Capterra conducted the Consumer Sustainability Expectations Survey in August 2022 among 759 U.S. consumers to learn about their expectations and preferences for sustainably made and transported goods. The goal of the survey is to understand consumers’ expectations and shopping behavior for products being made and shipped sustainably. While Capterra’s survey was not focused on hospitality, it does provide some insight into how consumers are thinking, and shopping, these days. For the survey, 759 consumers were asked questions to learn about their expectations and preferences for sustainably made and transported goods. Here are just some of the findings from the survey: In...

MIAMI—SH Hotels & Resorts, the sustainable brand management company founded by Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht, announced the first Treehouse Hotel to open in the U.S. in Sunnyvale, Calif., in the high-tech heart of Silicon Valley, in late 2023. The free-spirited, environmentally conscious lifestyle brand creatively captures the carefree comfort, freedom, nostalgia, and fun of childhood. Every Treehouse Hotel is founded on the adventurous ideas that inspire a child to build their “treehouse” and hang with real and imaginary friends. Treehouse Sunnyvale will fuse the creativity, innovation, and adventure of the dynamic Silicon Valley with the brand’s...

Clean the World Hospitality Recycling Solutions with Clean the World Clean the World provides innovative impact solutions that inspire businesses and individuals to impact their community and help change the world. Through our Hospitality Recycling program, we recycle the used soap and plastic amenity bottles left behind by guests and collected by housekeepers around the world. The Impact Reporting that is provided as part of the program provides partners advanced insights on their sustainability contributions. At any given moment, partners can review, track, and observe the impact they’re making to the environment and in the lives of people in need. Most...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Clean the World, a global leader in water, sanitation, hygiene, and sustainability has added a new Impact Dashboard to their Customer Portal which introduces advanced filtering options so partners participating in the Hospitality Recycling Program can get a detailed view of their social and environmental impact over time. By using this new feature, partners can establish internal sustainability goals, track progress, and report their contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a transparent way to their key stakeholders, all from within the existing Customer Portal. Clean the World provides robust reporting that has allowed for an in-depth look at key social,...

MUMBAI, INDIA—As Green Travel begins to set its foot in the Indian hospitality sector, eco-conscious, urban travelers looking to escape from city lights can now holiday at India’s first carbon-neutral resort—The Machan, Lonavala. Known for its exclusive line of treehouses, surrounded by lush green forests, also home to many endemic species, the company is setting new standards for sustainable stays and aims to put India on the global green map. Talking about the importance of being a Carbon Neutral organization, Varun Hooja, Partner at The Machan said, “Green travel is not just a disruptive trend but a reality for our planet. The ill-effects of climate change are known to everyone. This is why the world is setting targets for itself and...

TAOS, N.M.—Taos Ski Valley, Inc. announced that is has become a certified CarbonNeutral company by Climate Impact Partners, which, coupled with its status as the world’s first and only certified B Corporation, confirms Taos as an industry leader in environmental and social responsibility. While Taos has achieved CarbonNeutral certification, it will continue its ongoing, long-term effort to minimize its actual carbon emissions. “CarbonNeutral certification is the first step in our greater goal of significantly reducing our carbon emissions without using offsets,” said Taos Ski Valley CEO David Norden. “To achieve this milestone, we conducted a rigorous audit to fully understand our...

CHICAGO—Advito and BCD Meetings & Events’ (BCD M&E) new emissions calculator is an ISO-certified calculator designed for meeting planners to reduce the overall environmental impact of their programs. The tool was developed in response to their clients’ needs to factor sustainability into their event strategies, and their desire to understand and measure the non-traditional elements contributing to overall emissions. Advito’s sustainable collaboration practice lead, Julien Etchanchu, led the development of the calculator based on the consultancy’s ISO-certified carbon emissions scale, GATE4. “We know that the industry standard for measuring emissions across all four travel categories isn’t granular enough to capture the true...

SEATTLE—Expedia Group announced its new global social impact and sustainability strategy to advance a travel ecosystem that is responsible, open, and accessible to all. Combining the company’s mission, purpose, and values with its traveler-centric mindset, the Open World social impact and sustainability strategy is focused on three priorities—increasing access for underserved travelers, democratizing the travel economy, and innovating sustainable solutions for the future of travel. Earlier this year, the company announced its Open World technology platform—created for partners of all sizes to leverage and configure products and services needed to succeed in the travel ecosystem. Aligned with this innovation, and...

The topic of climate change and sustainability has reached a fever pitch. The WHO predicts a $2 to $4 billion cost to public health, and it’s viewed as a national responsibility. From battery-powered cars to eliminating single-use plastic and embracing a more climate-friendly lifestyle, a worldwide commitment to sustainability is taking shape. As green initiatives continue to take the world by storm, we quickly realize that no industry is exempt from its duty to reexamine and—where necessary—reimagine practices which may pose harm to our ever-fragile environment. Hospitality, as you might have guessed, is certainly no exception. Right now, hospitality brands...

BOSTON—Significant price spikes in the energy attribute certificate (EAC) and carbon offset markets have many companies wondering whether environmental commodities are the right way to reach their goals, asking: is carbon offsetting worth it? These tools that many companies have come to rely on to achieve carbon neutrality have become much more expensive than they may have originally budgeted for. Pair this with headwinds in the renewable energy PPA market, and the question of how to reach goals gets even more complicated. Now, companies are faced with an impossible dilemma that is putting both their financial risk tolerance and their moral...