If you are looking to retain Millennials, you may want to pay attention to their preferences for working for companies that pay attention to sustainability. Absent a sustainability program you will not lose everyone but you may lose your best and brightest. According to a new study, “Recycling in the Workplace: A Millennial View”, conducted by Lightspeed, a globally integrated research organization, on behalf of Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), nearly one in 10 Millennials would go so far as quitting their jobs if they found out their current employer was not sustainable. More than 1,000 Millennials participated in the...

NEW YORK—Fil Doux Textiles has enhanced its innovative Vinylife product with the addition of Pro-Tech, the company’s proprietary ink and stain protectant. Available exclusively through Fil Doux Textiles, this vinyl upholstery with enhanced biodegradability is a new industry development and the introduction of an end-of-life story for vinyl textiles. Vinylife is produced with a natural enzyme, which reacts to microorganisms found in biologically active landfills and acts as the catalyst for its decomposition. Featuring the same strength and durability as traditional vinyl, Vinylife is breathable, phthalate free, and exceeds 200,000+ double rubs. “We’re so excited about this revolutionary new product,”...

NEW YORK—The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park and Repeat Roses announced their recent collaboration allowing guests to now enlist the services of the eco-friendly business to remove, repurpose and compost florals from the hotel. As a leader in Lower Manhattan’s meetings, and special events industry The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park is an ideal partner for Repeat Roses’ first exploration in this neighborhood. Together, they are making strides to responsibly reduce waste and protect the planet while bringing joy to many New Yorkers. The Ritz-Carlton is committed to social and environmental responsibility through its Community Footprints Program which is led...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Informa Exhibitions U.S. and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the release of the 2016 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, highlighting valuable metrics and key benchmarks regarding the impact on energy use and waste management at the 2016 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held last October at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles. “Each year, we celebrate our victories with the release of this report and set the bar a little higher for the next year, to continue positively impacting the events industry with environmentally responsible management in the planning, operations and execution of Greenbuild,” said Lindsay Roberts,...

Name: Nathaly Stanley Title: Sustainability and Certifications Manager Property: Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort in Aruba Years with resort: Less than one Primary responsibilities: “To ensure all departments continue to operate in a sustainable manner. Every day is different.” Company’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “Getting recertified every year for four different certifications. The owner has such a deep interest in it.” Company’s most significant sustainability-related challenge moving forward: “Identifying new solutions for sustainability and having the ability to weigh the different solutions against one another.” EAGLE BEACH, ARUBA—As Sustainability and Certifications Manager at Aruba’s Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Nathaly Stanley is carrying on a commitment...

BERKELEY, ILL.—American Dryer, a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-speed hand dryers, announced the general availability of eXtremeAir ADA, an energy-efficient surface mounted hand dryer that delivers the ADA compliance required in today’s facilities as well as all the additional features important to every restroom environment. The eXtremeAir ADA is designed with a high intensity single port nozzle that delivers a fast 12-second dry time and the energy efficiency of only 950 watts of power. The addition of a HEPA filtration system and antimicrobial technology is designed to reduce contaminates in the air while drying, answering the...

WHISTLER, B.C.—The United Nations declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, and Fairmont Chateau Whistler has followed suit this spring by introducing a new sustainability initiative. Working in collaboration with ‘Clean the World Canada since the start of the year, Fairmont Chateau Whistler is now diverting discarded soap and amenity bottled products from landfill and is now recycling and repurposing these materials. The repurposed product is being distributed to Canadians in need at local food banks and homeless shelters where the requirement of hygiene products is critical. Since inauguration of the program, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler...

What to do about food waste has been a hot topic growing even hotter in recent years. Most efforts have targeted the back end of the food waste problem—who to send it to (local pig farmer?), how to make it smaller or disappear (grinder, bio-digester or local composter maybe?). From what I have seen, not enough has been done in our industry to address the entire “lifecycle” of food waste. That is why I was happy to read this past week that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, and the American Hotel & Lodging...

PARIS—One-third of all food produced in the world is never eaten, which has tremendous economic, social and environmental consequences. New research on behalf of Champions 12.3 finds that for every $1 companies invested to reduce food loss and waste, they saved $14 in operating costs—concrete evidence of the clear return on investment from food loss and waste reduction. In a first-of-its kind analysis, The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste evaluated financial cost and benefit data for 1,200 sites across 700 companies in 17 countries, finding that nearly every site realized a positive return on their investment to...

SAN FRANCISCO—Most organizations tackle our global food waste problem only after noticing how much food has already been wasted. BlueCart conducted a survey revealing that when restaurants switched from traditional ordering methods to online and mobile ordering via the BlueCart application, they cut their food waste by 52 percent. Since stumbling upon this information, BlueCart has made a commitment to support sustainability practices within the food industry. This commitment launches in the form of The Zero Waste Kitchen initiative, designed to share chefs’ best composting strategies and other sustainable practices, in hopes of enlightening the greater chef community and...