadest portfolio of high-performance, resilient flooring surfaces and accessories with a focus on healthy materials and circular manufacturing practices. In addition to being Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze since 2014, Johnsonite rubber tile now has a new product-specific Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which details health and environmental impacts of each ingredient, as well as embodied carbon from cradle to gate. The EPD shows that Tarkett’s carbon footprint for rubber tile is up to 20 percent lower than equivalent products in the industry. Committed to...

BARRIE, ONT.—International Recycling and Waste Container brand Busch Systems has launched a partnership with innovative sustainable technology company CarbonGraph to measure the carbon footprint of products. CarbonGraph’s mission is to provide people, companies and governments with the environmental context needed to make informed decisions about the sustainability of the goods and services they buy and sell. A product’s carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions through its lifecycle—from raw material extraction and production to its final use by consumers. The process of mapping the carbon footprint of Busch Systems products started in November 2022. In addition to mapping...

I have mentioned the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) many times on Green Lodging News. For those of you not familiar with GSTC, it establishes and manages global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, known as the GSTC Criteria. One need not be a certifying organization to join GSTC. In fact, the organization states, “Membership is open to all interested parties….” GSTC just welcomed Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts as a member to the Council. Founded in 1960 by Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a globally renowned hospitality company specializing in luxury hotels, resorts, and residential properties, striving...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) have signed a Letter of Intent to form a joint venture company that will own and operate the Green Key Global certification program in the United States and Canada. The announcement was made at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix. Green Key Global is a North American environmental certification body for the hotel and lodging industry. Green Key’s certification criteria are recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and aligned with all 17 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Properties receive an eco-rating...

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.—Cadence Keen Innovations (d/b/a CKI Solutions), serving the hospitality industry, including cruise, for more than 20 years, is putting plastic packaging in the past and transitioning to compostable packaging for all its mattress and pillow encasements, bed doublers, as well as all other products using plastic or poly bags, including its Bed MadeEZ® Bed Maker. “The transition has already begun and will be included in all new products as they come in from the factories,” says Rachel Montross, Senior Marketing Manager for CKI Solutions. “We are moving away from zippered plastic packaging to a much more ecofriendly,...

A new report published by the Law, Ethics and Animals Program at the Yale Law School (LEAP) and American Bird Conservancy (ABC) reveals how local laws and policies are speeding up protections for birds, such as the Blackpoll Warbler, from deadly building collisions. The first-of-its-kind report, “Building Safer Cities for Birds: How Cities Are Leading the Way on Bird-Friendly Building Policy,” unveils critical insights and data that will help inform building design standards to significantly reduce avian mortality. “A growing number of U.S. cities and counties have emerged as leaders in advancing bird-friendly building design and practice over the past two decades, in the absence of...

BASINGSTOKE, ENGLAND—New global research commissioned by communication technology company Communications Specialist Ltd reveals that 94 percent of senior executives at high-end, luxury hotels expect the sector to increase its focus on sustainability over the next three years—some 22 percent believe there will be a dramatic increase. As part of this, 46 percent expect there will be a dramatic increase in the sector’s focus on working with local suppliers, and a further 44 percent say there will be a slight increase. Some 84 percent are predicting growth in the luxury hotel sector’s use of renewable energy, and 86 percent an increased...