SHARM EL SHEIKH—The tourism sector has set out its plans to achieve its climate action ambitions. At COP27, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) brought leading sector stakeholders together to share practical insights into accelerating the shift to greater sustainability and reaching Net-Zero. Since the launch of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at COP26, more than 700 businesses, destinations, civil society groups and even countries have signed up, committing to decarbonize, regenerate and measure in order to halve their carbon emissions by 2030 and reach Net-Zero by 2050 at the latest. UNWTO Executive Director Zoritsa Urosevic said: “One year after...

HONG KONG—Tracy Yeow, sustainability manager at City Developments Limited, has moved on after four years with the property development company. She has joined NagaCorp, a Hong Kong-listed gaming company, as its Senior Sustainability Manager. She will be based in Phnom Penh, where NagaCorp runs the casino NagaWorld. NagaCorp’s sustainability efforts include forming a sustainability department in 2013 and acquiring recognition for NagaWorld as an “Asean Green Hotel”. Yeow’s role will involve developing a sustainability strategy for NagaCorp, adopting global best practices in environmental measurement and reporting, and working with internal and external stakeholders to roll out sustainability initiatives. At CDL, Yeow led the company’s...

There is no denying it. The last two years were difficult for all of us. But as we take a collective breath on the other side of the pandemic and ruminate on the positive takeaways from that time, many of us will settle on the same sentiment—sometimes it’s good to slow down. Our lives, which are so often defined by constant motion, suddenly came to a halt, a change of pace that many of us would never have chosen or stumbled upon organically. As social calendars were cleared of activities, travel plans were postponed, and work obligations came home with...

NEW YORK—Habitas, the rapidly growing, experience-led eco-hospitality brand with homes on three continents, continues its trajectory with nine new awards recognizing the brand’s excellence in sustainable design, innovation, and a community-based ethos. Captivating both guests and the travel industry and media, Habitas shines as the recent recipient of prestigious accolades such as Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers' Choice Awards for Habitas Tulum, Bacalar, and Namibia; Architectural Digest’s 2022 Hotel Awards for Great Design for Habitas Bacalar; and the AHEAD Americas Awards 2022 for Habitas Bacalar as Best Resort. The impressive streak of awards since June 2022 includes: Condé Nast Traveler’s Bright Ideas in Travel—Habitas brand—2022 Winner in this year’s inaugural awards; Architectural Digest’s 2022...

SHARM EL-SHEIKH—Bluewater, a Swedish innovator of award-winning hydration solutions and beverages, has lashed out at the lack of decisive action by world lawmakers to halt the production of single-use plastic bottles despite growing evidence of the threat posed to planetary and human health. “Some 1.3 billion plastic bottles are purchased around the world every day and unfortunately many ultimately end up in landfill or the oceans after being discarded, subsequently then leaching a variety of potentially health threatening chemicals and microplastics into the environment,” said Philip Russell, Managing Director of Bluewater’s U.K.-based events company, in a landmark speech in the...

I attended my first trade show in several years this past week—HX: The Hotel Experience and Boutique Design New York (BDNY). Both shows were held at the Javits Center in New York City. While smaller than before the era of Covid, the two shows impressed me greatly with their selection of exhibitors. Almost everywhere I turned, there was an exhibitor with a sustainability story to tell. Sometimes the company’s commitment was not necessarily seen in the product itself but in how it was made and the culture of the company. There were also numerous speaker presentations on the show...

NEW YORK—HX: The Hotel Experience and Boutique Design New York (BDNY), two adjoining trade shows held at the Javits Center November 13 to 14, wrapped up this week with numerous first-time suppliers introducing green products and services. In addition, veterans of the two shows were back to tout the green upsides to their products and services to the thousands of attendees. It would be impossible to list all the suppliers deserving of publicity, but the following are many of them, along with a brief description of what they featured at the shows. Sapphire Beverages introduced its water in easy-to-recycle aluminum...

MIAMI—Vindow Inc., the cloud-based travel technology platform that brings buyers and sellers of contracted accommodations together to facilitate a more effective RFP and contracting process, is now a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), working with the organization to make travel more sustainable. Vindow is the only cloud-based, SaaS platform that combines a centralized, full lifecycle management of the procurement process—from RFP generation through contract management—with AI-powered, intelligent market analytics. In addition to the valuable business benefits the platform offers, it also gives buyers and sellers an easy way to decrease their carbon footprint. Vindow’s online RFP management and contracting functionality facilitates...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—As the 2022/23 ski and ride season gets underway in the northern hemisphere, and with climate change in sharp focus, Vail Resorts released its fifth annual Progress Report outlining the progress the company has made towards reaching a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Vail Resorts is ahead of schedule to meet its emissions goals and is on track to reach zero waste to landfill and zero net operating impact on forests and habitat to achieve a zero net operating footprint by 2030. The report details how the company actively works to mitigate climate change and preserve the environment, promotes the...

BETHESDA, MD.—myDigitalOffice (MDO), the fast-growing hotel performance management platform, released an online sustainability calculator and certification program aimed at shining the spotlight on hotel owners and operators dedicated to reducing their environmental footprint. The calculator allows any hotel company to enter information specific to their sustainable operating processes and apply for MDO Sustainability Certification, which can be included in the organization’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) materials, including requests for event proposals. Innovative companies today are prioritizing sustainability and building a better future. Recent studies show that a new generation of travelers wants to patronize properties that align with their values...