DUBUQUE, IOWA—Innovative Ink Publishing, an imprint of Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, has released Sustainable Hospitality, written by green hospitality industry expert Dan Ruben. The textbook provides hospitality professionals and students with the knowledge and resources to make their properties environmentally sustainable. “The target audience is hospitality professionals who work for hotels, cruise ships, and other hospitality sectors, as well as hospitality students,” Ruben says. “Managers of senior living facilities, dormitories, and other lodging facilities will benefit from this book, too. Sustainable Hospitality offers a roadmap to a leaner operation—one where less energy and water are consumed, and where less waste is generated....

AMSTERDAM—EVBox has been awarded a gold medal rating in recognition of its sustainability actions by EcoVadis as a result of the 2023 assessment. The result is based on the evaluation of policies, actions, and results of activities from the previous year in the areas of environment, labor, human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. EVBox scored a total of 73 points and is in the top 1 percent of companies rated by EcoVadis in the “manufacture of other electrical equipment industry” and top 5 percent of all companies rated by EcoVadis. The EcoVadis assessment methodology rates companies’ actions when determining social and environmental...

MADRID, SPAIN—UNWTO has released a new report highlighting the progress that global tourism has made in measuring greenhouse gas emissions as well as the challenges the sector still faces. Measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is key for climate action. However, the tourism sector as the value chain is complex, diverse, and overlapping, making sure measurement challenging. The new report “Climate Action in the Tourism Sector: An Overview of Methodologies and Tools to Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions” was developed by UNWTO with support from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of Germany (BMUV) and...

HOLLYWOOD, FLA.—Hard Rock International is once again teaming up with global conservation leader World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for its annual Earth Hour movement, bringing the world-renowned brand’s “Save the Planet” motto to life. Hard Rock Hotels, Cafes and Casinos around the globe will participate on March 25, 2023, by “going dark” for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. local property time. Guests at participating properties’ restaurants, bars, Rock Shops, hotel rooms, lobbies and outdoor spaces will partake in the movement by engaging in fun, entertaining activities, without the use of electricity: from candle-lit dinners and acoustic musical performances to flame shows, cocktail promotions,...

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA—Australia and New Zealand’s largest hotel operator, Accor, has entered into a strategic partnership with Ecotourism Australia to certify all Accor hotels, apartments and resorts across Australia and the Pacific as Sustainable Tourism certified businesses. Ecotourism Australia’s Sustainable Tourism Certification program was introduced in 2022 and the standard is recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Sustainable Tourism Certification is designed for all tourism operators and businesses in the tourism supply chain to meet and gain recognition for best practice sustainability initiatives. Ecotourism Australia assesses businesses across the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, environmental impacts, cultural impacts, and...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—A major UN “report of reports” from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), outlines the many options that can be taken now, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change. The study, “Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report”, released yesterday following a week-long IPCC session in Interlaken, brings into sharp focus the losses and damages experienced now, and expected to continue into the future, which are hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems especially hard. Temperatures have already risen to 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a consequence of more than a century of burning fossil fuels, as...

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—On the heels of welcoming the first international property to the SCP Hotels family, Soul Community Planet has announced a partnership with Innoceana, a global nonprofit marine conservation organization that works to preserve the ocean for future generations. The new partnership will bring marine conservation adventures and the new Innoceana Corcovado Research Center (ICRC) to the SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge. The ICRC will be a full-service expedition and research facility located just off the beach at the SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge and within easy walking distance to the Corcovado National Park’s San Pedrillo entrance. The new facility will include a dive...

KIRKLAND, WASH.—Noble House Hotels & Resorts—the family-owned boutique hotel brand with a carefully curated collection of 25 hotels, resorts, and experiences across North America—has partnered with Green Seal and applied for certification for 13 of its properties, continuing its sustainability efforts. Noble House Hotels & Resorts is deeply committed to protecting and sustaining the environment and all the communities connected to its hotels and resorts year-round. Working with Green Seal provides the hotel brand access to sustainable purchasing experts with a global reputation for excellence and the tools and guidance needed to adopt safer and more sustainable practices and products. Each...

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS—Barbados has copped the Green Destinations Story Award for Environment and Climate at one of the world’s largest travel trade shows, ITB Berlin. The nomination came from Barbados’ ambition to be the first island in the Caribbean to achieve a 100 percent renewable energy goal by 2030 and a 70 percent carbon neutrality goal by 2050. The strides taken thus far have landed Barbados its first milestone in this prestigious category, namely having the largest fleet of electric buses in the Caribbean. Minister of Tourism and International Transport, the Honorable Ian Gooding-Edghill proudly accepted the award in Germany March 7, 2023, expressing gratitude to...

ATLANTA—ASHRAE announced its unwavering commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the launch of its redesigned building decarbonization webpage and the release of a new Building Performance Standards Technical Resource Guide. The ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization (TFBD) webpage includes technical resources, information, videos and publications to expedite the adoption of climate change mitigation policies and reaffirms the Society’s goals stated in the ASHRAE Vision 2022 Report, approved by ASHRAE’s board of directors, as well as the ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization, to achieve net zero GHG emissions in operation for all new buildings by 2030. “Over the years, ASHRAE has demonstrated its...