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Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Planning Earth Hour Activities

HONG KONG—Demonstrating its commitment to protecting the environment and mitigating climate change, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, one of Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel groups, announced that it will participate for a second consecutive year in Earth Hour, a global Worldwide Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) climate change initiative. On March 27, 2010, between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., more than 60 Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts worldwide will turn off their lights in most back-of-the-house areas and dim the lights in public areas, restaurants and hotel exteriors. Guests will be encouraged to participate by turning off the lights in their guestrooms. Shangri-La estimates that for each hour of shutting off or dimming lights per hotel, it can save up to 60 megawatts of electricity, which is equivalent to providing the lighting energy requirements of a city of 500,000 residents for 24 hours.

> AOTE Program to Launch at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on Earth Day
DANA POINT, CALIF.—Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment (AOTE) program will launch at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel on Earth Day, April 22, 2010. AOTE includes an environmental and cultural education center with excursions led by expert naturalists. “The launch of AOTE demonstrates our strong commitment to our community and our planet,” said general manager Bruce Brainerd. “The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel will be the first luxury resort in the continental United States to offer a comprehensive program that provides guests the opportunity to become advocates of protecting and preserving the planet for future generations through social responsibility and stewardship.” AOTE is designed to give guests of all ages the most fun and enriching experience possible in nature. This is achieved through excursions, games, multimedia presentations, discussions and activities. Each day will be dedicated to different aspects of Southern California’s natural wonders.
> Carlson Unveils Expanded Responsible Business Plan at Orlando Conference
ORLANDO, FLA.—The biggest news coming out of Carlson Hotels’ Global Business Conference from March 3 to 5 was its Ambition 2015 growth strategy focused on expanding the company’s property folio by at least 50 percent to more than 1,500 hotels in operation. From a corporate social responsibility perspective (CSR), the news at the conference may not have been as grand but it certainly was as important. Beathe-Jeanette Lunde, executive vice president of human resources for Carlson Hotels, The Americas, unveiled Carlson’s 2010 CSR strategy to Carlson stakeholders. Included in it is an Americas commitment to the United Nations Global Compact, employee training in responsible business, the launch of a Carlson Hotels Responsible Business Award, assistance with green certification, and the rollout of a program to collect environmental performance data.
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  • 1888 Mills Launches Sustainable Luxury Terry Line
    OAKBROOK, ILL.—1888 Mills LLC has launched its first socially sustainable luxury terry line for the hospitality industry through its exclusive partnership with the Cotton Made in Africa project (CmiA). 1888 Mills, a leading global manufacturer of home and commercial textiles, will pair CmiA cotton with Oasis, one of its top-selling hospitality terry programs.
  • Servidyne Wins Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award
    ATLANTA—Servidyne, Inc., an energy efficiency, demand response and real estate company, announced that it has been awarded the 2010 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of the company’s continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency. This is the eighth time Servidyne has been honored as an Energy Star Partner of the Year, and the fourth time the company has received the prestigious Sustained Excellence Award.
  • Rubbermaid Introduces New Two Stream Glutton Recycling Station
    WINCHESTER, VA.—Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), a leader in durable facility maintenance solutions, introduces its new Two Stream Glutton Recycling Station. The Two Stream Glutton Recycling Station combines the Glutton and Slim Jim strength and durability into a fully integrated station that provides sorting capability and containment for up to two waste streams.
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For a long time I have wondered how the various green lodging certification programs address the smoking/nonsmoking issue.

After a bit of research over the past few weeks, I found out.

What I really wanted to know was whether or not any programs require that a facility be 100 percent nonsmoking in order to be certified (there are two programs, maybe three).

I also wanted to know what programs ask about the makeup of a property’s room mix when it comes to smoking/nonsmoking rooms (not many ask at all).

What is ironic is the number of programs that address indoor air quality issues related to radon gas, glues, cleaning chemicals, etc., but never even mention smoking.

One leader of a fairly prominent certification program said he never even thought about asking the smoking question. Wow.

Even some of the most well-known green certification programs allow smoking in guestrooms, with no limits whatsoever on the number of rooms in which smoking can occur.

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Green Hotel Rising Across from Denver Convention Center
SANTA MONICA, CALIF.—Convention center hotels in Denver are set to gain new competition when a new 403-room Embassy Suites hotel opens directly across from the Denver Convention Center in December 2010. Windsor Management Services, the hotel management arm of Windsor Capital Group headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., has reached an agreement with developer, White/Peterman Properties, Inc. in Merrillville, Ind., to manage the new Denver hotel. The new Embassy Suites hotel development boasts 403 rooms and 17 function rooms, totaling 21,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, and features unique design elements.

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‘Green Guru’ Robert Marshall Relishes New Challenges
NOVATO, CALIF.—When the 70-room Inn Marin Hotel held its “Green Meetings: Making It Real” meeting last October, L. Hunter Lovins was the keynote speaker and 150 meeting planners from all over the state of California attended. The event generated a lot of public relations buzz and a group out of Denmark booked a meeting at the hotel as a result of the event. Anyone who knows Robert Marshall, general manager and part owner of the hotel, should not have been surprised at the meeting’s success. Marshall readily admits that his colleagues call him the “green guru.” There is good reason for that.

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How to Get Buy-in from Your Team When Going Green
So, you’ve made the decision to “go green” at work. But somehow, the green starting line feels like a lonely place. Sure, you’re committed and ready to move forward, but how will you get your team in the same mindset? It may have taken you some time to make the decision to be green, so don’t be alarmed if your staff is slow to start. Change is hard, even good change. But there are a few things you can do to encourage your team to jump onto the green bandwagon and start building enthusiasm for your eco-friendly paradigm. First, strive to learn all you can about the environmental effects of your operations.

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