The idea for the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system was hatched almost 30 years ago in 1993. Today, there are more than 100,000 buildings participating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) certification program. Approximately 1,000 of those buildings are lodgings located around the world. According to USGBC, “LEED certified buildings are proven to save money, improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and create healthier places for people. They are a critical part of addressing the climate crisis, meeting ESG goals, enhancing resilience, and supporting more equitable communities.” The most recent version of LEED is LEED...

LONDON, ENGLAND—Launched earlier this month at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) announced the formation of its Hospitality and Tourism Task Force. The Task Force shall comprise CEOs from across the hospitality and tourism industry, under the leadership of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and the Considerate Group. It will combine the expertise of hospitality associations, sustainability partners and inter-governmental development organizations. The Task Force is aligned with the Terra Carta which provides a roadmap for the private sector to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future; one that harnesses the power of nature...

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—Soul Community Planet (SCP) announced its acquisition of the 189-acre Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, marking its first international expansion. The ocean-front property, which will be renamed SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge, is the only lodge to border the renowned Corcovado National Park. The lodge was purchased in partnership with Madison, Wis.-based Hovde Properties from its original developer, naturalist Steven Lill. “Soul Community Planet is a growing holistic hospitality company founded on the values of healthy, kind, and green. We are working to thoughtfully build a collection of unique, sustainable accommodations in the world’s most...

Earlier this week, as I was scanning my news feed for updates of relevance, I came across a headline that quickly captured my attention: What Native Hawaiians want you to know before your visit. As someone who spent much of his childhood in Hawai’i, any mention of the island conjures an inevitable wave of nostalgia and appreciation. In this particular context, though, that nostalgia was mixed with resonance, as the author called upon an issue I was aware of but hadn’t found a way to articulate or champion. As global tourism rebounds (to our collective relief and rejoice), popular destinations...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congress passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, sending the measure to President Biden for his signature. Congress also sent a captive wildlife protection measure—the Big Cat Public Safety Act—to the President to be signed into law as well. “Congress has taken shark fins off the menu,” said Wayne Pacelle, President of Animal Wellness Action, and the Center for a Humane Economy, in celebrating Senate passage Thursday night of the shark protection measure. The Senate passed the defense bill 83 to 11, following a similarly lopsided vote in the House. The Shark Fin...

SWORDS, IRELAND—Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, has been named to the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the second consecutive year and the North America Index for the twelfth consecutive year. The company performed in the 97th percentile in the Capital Goods industry in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (score date: October 21, 2022), with perfect scores of 100 in both the environmental reporting and social reporting categories. The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index represents the top 10 percent of the 2,500 largest companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on long-term economic, environmental, and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC), a self-funded business council advancing sustainability in the vinyl industry, officially released the 2022 edition of its annual Sustainability Report, titled “Connecting Our Industry to Reach Our Potential.” The report chronicles the ongoing adoption of +Vantage Vinyl verification across the industry. The +Vantage Vinyl sustainability initiative drives improvements by jointly identifying the most relevant potential performance improvement areas for companies operating within the vinyl supply chain and having company commitments verified by an independent third-party program. “Since 2016, the Vinyl Sustainability Council has focused its efforts on bringing the vinyl industry’s supply chain together for the...

NATIONAL REPORT—Evaporative cooling towers play an important role in green buildings by significantly reducing energy consumption when they supplement or replace traditional air conditioning systems, thereby reducing carbon footprint and operating costs. Although evaporative cooling is great at saving energy, it does consume some water but the benefits on energy savings outweigh the water usage, which in some places is a scarce resource. Water conservation is therefore a high priority in designing and operating water-cooled equipment and plays an important role in USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and other sustainability programs. LEED assigns credit points to...

SINGAPORE—In an article published earlier this week on Green Lodging News, the introduction to Greenview’s just released 83-page Green Lodging Trends Report (GLTR) was summarized. In this article, Green Lodging News takes a deeper dive into the report, highlighting key results from this fourth GLTR. The GLTR is separated into 10 sections, with findings highlighted primarily in easy-to-read bullet-point format. The sections include Hotel Sustainability Basics, Management System, Community Impact, Health & Wellness, Responsible Consumption, Single-Use Plastic Elimination, Waste Management, Water Conservation, Energy Management, and Climate Action. The following are observations from each of the 10 sections, followed by highlights from...

HALLANDALE, FLA.—Groupe GM, a leading international player in the guest amenity sector, has announced the relaunch of its Pascal Morabito Contemporary hotel line. Redesigned to better reflect Groupe GM’s sustainability goals, this specially tailored product range will be available worldwide thanks to Groupe GM’s extensive distribution network. Pascal Morabito has been an artistic visionary for almost 50 years, creating avant-garde jewelry and sculptures since 1970. He is known for creating masterpieces—and his hotel lines are no exception. In 2000, Pascal Morabito launched his first hotel line with Groupe GM, marking an entirely new venture for him. When designing his collections, Pascal Morabito wanted to...