Names: Kate Wilson Title: Senior Director of Sustainability Company: Vail Resorts Years with Vail Resorts: Almost three years Primary Responsibility: “I am lucky to run Commitment to Zero. We own and operate 37 resorts globally. We made a bold sustainability commitment to have a zero-net impact by 2030. I work on the strategy and implement these goals.” Organization’s most significant accomplishment in global corporate responsibility: “We reached our 50 percent waste diversion goal nine months ahead of schedule.” Organization’s most significant challenge moving forward in global corporate responsibility: “Waste is still a huge challenge for us because of where these resorts are located. Two towns...

TRENTON, N.J.—Is there anything more satisfying than the cling! of a bottle or can making its way into a recycling bin? In effort to help organizations and companies alike increase recycling rates and reach their sustainability goals, international recycling leader TerraCycle created ReZound, an easy-to-use device that attaches to recycling bins and encourages recycling through positive audible feedback. The device can be installed in nearly any recycling bin and comes pre-loaded with 20 recycling themed sound clips. Every time a recyclable is placed in the bin, ReZound will play music, a fun sound effect, or encouraging words to make recycling...

Go for External Accreditation—The first step is to set yourself an ambitious target, by aiming for certification in sustainable hotel design and operation. This way you can engage and focus the efforts of your entire team generating ideas and adopting practices that will really make a difference. LEED certification, LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a prestigious, globally-recognized program to acknowledge achievement in sustainability. If you’re about to start work on building a new hotel, ensure you work with the architects and the company responsible for your construction engineering to incorporate the requirements of the standard—whether that’s...

ODESSA, FLA.—Green Lodging News has added Donastar Enterprises LLC as a Founding Sponsor. Donastar is a North American leader of hot and cold beverage service and installations. Donastar is working with Enozo (see video). The Enozo is a way for any business to stop using plastic bottles and aerosol cans. The EnozoPRO is a portable spray bottle that replaces six cleaning products and kills 99.9 percent of all viruses and bacteria including the virus that causes COVID-19.* One need only fill it up with tap water and then recharge it. Call for more information at (833) 366-2782 or e-mail enozo@donastar.com. *DISCLAIMER:...

GRAN CANARI ISLAND—Travel Without Plastic, the organisation helping cut single-use plastics in tourism, teamed up with health and safety experts Intertek Cristal to launch a free online training module to show tourism businesses how they can reduce plastic and keep their guests COVID-safe. The “Greener Guest” (greenerguest.com) initiative was born out of the explosion of single-use plastics caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, evident in the discarded masks and plastic gloves appearing on pavements and beaches worldwide. As the Founder of Travel Without Plastic, Jo Hendrickx says, these items are both a danger to wildlife and human health, and often completely...

MIAMI—In the midst of a news cycle dominated by COVID-related and political stories, J&J Green Paper, a Miami start-up, may have quietly struck environmental gold this summer with its green paper technology that is poised to solve one of the world’s largest environmental problems: single use plastics. It is well-known that single-use plastics, such as plastic bottles, straws and food containers, are a blight on the environment, but it is often hard to fully comprehend the threat that these harmful materials pose. According to data published by EarthDay.org, a full 32 percent of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging...

BURLINGTON, MASS.—Keurig Dr Pepper announced that it has successfully achieved one of its longstanding sustainability commitments—all of the K-Cup pods the company produces are now recyclable. The extensive effort involved converting more than 100 manufacturing lines to produce the pods now made from polypropylene #5 plastic. In addition, new packaging for the recyclable K-Cup pods features a green recyclable flag as well as the industry-respected How2Recycle label that clearly communicates recycling instructions to consumers. Keurig Dr Pepper produces approximately 80 percent of the coffee pods sold at retail for use in Keurig brewers and, earlier this year, began shipping to retailers...

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA.—Consumers can now use straws in good conscience thanks to a new drinking straw, phade, created by WinCup, Inc. phade is a breakthrough marine biodegradable drinking straw made with PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), a substrate derived from canola oil. The straw is also compostable in home and industrial environments, and phade maintains the feel and user experience of a traditional plastic straw. Consumers are invited to “Meet Your Last Straw” and try phade straws for free beginning on National Drinking Straw Day, January 3, 2021. Anyone who “likes” phade on Instagram or “friends” phade on Facebook will receive a free...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands Corp. has once again been recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), and for the first time has been named to DJSI World, representing the top 10 percent of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on long-term economic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Sands also earned repeat placement on DJSI North America, placing the company in the top 20 percent of North American sustainability performers. Sands is the only U.S.-based hospitality and gaming company to be included on DJSI World, as well as DJSI North America. In...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—With this week’s launch of Vail Resorts’ 2019/20 season EpicPromise Progress Report, the company announced major advancement toward its Commitment to Zero goal to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Through its operations, Vail Resorts is prioritizing efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Detailed in the third-annual report, this year’s milestones include: Achieving the company’s 50 percent waste diversion subgoal, nearly a year ahead of schedule, by reducing landfill waste and increasing composting and recycling. Setting a course to be 100 percent powered by renewable electricity by 2030, in large part due to two...