ROCKVILLE, MD.—Choice Hotels International recently released its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. (See the recent press release.) The report highlights significant new steps that should cut utility costs, save time for franchisees, and increase the company’s ESG commitments. Among the steps highlighted in the release is the hiring of Megan Brumagim, Vice President, Sustainability for Choice Hotels. That hiring was announced in April 2022. Green Lodging News recently interviewed Brumagim about Choice’s ESG initiatives. Here are the results of that interview in Q&A format. GLN: Prior to your appointment, nobody was leading the ESG charge at Choice. (Unless...

AHLA last conducted The Lodging Survey with STR in 2018. It provided valuable information on numerous trends in lodging, including ones falling under Sustainability. AHLA and STR no longer conduct that survey. A very valuable replacement to that survey is the 2022 Green Lodging Trends U.S. Market Report. It is based on U.S.-specific data gathered for the 2022 edition of the global Green Lodging Trends Report (GLTR). The newly available U.S. report from AHLA—representing its Responsible Stay program—is based on data from 17,000 U.S. hotels. There were two data collection methods: direct participation by responding to the GLTR survey on...

HONOLULU—Premier beach resort brand Outrigger Resorts & Hotels has successfully achieved Green Seal certification for key properties in Fiji and Hawaii. Outrigger is first in the State of Hawaii to earn the prestigious Green Seal designation as well as the first hospitality brand to achieve certification outside of the United States. Green Seal is a global nonprofit whose certification mark is a universal symbol that a product, cleaning service or facility meets the highest benchmark of health and environmental leadership. Outrigger’s owned/managed properties that are now Green Seal certified include: Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel OHANA Waikiki...

NEW YORK—One of Manhattan’s most prominent luxury hotels—the 463 all-suite Conrad New York Downtown—keeps pushing the bar higher for sustainability leadership in the Big Apple. Since opening in 2012, the hotel has maintained its LEED Gold certification, implemented numerous water-, energy- and waste-saving initiatives, and it just recently became the first hotel in the city and one of the first in the U.S. to utilize Power Over Ethernet (PoE) technology. The Sinclair in Fort Worth, Texas also uses this technology. PoE is used at the Conrad New York Downtown to power LED lighting in the lobby, in the newly renovated...

The world’s ongoing water crisis is real. One in four of the world’s largest cities are currently in water stress, and the global infrastructure for collecting, cleaning, and distributing water is critically strained. We are locked in an ongoing struggle to maintain sufficient supplies of water in the face of increasing global temperatures and continuing worsening droughts. Water waste is not only a major contributor to the decline of reservoirs, but also a significant source of carbon emissions. Water treatment and delivery in the United States account for 13 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption. In many municipalities, water is...

NATIONAL REPORT—Conserving water has become a major concern with residential and commercial sites alike. From indoor application to landscape and irrigation outdoors, water conservation has been a goal for many builders and homeowners—and a lot of natural turfgrass is being wrongfully accused of excessive water usage. Although synthetic turf is a rising trend for its environmental benefits, it is quite possible to grow natural grass while still conserving plenty of water. Many irrigation techniques have been made available through modern technology for using less water on plants…even during droughts. Discover a few simple tips for saving water on lawns and how...

MAUMEE, OHIO—Underscoring Fiberon’s commitment to sustainability, the company’s Wildwood composite cladding has earned a GREEN GOOD DESIGN Award from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. GREEN GOOD DESIGN Awards recognize products and projects that “are leading the global way to a design that is fully sustainable and compatible with the highest standards of good environment.” Because the composite cladding is made from 94 percent mixed recycled plastic and wood fiber content, Wildwood is a key component in Fiberon’s ability to save more than 1 million trees and repurpose an average of 100 million pounds of recycled plastic each year. “While the...

As mentioned previously on Green Lodging News, I attended HD Expo in Las Vegas from May 2-4. Thanks to Covid-19, it had been four years since I last attended this event focused on hospitality design. What was clear immediately to me this time was that the show and conference was as strong as ever and the number of sustainability stories was at a record level. In my article this past week I listed many of the companies in attendance that jumped out at me in one way or another as having something new, unique, or showing evidence of the continuation...

LAS VEGAS—More than 600 exhibitors displayed their goods and services at last week’s HD Expo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. More than 80 of those exhibitors identified themselves as sustainable in one way or another. It would be impossible to mention all those companies in this article but below are many examples of what this author considered especially creative and unique. Elkay Manufacturing Co. introduced its ezH2O Liv Pro Filtered Water Dispenser. Unlike other Elkay dispensers, this one features a low-profile design and a more upscale look with its either black or white frame. It fits within 16” OC...

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—TRSA, the association for linen, uniform and facility services providers, announces the launch of a new website, LaundryServices.org. It connects all types of businesses, especially restaurants, hotels, healthcare institutions and consumer and industrial services, with these commercial laundry providers. The website generates awareness of these and educates end-users and consumers on why commercial laundries are beneficial, including their standards and practices that support environmental and supply chain sustainability. Commercial laundries use one-third of the water used in home laundering, saving over 30 billion gallons of water per year in the United States. LaundryServices.org videos and interactive tools teach consumers and business...