RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO—Wyndham Grand Rio Mar, Wyndham Palmas, the Friends of El Yunque Foundation, and the United States Forest Service announced the signing of an industry-leading donation agreement that will provide a simple way for tourists to directly support El Yunque National Rainforest in the promotion of its educational programs, conservation, and recreation. Under this agreement, guests of Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Rainforest, Beach and Golf Resort and Wyndham Palmas Beach and Golf Resort will have the opportunity to voluntarily donate $1 to the Friends of El Yunque Foundation when they book their stay. Friends of El Yunque is a nonprofit organization in...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands has contributed $500,000 through Sands Cares to The WASH Foundation, an evolution of the Clean the World Foundation, bringing the company’s total contributions to the nonprofit organization to more than $5.6 million since kicking off the partnership. The 2024 Sands Cares investment supports three priority areas: the annual Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build, which will mark more than 1 million kits built by Sands Team Members since 2014; the Drop By Drop Project, a program Sands established with The WASH Foundation to address water stewardship initiatives in the company’s regions; and capacity-building funding to help The WASH Foundation expand...

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS—Booking.com has released new research, with insights gathered from more than 31,000 travelers across 34 countries and territories, exploring the latest consumer attitudes, priorities and influences related to sustainable travel. While the annual research reveals a continued sense of desire and awareness, with 83 percent of travelers confirming that sustainable travel is important to them, new insights show a sense of weariness could be emerging globally, fueled by the ongoing challenges that travelers experience to make more sustainable travel choices. The recent study shows that almost half (45 percent) feel traveling more sustainably is important, but not a primary consideration...

LONDON—Deloitte’s annual “Global Human Capital Trends” report has its finger on the pulse of the most pressing issues for organizations, leaders and workers. The 2024 report, “Thriving Beyond Boundaries: Human Performance in a Boundaryless World,” identifies seven trends that showcase how a combination of business and human outcomes plays a role in organizational success. This year’s analysis reveals that organizations making meaningful progress on these key issues are nearly twice as likely to achieve desired business and human outcomes. Prioritizing human sustainability—the degree to which an organization creates value for people as human beings, leaving them with greater well-being, employability,...

AMELIA ISLAND, FLA.—As the world celebrates Earth Day, Audubon International—the environmentally focused nonprofit organization offering members numerous certifications and conservation initiatives to protect the areas where we all live, work, and play—reports that interest in its respected, vetted, third-party certification programs is growing beyond its core golf course constituency into the hotel/hospitality sectors, which in turn leads to entire destinations working together to gain Sustainable Communities certification. Nowhere is this trend more visible than on Amelia Island in the northeast corner of Florida, which has coupled its deep history of community stewardship with ongoing efforts to partner with Audubon International on...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, Inc. has verified its near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi is a global climate action organization that develops tools that allow businesses to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets in line with data-driven methodology. Marriott is the largest global hospitality company to receive approval for both near-term and long-term science-based targets. The company has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 46.2 percent by 2030 from a 2019 base year. Marriott also commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel and energy-related...

CHICAGO—Hyatt celebrates its global RiseHY program, designed to connect young people with long-term careers in hospitality. Since the program’s introduction in 2018, more than 5,700 Opportunity Youth* have joined Hyatt or a Hyatt hotel. This marks a pivotal step toward Hyatt’s global commitment to have Hyatt and Hyatt hotels hire 10,000 Opportunity Youth by 2025. With more than 23 percent of the world’s young people unemployed, according to the International Labour Organization, investing in underserved communities continues to increase in importance. Despite navigating unprecedented industry-wide job market challenges resulting from the global pandemic, Hyatt remains focused on its commitment to supporting Opportunity Youth...

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.—The Illinois State Senate has passed a bill (SB 2960) that would ban hotels from stocking miniature bottles of lotion, shampoo, and other toiletries. The Small Single-Use Plastic Bottle Act, yet to be passed by the Illinois State House, provides that, beginning July 1, 2025, hotels with 50 rooms or more and, beginning January 1, 2026, hotels with less than 50 rooms may not provide small single-use plastic bottles containing personal care products to either (i) a customer of the establishment who is staying in a sleeping room accommodation or any space within the sleeping room accommodation or...

BEND, ORE.—MindClick, the hospitality industry’s data and analytics solution for environmentally and socially responsible design and purchasing, is expanding its reach with its Hospitality Sustainable Design Collaborative. Created with support from Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Highgate Hotels, along with trusted suppliers, the Collaborative is a free program intended for interior designers, specifiers, and purchasing decision-makers. The Collaborative includes an online educational series, an accreditation program, and awards and recognition program. The first program in the online educational series, “Climate Change & Carbon Emissions, How Design Choices Can Make a Local and Global Impact,” was held on April 9 and had 234...

PETE BEACH, FLA.—TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach, Fla., is partnering with Tampa Bay area nonprofit groups to host an Earth Day event and enhance their ecotourism offerings, which include wildlife encounters and turtle displays. Hosted by TradeWinds Island Resorts and Tampa Bay Watch, the family-friendly Earth Day event will take place Sunday, April 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, on the beach at TradeWinds Island Grand (5500 Gulf Boulevard). The event is free and open to the public and will feature a Vertical Oyster Garden (VOG) building seminar and Beach Clean Up. Complimentary parking will be provided for attendees. During the Earth...