OTTAWA, ON.—Green Key Global is celebrating two major milestones for its flagship offering, the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. This spring Green Key Global celebrates the Green Key Program’s 15th anniversary as well as having reached the 3,000-member mark.
“This is a significant achievement for the Green Key program but more notably for the entire lodging industry,” said Tony Pollard, managing director of Green Key Global. “This is tangible proof that the lodging industry has successfully assumed a leading role in demonstrating sustainable and environmentally conscious business practices.”
Developed by the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC), the initial concept for the Green Key Program was introduced to the Canadian lodging industry as a result of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The program grew steadily while gaining recognition from major Canadian hotel companies, eventually celebrating 1,000 members in 2008.
HAC, LRA Worldwide Partner
Throughout 2007 and 2008 Green Key began to welcome its first U.S. properties into the membership and as a result, the program underwent a review to ensure its applicability to a more international audience. In order to meet the needs of the growing U.S. membership, HAC partnered with LRA Worldwide in 2009 to deliver the program in the United States, thus creating Green Key Global.
Green Key Global is now a leading environmental certification body offering programs designed to evaluate and certify lodging facilities on the extent of their sustainable initiatives. The Green Key Eco-Rating Program encompasses the five main areas of a lodging facility and includes a Carbon Calculator that allows users to benchmark their progress year over year. The Green Key Meetings Program assesses six core areas of a hotel’s meeting facilities. Both programs provide members with a variety of supplemental resources including a detailed performance report and marketing materials.
“As we approach Earth Day, we are extremely proud to see the positive impact our program has made in over 20 countries worldwide” Pollard says.
Go to Green Key Global.
