LAS VEGAS—Caesars Entertainment, Inc., the largest casino-entertainment company in the United States, released its 2021-2022 Corporate Social Responsibility report. The report reflects a refresh in priority topics after an extensive materiality assessment and stakeholder mapping exercise. It also highlights progress toward Caesars’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goal of gender and racial equality in leadership roles by 2025, progress toward the company’s goal of reduction in Scope 1 + 2 emissions by 100 percent by 2050, a new educational assistance program for Team Members and more. “As we continue to work toward and reflect on our goals, the materiality assessment that was conducted...

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA—Beks Ndlovu, founder and CEO of African Bush Camps, has long been active in working to conserve and even regenerate natural areas of the African continent. Now he has moved to make it an industry-wide initiative by co-launching the Africa Change Maker (AMC) movement. African Bush Camps is a founding member of ACM with one key goal: jointly supporting Africa’s resilience. ACM is a movement, according to Ndlovu, that asks the trade and lodges to pay $5/per bed-night into a “war chest.” ACM now has 20 members, and the goal is to add more members and increase...

LOS ANGELES—Bentley Mills, Inc., California’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer, announced the appointment of Holly Holton as Global Director of Sustainability. Holton, a seasoned industry professional who joined Bentley in 2009 as an Account Executive, will now focus on engaging industry partners on Bentley’s evolving sustainability progress and continued initiatives. “I’m thrilled to welcome Holly into her new Bentley role. As a company dedicated to exceeding California’s sustainability standards, Bentley will continue to design products to lower our chemicals of concern and carbon footprint,” said Jay Brown, Bentley President, and Chief Operating Officer. “Holly will strengthen how Bentley externalizes our advancements in renewable energy,...

NHA TRANG, Vietnam—Six Senses Ninh Van Bay has introduced Ninh Van Greens, the first in-resort solar farm in Vietnam, named after the resort’s unique location and the idea of harnessing solar to power the resort while growing crops for the restaurants and spa. The Ninh Van Greens solar complex has the resources to produce electricity, organic vegetables and fruits, and hot water. One of the significant highlights of Ninh Van Greens is that the solar farm houses a 17,222 square-foot (1,600 square-meter) organic garden called Solar FreshCuts. Due to the ingenious placement of the solar panels, the land beneath them can be used...

DETROIT—General Motors announced the introduction of Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial, which in combination with the existing Ultium Charge 360, create a holistic ecosystem of energy management products and services that will be housed under a new business unit called GM Energy. GM Energy’s connected product and service offerings are designed to offer cohesive energy management for home, commercial and EV customers, with solutions ranging from bi-directional charging, vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, to stationary storage, solar products, software applications, cloud management tools, microgrid solutions, hydrogen fuel cells and more. GM Energy’s services will also enable the sale of energy...

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Diversified global manufacturer Milliken & Co. announced its science-based net-zero targets have been approved by the U.N.-backed Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi is a collective of international organizations dedicated to helping companies set emission reduction targets consistent with climate science and the Paris Agreement. “At Milliken, sustainability is a core value,” says Halsey Cook, President, and CEO of Milliken & Co. “Climate change is placing pressure on communities, on companies and on our planet. The time to take meaningful action is now.” SBTi calculates that companies committed to cutting emissions in line with climate science now represent $38 trillion—one-third—of the global economy....

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) just issued its Living Planet Report 2022. It is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet. The report will come as a shock to those not following our planet’s health and a strong reminder of our planet’s status to those who do follow it. Our industry should pay attention because its growth does impact the planet’s health of its residents and creatures of all sizes. The report begins with this fact: There has been an average decline of 69 percent in species populations since 1970. “While conservation efforts...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (the Alliance) have announced a new strategic partnership between the two organizations to drive advanced ESG efforts within the hotel and hospitality industry. As part of the partnership, AHLA, AHLA Foundation and the Alliance will amplify and collaborate to support one another’s programs and solutions, including the AHLA Foundation’s workforce development programs and the No Room for Trafficking campaign and the Alliance’s social and environmental sustainability tools and resources. The announcement of the partnership follows a two-day summit hosted by the Alliance that brought together senior hospitality leaders and strategic partners to discuss...

LOS ANGELES—EV Mobility, LLC., a leading all-electric vehicle car-sharing platform and W South Beach, one of Miami's most iconic hotels announced that they have signed an agreement to roll out on-demand EVs exclusively for hotel guests. “After almost one year of negotiating an agreement with Marriott International corporate, we are excited to partner with W South Beach as the first hotel in Marriott’s portfolio. We both see that EVs as a world-class amenity will elevate the hospitality offer,” said Ramy El-Batrawi, CEO of EV Mobility. The agreement was negotiated by Marriott International, which will lead to expansion throughout the Marriott portfolios of hotels. At W South Beach,...

ODESSA, FLA.—Green Lodging News has added GreenLuxe to the Consultants/Sustainability section of its Green Product & Service Directory. GreenLuxe is led by Amy Wald, Founder and President of the company. Wald and her team have traveled the world to uncover and realize the most innovative solutions for sustainability. Using principles from GSTC, LEED, Nature Based Solutions, Green Globe, and many others. GreenLuxe will develop a program that is customized, easily deployable, and most important efficient to both your systems and your staff. This will ensure you are operating your organization as an environmentally conscious brand as well as capture...