Wendi Shafir is the Green Lodging and Hospitality Lead for EPA Region 9. Her newsletters provide information to lodging and other hospitality facilities and green program managers to help address any challenges faced by hospitality businesses as they work to reduce their environmental impacts and move toward sustainability.
Survey of meeting planners identifies sustainability as 2013 trend
Destination Hotels and Resorts study shows over half of planners' surveyed said greener practices are important. Healthy eating and specialized dietary offerings are also key concerns. Two websites discuss the study: HotelsMag and MPI.
Optimize Irrigation, save water, energy, $
Proper irrigation main- tenance can help you AND the environment. Read how to green your system here in HotelExecutive online. Don't forget winterizing your system if needed.
Sustainability Hospitality Reporting Showing Positive Trends
More and more hotel brands are reporting on their sustainability accomplishments, especially energy conservation. Scott Parisi's article details several of these efforts.
Rezidor Hotels to Cut Energy Usage by 25%
Rezidor, a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (parent company of Radisson, Park Inn, Missoni and Regent hotel chains among others) has launched a group- wide energy-saving initiative to reduce energy consumption 25 percent by 2016 in all hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This news release gives details. I wonder what their plans are for the US?
Radisson CSR chief discusses Rezidor Energy initiative
For more on Rezidor's Think Green, read this interview with Inge Huijbrechts, head of responsible business for Rezidor. This fairly in-depth look at corporate thinking offers interesting insight in BusinessGreen.
Top Chefs advocate for seafood tracking, will help with sustainability
Hundreds of prominent chefs, restaurant owners and others signed a petition from conservation advocacy group Oceana calling on the U.S. government to prevent unapproved fish from reaching the American market by mandating tracing programs. Increasingly complicated supply chains are "increasing the risk of fraud each step of the way and making it more difficult for us to make eco-friendly choices," according to the petition. Some studies show over 2/3 of seafood is labeled incorrectly. Read the article here.
Quickservice chains hesitant to dive into sustainability
While going green sweeps the retail and manufacturing sectors, quick service operators remain hesitant. While slow, they are beginning to adopt greener practices as more options become available and affordable and in fact many sustainable practices will save money. In this article from QSR Magazine Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the Green Restaurant Association says many can also find help from local governments promoting sustainable programs.
2013 food trends include local, simple food
According to a 2013 food trends report by the research firm Culinary Visions, one major theme is local, healthier food. Consumers also want more fresh veggies and "pure and simple" food. Read more in USA Today.
UN World Tourism Organization announces campaign to help people, planet
The UNWTO's One Billion Tourists: One Billion Opportunities campaign asks the public to submit, vote for and implement the travel tip they believe would have the greatest benefit for the people and places they visit. HotelsMag has an article describing the campaign.
Bike Racks- what to look for when buying one and why you should care
Bike racks, when you can find them, are often poorly designed and don't have adequate capacity. This
blog discusses some of the issues and offers advice on how and why to select bike racks and more.
Disclaimer: Some of the events, articles and websites listed in this email are not sponsored by EPA. EPA is listing them for your information only. EPA is not responsible for their content and does not endorse any commercial product, service, enterprise, or policy that may be included.
