PUNTA MITA, MEXICO—A luxury tented resort as unique as nature itself, Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, Mexico is now welcoming guests to a world where the deep, green jungle is the backdrop for a personalized retreat. With just 15 luxury tents surrounded by 48 forested acres (19 hectares) on the edge of a private peninsula, Naviva is an adult-only sanctuary that harnesses nature to create an environment that fosters community, personal growth and appreciation for local heritage. Naviva awakens the intrinsic bond that humans have with nature through biophilic design—an architectural approach that immerses people in their natural surroundings. The transformative journey...

NEW YORK—Songtsam, an award-winning luxury boutique hotel collection and Destination Marketing Company, located in the Tibet and Yunnan Provinces of China announced the construction of Songtsam’s first zero-carbon hotel, the Songtsam Linka Retreat Lake Basong Tso located in Tibet. Expected to open in July 2023, the 120-room retreat will be Songtsam’s 16th and largest property. Founded in 2000 by Baima Duoji, Songtsam has always had a strong commitment to the preservation of the essence of Tibetan culture, as well as environmental conservation and sustainability by supporting the economic development of the local communities. In making the announcement, Duoji noted, “Songtsam Linka...

SAN FRANCISCO—National nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and sustainability-driven hotel brand 1 Hotels announced the 2023 1 Hotels Fellowship at E2. This is the fifth year of the annual fellowship, which awards six young business leaders $20,000 each to execute projects that advance sustainability, clean energy, and environmental policies across America. This year’s projects include creating a clean energy justice toolkit; enhancing opportunity pathways for the clean energy workforce; creating a clean business playbook for the hotel and lodging industry; educational outreach to electrify ski resorts; building a virtual resource to help workers find clean economy jobs and producing resources to democratize access to...

NEW YORK—As part of a pledge to help fight the effects of global climate change, Internova Travel Group, one of the world’s largest travel services companies, is on its path to becoming carbon neutral with its employee travel by the end of 2023. Last year, Internova launched a partnership with Sustainable Travel International, a global organization that has more than 15 years of experience developing successful sustainable travel practices and supporting some of the best carbon offset programs for the travel industry. Leveraging Sustainable Travel International’s advisory services, as well as key learnings from various initiatives across the travel industry,...

BUENOS AIRES—What do 20,000 trees look like? For one, spaced evenly, 20,000 trees would cover more than 32 football fields. Planting 20,000 native trees by August 2023 has become a passion for the team at Say Hueque Argentina Journeys, Argentina’s leading sustainable adventure tour operator. Owner Rafa Mayer has led the company towards an epically ambitious carbon negative, climate positive response to the climate emergency, through the pandemic up to now. Among other efforts, they have already planted more than 5,000 trees in damaged zones of Patagonia to help restore native forests and are rapidly heading towards their goal. Say...

VISTA, CALIF.—Each year, Waterless Co. Inc. recognizes organizations, vendors, or customers that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in helping others or are promoting water efficiency by honoring them with their Leadership of the Year Award. For 2022, Waterless Co. honors Project Living Hope, an organization based in Haiti. In a country that has been subjected to assassinations, internal violence, recent hurricanes, earthquakes, and virtually complete lack of potable water, Project Living Hope stands out as “a flicker of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel,” according to Klaus Reichardt, CEO, and Founder of Waterless Co. The organization, founded by Haitian-born Dr. Guesly Dessieux, has been...

SAN FRANCISCO—The two historic boutique hotels in the Presidio of San Francisco, Inn at the Presidio and Lodge at the Presidio, were recently honored with the 2022 Historic Hotels of America Sustainability Champion Award in a ceremony in Point Clear, Alabama. Granted by Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the award is presented to a hotel that best implements and practices innovative green initiatives and programs, demonstrating historic preservation is the ultimate green. Inn at the Presidio also earned this award in 2017. “We’re honored to accept this award from our peers, as a recognition...

CHANNEL ISLANDS HARBOR, CALIF.—According to Steve Ashkin, the professional cleaning industry’s leading advocate for sustainability, 2023 is going to be a pivotal year for the professional cleaning industry when it comes to sustainability. “While many larger companies have sustainability strategies in place, it remains a ‘slow burn priority’ for smaller companies in the industry,” says Ashkin. “That’s going to change in 2023.” Among the reasons Ashkin cites for this are the following: Awareness of the correlation between violent storms and climate change; Volatile energy costs/inflation; Supply chain disruptions; The need to enhance efficiencies to lower operating costs; Consumer demand; and New...

PARIS—Given the effects of climate change and the current energy crisis, finding concrete, pragmatic, inventive solutions is a priority for people and the planet. As awareness of what is at stake grows, customers expect companies to have increasingly high environmental standards and, in hospitality, are looking for sustainability-committed hotels—an expectation that aligns with and shapes Accor’s global strategy. Early in 2021, Accor was the first international hotel group to make a long-term commitment to decarbonize all its operations and achieve net zero by 2050—including a 46 percent emission reduction by 2030, validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative. Given that 63 percent...

As reported on Green Lodging News, Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. just published its inaugural Corporate Responsibility Report, which details the company’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance, strategy and initiatives and features its commitment to environmental sustainability, corporate employees, hotel associates and guests, communities, and other stakeholders. For those of you not familiar with Apple Hospitality, the REIT currently has an impressive 220 hotels in 37 states with almost 29,000 guestrooms. I took a quick look at the 64-page report and the following stood out for me: Like many companies, the REIT looks at corporate responsibility as encompassing environmental, social and governance...