PHILADELPHIA—ARAMARK Harrison Lodging (AHL) has been recognized with two prestigious awards for environmental stewardship. The 2006 Environmental Achievement Award was received from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and a 2006 Governor’s Pride in Arizona Award from Arizona Clean and Beautiful was also awarded. AHL, a division of ARAMARK, is a provider of meeting and recreational support services to conference and corporate training centers, specialty hotels, national and state parks, resorts and other tourist destinations throughout the United States. “Protecting natural resources is a vital part of our company’s service and commitment to our guests, employees...

LANSING, MICH.—Robert W. Swanson, director of the Department of Labor & Economic Growth (DLEG), announced a new program aimed at environmental conservation and a more competitive lodging industry in Michigan. Green Lodging Michigan (GLM) encourages hotels, resorts, motels, and bed & breakfast facilities to implement environmental initiatives and cost-saving green practices to conserve energy, reduce water consumption, protect air quality, reduce waste, and participate in environmentally preferred purchasing. “It’s like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval of being green,” Swanson said. “It is the mark of environmental responsibility of hoteliers who show a commitment to green business practices and can...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Pineapple Hospitality, Saint Charles, Mo., as a sponsor. Pineapple, led by Ray Burger, president, has been providing green products, programs and services to the hospitality industry for more than 10 years. Pineapple’s products include the following: greenSPA amenity and dispenser system, which includes Neutrogena products; Project Planet towel and linen reuse cards; Oxygenics showerheads; NUMI teas; ecorooms program; General Electric lighting products; Guestat thermostats; Wattstopper Motion Sensor Nightlights; Nature’s Mist deodorizer; Hillyard green cleaning products; Preserve recyclable toothbrushes; Oreck vacuums; and the odor-eating Fresh Bulb. “I...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Americans are recycling more and throwing away less according to a new report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, speaking at the National Recycling Coalition Conference in Atlanta, announced that the United States recycled 32 percent of its waste in 2005. Including composting, Americans recycled 79 million tons, representing a 2 percent increase from 2004 and a huge jump from 16 percent in 1990. “President Bush and EPA are transforming our throw-away culture into a recycling culture,” says EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “Environmental responsibility is everyone’s responsibility. With our...

PORTLAND, ORE.—The Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center Portland-Lloyd Center announced that the property has earned a Green Seal GS-33 Lodging Sustainability certification. The 476-room Doubletree is the first lodging property in Oregon and the largest hotel west of the Mississippi to receive this green hotel designation, which includes a set of stringent criteria that encourages hotels to adopt environmental standards and practices in their everyday operations. The Green Seal certification is the latest step in the Doubletree’s efforts to build sustainable practices into its entire operation. From installation of energy- and water-efficient fixtures and lighting in guestrooms...

DENVER—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. a Green Purchasing Gold Achievement Award for its purchasing practices at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Part of the EPA’s “WasteWise” program, the award recognized the concessioner’s waste reduction program, which includes purchasing numerous items with recycled content as well as increasing the recycled content of many products. Xanterra is one of only 11 organizations to receive a Gold Achievement Award this year and the only national park concessioner ever to receive the award. In 2005, Xanterra switched to chlorine-free, 100 percent post-consumer...

BOSTON—Formed a year ago as an outgrowth of the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC), Boston Green Tourism (BGT) is working to position America’s Walking City as the place to go to find green hotels and meeting facilities. The organization already has 76 active members including hoteliers, restaurateurs, vendors, and convention center and government officials. “It is a three-year project,” says Dan Ruben, executive director of BGT, who as executive director of CERC led efforts to green America’s two political conventions in 2004. The goals of BGT are four-fold: • Establish Greater Boston as a preeminent...

PAGE, ARIZ.—Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas, an Aramark Harrison Lodging managed property, announced it has received a Pollution Prevention Award from the Utah Pollution Prevention Assn. (P2) and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. “This is especially important to us because this award recognizes organizations and companies in Utah that are making outstanding efforts in programming and training to prevent pollution and improve environmental quality,” says Bubba Ketchersid, resident district manager, north Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas operations. “Protecting and preserving our environment is an extremely important part of our company’s commitment to our guests, employees and neighbors.”...

NATIONAL REPORT—Any hotel property that has a restaurant or bar has to deal with bottle disposal. No matter where they are on the property—behind the bar or in the dumpster—bottles take up space. It costs money in labor to move them from one location to another and to have them hauled away. Glass bottles do not generate much cash as recyclables—about $4 to $6 per ton—so most often they end up in landfills. Yes, there are places where bottles are sorted for recycling or returned for deposit refunds, but sometimes it costs more than a nickel to get a nickel...

Building owners are taught to view waste as an inconvenience. The waste stream keeps flowing, and if anything disrupts the “get it out of here” model, we tend to view that with the same disdain as a clogged drain. Here’s the challenge: material has value. As recycling markets gain speed, recyclable material gains value. By thinking of your building as a bank account, the concept of “waste management” becomes a whole new game: asset management. Extending the idea of maximizing value to items in the waste stream, the best way to manage costs is to step in front of the...