AMSTERDAM—CWT launched a new meetings and events (M&E) carbon footprint calculator. Combining travel, hotel stays, meeting space and food & beverage carbon consumption information for corporate events, it provides detailed environmental impact insights to both CWT event planners and clients alike, enabling more sustainable choices for global events aimed at audiences of 200 up to 50,000. The CWT M&E carbon calculator analyzes and reports on individual and collective delegate carbon emission and waste data for the entire event lifecycle, from planning to completion. It maps emission data against each individual customer’s own carbon benchmarks for current and future events. The calculator’s...

BENTON HARBOR, MICH.—Whirlpool Corp. published its 2022 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s enduring commitment to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, corporate governance initiatives, and progress in meeting its sustainability and Inclusion and Diversity goals. “Whirlpool Corporation has established a series of goals and commitments that shape our approach to environmental stewardship, employee and community support and product sustainability,” said Marc Bitzer, Chairman and CEO of Whirlpool Corp. “The progress made against these commitments is a testament to the work of every single Whirlpool employee, because we all have a role to play in improving life at home for our consumers.” The 2022...

MIAMI—ABCO Cleaning Products, a leading provider of sustainable cleaning tools, has provided five tips for becoming more sustainable and socially responsible this Earth Day. “While Earth Day is just 24 hours, implementing sustainability practices should be something business leaders and facility managers strive for every day of the year,” said Carlos Albir Jr., Director of Operations, ABCO Cleaning Products. Five sustainability practices business leaders should consider incorporating this Earth Day include: Prioritize green cleaning. A truly sustainable cleaning program can help reduce an organization’s overall carbon footprint. Organizations like GreenSeal, Ecologo and FSC have vigorous standards for sustainability, so look to...

BEIJING—The Fifth Meeting of the Council of China-France Entrepreneurs was held recently in Beijing. It was attended by the heads of state of China and France, representatives from both Chinese and French governments and entrepreneurs. The Meeting focused on discussions around various topics, including trade, investment, technology, and tourism. During the Meeting, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels and Accor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a term ending in 2033. This MOU represents a strategic partnership between the two parties, with the primary ambition being to promote and drive sustainable transformations across the hospitality industry and reduce the sector’s...

LINCOLNSHIRE, ILL.—LG Electronics has been singled out as the only supplier of commercial displays recognized for environmental sustainability excellence in the foremost third-party assessment of suppliers to the U.S. hospitality industry and, for the first time, other vertical markets. As the MindClick Sustainability Assessment Program (MSAP) was expanded significantly to encompass many more brands of leading hotels and resorts, LG Electronics received the highest possible rating for the eighth consecutive year. For the first time, evaluations of the production and life cycle impacts of products also extended beyond hospitality, with MindClick naming LG a “Leader” in display products for other...

HOUSTON—During the past 11 years, DaVinci Roofscapes, a division of Westlake Royal Building Products USA Inc. has reprocessed more than 10.9 million pounds of polymer scrap materials. In conjunction with the upcoming Earth Day on April 22, the composite slate and shake roofing manufacturer announced that its operations successfully recycled 1,697,249 pounds of polymer waste in 2022…the most ever recycled by the company in a single year. “This is more than half a million pounds of scrap in excess of what we reprocessed in 2021,” according to Mark Pagel, General Manager at DaVinci Roofscapes in Lenexa, Kan. “For the sixth consecutive year we have contributed...

Several years ago, my family purchased an air fryer. We have since used it many times—for anything we would typically fry using cooking oil, and even for baking. It is a “set it and forget it” machine until the food is ready. We have significantly reduced our use of cooking oil and are eating healthier as a result. I know life in a commercial kitchen is not as easy and that is why I wrote this past week how one company is helping hoteliers and restaurateurs manage their cooking oil—from purchase to recycling. There are many companies that provide...

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MINN.—Almost 270 million pounds of cooking oil is difficult to comprehend but that is the amount taken out of the waste stream in 2021 by Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (RT). RT is one example of a company that has automated the cooking oil-management business while also closing the loop on it. Restaurants and other food and beverage operations manage their cooking oil in different ways. In one typical scenario, according to Diana Geseking, General Counsel and Secretary for RT, a restaurant will purchase jugs of oil from an oil producer. These jugs, also known as JIBs (jug-in-box) are sometimes...

With just 10 days to go, I have not heard from many properties regarding their April 22 Earth Day activities. As published on Green Lodging News on April 5, 1 Hotels is celebrating Earth Month with a series of brand and property offerings that honor the beauty of the natural world, promote environmental unity, and encourage individuals to take small steps towards sustainability. For the month of April, all eight carbon-neutral properties in North America have launched activities and initiatives that promote a more collective effort towards protecting our planet. In one example, in partnership with a local vendor...

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS—Encina Development Group, a producer of ISCC+ circular chemicals from end-of-life plastics, announced a new recycling partnership with Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a global flooring manufacturer. Under the agreement, Shaw will provide Encina with more than 2 million pounds of waste materials from its carpet manufacturing processes annually. This effort will reduce Shaw’s greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint while contributing to its long-standing sustainability commitment, which encompasses its Cradle-to-Cradle design programs that have been in place for more than 20 years. Nearly 90 percent of the products Shaw produces are Cradle to Cradle Certified, meaning they have been...