Green Options

Several San Francisco, California hotels promoted World Water Day - March 22 in collaboration with Blue Planet Run Foundation this past weekend. The book, Blue Planet Run: The Race To Provide Safe Drinking Water To The World, was placed in luxury suites as a gift to guests staying over the weekend.

Another video from the 2009 ASI tradeshow in Dallas. This is the Rand McNally Green edition road atlas.

Most folks don’t know that Rand McNally has a promotional products division that basically allows companies and organizations to brand Rand McNally products with their own contact information and logos. I think this Green edition road atlas is a no-brainer for green travel agencies, B&Bs, tour companies, garages, etc.

True confession here. When I first read about eco tourism, it was frankly, – a bunch of bull. Travel agents thought that a green hotel meant that it was located around trees! We’ve come a long way, friends.

My optimism for truly environmental lodging shifted when I read about BIO-hotels. Their admirable slogan is taste the natural life. This is an association of independent hotels that base their offerings around natural products. Choose between a wide selection of lodges in many different regions, primarily Austria, Germany and Italy.

Do you wish to understand the wisdom of effective water- and energy-conservation for hotel laundries, oh little four-star getaway? The secret, according to a study published in October’s Journal of Consumer Research, is to let guests know their fellow hotel-goers are doing their part to conserve. More guests saved their towels for a second or third use when the signs in their [...]

The historic Heathman Hotel, in downtown Portland, Oregon, recently gave its bathrooms a new, green look. The project is a continuation of the hotel’s commitment to sustainability and the local economy.

Editor’s note: Got a trip to the UK coming up? If so, Life Goggles notes that it will soon be easier to find eco-friendly accommodations, as the British Tourism Board has launched a new program for certifying “green” hotels. This post was originally published on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.

VisitBritain, Britain’s National Tourist Board has launched a new program to help accommodation providers and visitor attractions in England take the first steps toward becoming sustainable businesses.

The Green Start project aims to encourage a “rapid, widespread and significant increase in the adoption of sustainable tourism principles” by offering a validated sustainable accreditation scheme.

Jason Freezer, VisitBritain’s sustainable tourism project manager, said: “VisitBritain is committed to encouraging sustainable businesses. However, nearly two-thirds tell us they need more guidance on developing their business in that way.”

When trying to make your lifestyle more sustainable, there are lots of smart choices you can make around the house to lighten your ecological footprint. But what about when you’re away from home? When traveling for work or pleasure, you can’t be certain that the same eco-smart choices you make at home will be made in your hotel room. Is the cotton in your sheets is grown organically and washed in an way that conserves water? Is your garbage being recycled? Are the lights you turn off before going to sleep utilizing the energy efficient CFL bulbs you have in the lamp on your nightstand at home? The fact is, when you check into a hotel, you may be signing up for temporarily increasing your personal impact on the environment in a way you would never choose otherwise.

The good news is that more and more hotel chains are taking up the challenge of incorporating the values of sustainability into their operations. One example is the Hotel Intercontinental in Chicago, which last week announced plans to begin supporting renewable energy in a big way.

The agreement between Intercontinental Chicago Hotel and electricity supplier Constellation NewEnergy is a good thing for the environment, but it takes a little bit of explanation to understand why. That’s because the hotel won’t actually be using wind, solar, or hydroelectric power in its golden domed building on Michigan Avenue. Instead, it will support the operation of power plants that create green energy by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) equal to 50% of its total electricity use. Not every business is able to change its operations to run on green electricity, but any company can buy RECs. For every certificate purchased, a unit of renewable energy is produced and fed into the power grid. The more renewable energy placed onto the grid, the less nonrenewable energy (such as coal, nuclear, oil, and gas) is required to fill the country’s energy needs.

For those of you who travel to foreign cities for conferences, get all fired up throughout the day listening to inspiring talks, and seeing innovative ideas in action, yet then dread the retreat to the seclusion of your double-bed hotel room, don’t fear: an alternative is here. Not only is renting a hotel a pain in the rear, but I frequently experience buyers remorse due to how excessive a whole room to myself

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The Earth Tub

Question: What are some ways that hotels who produce large volumes of food sraps minimize wastes? Currently all food scraps are thrown into a large commercial compactor bin. Any ideas how this can be overcome and a more eco-efficient strategy adopted?

Answer: My local co-op recently implemented one solution for large amounts of food waste. It's called the Earth Tub, a commercial duty composter made

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