Ecocomptor - a Finnish initiative to help hotels communicate their sustainability initiatives. As an average hotel room in a midrange hotel produces between 5-20 kg of CO2 per room, there is a need to reduce emissions. Based on a French word 'to count' the idea is to save on operating costs, reduce the impact on climate change and manage consumption with reporting.

Marriott - winner of the sustainable restaurant association award. The Sustainable Restaurant Association works with restaurants across the UK to help with sustainability and help restaurants communicate initiatives to members. Initiatives include sustainable sourcing, waste reduction and rehabilitation efforts.

Expedia Green hotels - Expedia and STI has partnered up to allow Expedia to showcase sustainable/green hotels. The website now allows you to search using sustainable/green as a criteria and details of the hotels practices are listed.

Banyan Tree - with some outstanding sustainable tourism practices, Banyan Tree Group has now partnered with Earthcheck and EC3 global to commit to certification and monitoring. The hotel group has done numerous regeneration projects as well as using local materials and reducing consumption where possible. In 2009 they set up the Banyan Tree Global Foundation to enhance corporate governance.

Saunders Hotel Group - having won the WTTC community benefit award in 2012, this hotel group constructs with environmental principles in mind and also won the 2006 Conservation of the Year award. Sustainability initiatives include waterless urinals, ozone laundry systems and use of hybrid cars

Planet Traveler - located in downtown Toronto, this hostel broke the mold and is a fully restored historic building equipped with geothermal, photovoltaic electricity, solar panels and more.

TUI AG has launched their guideline for Environmental Sustainability in Hotels. The guide is a step by step guide for new builds as well as existing operating hotels.

Boutiquehotel Stadthalle Wien - a zero energy balance hotel, this hotel boasts 160 sq metres of solar panels, all fittings made of recyled or energy efficient materials as well as the use of local and organic food in its restaurants. They have a lavender roof, filter their drinking water and also offer a 10% discount off rates if you arrive by train or bicycle.

Solar Hotels - this website outlines hotels around the world that use solar energy

Youth Career Initiative (YCI) is a six-month education programme that provides disadvantaged young people with life and work skills. The purpose is to empower young participants to make informed career choices and realise the options available to them, enabling them to improve their employability and enhance their long-term social and economic opportunities. YCI is made possible thanks to a unique partnership with the international hotel industry, whereby participating properties provide the human, operational and training resources to deliver the programme.

The International Tourism Partnership (ITP) brings together the world’s leading international hotel companies to provide a voice for environmental and social responsibility in the industry. We work to demonstrate in a very practical way that environmental and social responsibility makes good business sense. ITP does this by highlighting best practice, offering a range of practical products and programmes and tackling emerging sustainability issues through its collaborative working groups. Green Hotelier is ITP’s online magazine, highlighting best practice and green hotel news.

Pacific Sands, Tofino, BC. One of the first resorts in Tofino, it was also one of the first to implement environmentally friendly design principles. The use of geothermal was integrated even though the cost was 30% higher. The pay back was 6-7 years. Geothermal provides instant hot water, air conditioning and heating. The building was built with wood destroyed by the pine beetle.

Sustainable seafood - Fairmont and other large brand hotels are starting to shift to elimate threatened fish species from their menus. Looking at initiatives such as the Sustainable Seafood charters, threatened species are listed per region.

Kimpton Hotels - as well as offering free cookies and wine to guests, Kimpton is making good strides for sustainability. They have a detailed enviro purchasing policy and standards and are moving towards local and sustainable foods as well. For example, 30 percent of wine lists will begin to feature eco-friendly selections, including organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines.

Banyan Tree. Recognized as a leader in sustainability initiatives, Banyan Tree resorts have incorporated multiple sustainability initiatives from turtle and coral conservation to supporting educational centres and hosting training programs. They have also previously won the World Legacy Award for nature conservation.Check out their latest CSR report. This hotel also recently won the WTTC Global Business Award

Marriott Hotels global headquarters and 30+ of its hotels are in design, development or under construction and expected to achieve LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Marriott and Green House Gas reduction
'Marriott International Inc. announced that it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 70,000 tons in one year—the equivalent of removing 10,000 cars from U.S. streets.

As the first hotel company to proactively join the prestigious U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Leaders Program, Marriott has set a five-year goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 6 percent per guestroom by 2010 and launched Marriott’s Retro-Commissioning (MRC) initiative last year to maximize energy in all U.S. hotels. As a result, Marriott reduced greenhouse gases in 2006 by 2 percent in each guestroom.

Today, the company has been awarded more Energy Star labels than any other hotel company and has been recognized as the Energy Star Partner of the Year for Excellence in Energy Management for the past two years. This story was taken from Green Lodging News. For more information please see http://www.greenlodgingnews.com/Content.aspx?id=746

Eco luxury hotels
Starwood Capital Group has just announced the launch of a luxury, eco-friendly hotel brand - '1' Hotel and Residences. The concept is to combine eco-sustainable architecture, interior design and luxury service and comfort.

Orchard Garden
The Orchard Garden in San Francisco has just earned its first LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) from the US Green Building Council. 'The Orchard Garden’s builder, Swinerton Inc., earned LEED points through the integration of low-emission interior materials and energyand water-efficient fixtures. Rooms are scrubbed with citrus-based cleaning products and recycled paper is used throughout the facility.

Hotel officials also boast that the building will be the city’s first to use a guest key card that controls the room’s electricity. After entering the room, guests must place the card in a wall slot to turn on lights and other systems. When the card is removed, electricity is cut off, except power supplied to wall outlets. The system, used widely throughout Europe and Asia, is expected to cut the hotel’s energy use by 20 percent. (Source:http://www.sijournal.com/greenbuilding/2699551.html)

Child Wise Tourism at Accor Hotels
Since 2000, in partnership with ECPAT, the hotel chain Accor has taken a stand agains exploitation of children . Using its global network, the group tageted sex tourism by distributing over 500,000 leaftels about issues of child prostitution. Accor has also signed ECPAT's Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. The code involves:

• establishing an ethicial policy regarding commerical exploitation of children
• training staff
• providing information to officials about abuse at various destinations
• and providing information to travellers.

To date, 2,857 of a total of 3,611 staff at Accors 18 hotels in Thailand have been trained. Working with ECPAT and Accor will help raise awareness on what needs to be done to solve this problem. Other Accor initiatives include developing and extending best practices from Accor Indonesia's Tree for a Child programme which aims at reducing poverty for underprivileged children and creating opportunities for them to grow in healthy an happy surroundings.
Accor is also training young people from high-risk environments in collaboration with UNICEF Youth Career Development Programme. For more information contact Accor hotels - email: caudrelier_alain@accor-hotels.com

Best Green Hotels
A collection of as many hotels, B&Bs, inns, lodges, and resorts that proclaim one way or another that they are "green". One challenge has been that lodging properties too often don't promote their environmental initiatives, making it hard for those of us with interest in staying in green hotels to find them. *This has not been verified officially by any organisation however, it is a good start none the less.

 

Porino Ecotourism Ltd. This safari compay works with local Masai communities to help protect and preserve lands. The campsites use only renewable energy and limits its number of guests.

World Primates Safaris
This operator gives a proportion of its profits back to help protect endangered primates. They also provide their clients with a details what to do list for responsible tourism as well as specific rules for visiting gorillas and other primates.

Responsibletravel.com
This website offers ecotours, adventure tours and other holidays to over 100 countries. The site pre-screens responsible/sustainable tourism initiatives and provides marketing and on-line direct click through bookings for their member companies. All holiday offerings on the site have met minimum environmental, social and economic criteria to qualify for membership. You can review each member's policies on-line. The team has a unique array of experience and truly believes in the cause. Some of their more impressive accomplishments include:
- donating £1 per person donation to Friends of conservation
- have a 6 page write up about responsible travel products offered on their site in Geographer Magazine (free publicity for their members)
- contributing 5% of pre-tax profits to local communities, enabling them to develop policies, skills and infrastructure that will lead to their benefiting from tourism
- promote community owned and managed projects at no charge
- are on the judging panel for the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. The site believes that responsible travel is travel that benefits travelers, hosts and their environments and their public relations has proven their effectiveness. For more information, please contact www.responsibletravel.com.

First Choice Holidays - Environment & People Report

One of the first large tour operators to take the initiative to produce a CSR report on their actions
for sustainable development. The report outlines their recent initiatives in headings such as:
- investing in our people
- operating responsibly
- serving our customers
- respecting destinations
The company was included in the FTSE4Good Index for the first time in 2005 and the company
was one of 10 most improved companies in the UK Business in the Environment Index in 2004.
Unfortunately, the report does not outline any specific or measurable results acheived in 2005.

Canadian Mountain Holidays recognized for their committment to sustainable tourism. The award, co-presented by the UNWTO and Microsoft, recognizes CMH’s efforts to promote understanding and awareness of sustainable tourism on-line. The CMH site features a dedicated Stewardship section, which allows readers to explore the award winning Second Nature program, view on-going sustainability reports, and to learn more about company-wide environmental and social initiatives.

“Our vision is to be the leading sustainable tourism operator in North America,” says Dave Butler, CMH’s Director of Land Resources. “Our Website is a great tool to openly communicate our goals, challenges and success, and to engage our partners and critics in a broader discussion about sustainability. But, more importantly, this award reflects the efforts and commitment of our staff who work hard to find innovative ways to improve our operations, share our stories and of course, deliver safe Heli-Skiing and Heli-Hiking experiences that constantly exceed expectations.”

Air Transat supporting sustainable tourism in Cuba. Transat A.T. Inc. is supporting four sustainable tourism projects, including one launched by World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) to improve protection of ecosystems in Cuba by promoting the adoption of a sustainable tourism policy.

wineries

Stratus - sustainable winery Stratus Vineyards was established in 2000 and became the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building in Canada (criteria set by Canada Green Building Council) and the only certified winery in the world.

Sustainable wine making initiative, New Zealand - guideance on the sustainable wine management in New Zealand. Established in the mid 1990's, in 2007, the organization set a policy

cruise ships

Sweatships - what is it really like to work on board cruise ships
Cruising is one of the fastest growing sectors of the world economy with the number of passengers on cruises growing by about 10% per year. Their per person cost is lowers than many onshore hotels or resortsand over 13 million people take cruises every year. The industry's largest cruise provider is Carnival Corporation which has annual revenues of over US$3 billion per year with profits of approximately US$1 billion.
Nearly 150,000 workers staff the ships, however, many face segregation, discrimination and sometimes appaling conditions. Incidents of sexual assault, low paid wages (as little as $45 per month for waiting tables) and violation of international standards (some from poor countries pay as much as US$1500-2000 just to get a job).
TO support cruise ship workers' rights be sure of the following:
- the cruise company recognises trade union organizations
- report injustices on board to your tour operator, your local newspaper, however, think carefully about the pressures the cruise worker may face (i.e. being put off the ship at the next port)
- ask about environmental and social policies
For more information about this report, check out the Global Workplace.com http://www.globalworkplace.org/

Cruise ships - socially responsible?
Royal Caribbean has committed to install advanced wastewater treatment equipment across its entire fleet. This is good practice compared to the issues of environmental pollution caused by cruise liners.
'Cruise ships are dumping vast amounts of raw sewage and other harmful wastes into some of the most pristine parts of our oceans every day' declares Oceana, an advocacy organization against cruise ship pollution.
Each day a cruise ship generates as much as:

• 30,000 gallons of sewage,
• 255,000 gallons of dirty water from shower, sinks, laundries and dishwashers, as well as hazardous chemicals from photo processing, dry cleaning and industrial cleaning products;
• 7,000 gallons of oily bilge water; and
• smokestack and exhaust emissions equivalent to 12,000 cars.

To read more about efforts being made to stop cruise ship pollution, click here

Trailpaq.ca - Sharing the trail community
Go for Green is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that encourages outdoor physical activity that protects, enhances or restores the environment. Go for Green provides community-driven solutions trying to make a positive contribution to Canadian society.

Within Go for Green's mandate, the Trailpaq project aims to encourage physically active and environmentally responsible trail use to Canadians and visitors to Canada, through the Trailpaq Website. It identifies stakeholders and creates a viable network which allows the Trailpaq Website to deliver services that few trail Websites can. Three key components make the Trailpaq Website unique within the on-line trails community, including the following:
1. Sustainable trail information. Partners in the trail community - Trail managers - are encouraged to enter and update objective trail information on the Trailpaq Website. The result is a fully searchable database of information displayed in a consistent format.
2. Encouraging environmentally responsible trail use. Partnership with Leave No Trace Inc. (www.lnt.org) established, allowing Leave No Trace messages to be positioned with every trail query. The LNT messages are consistent with reducing human impacts to all outdoor environments, fitting well with all trail opportunities.
3. Sustainable project. Go for Green and Compaq Canada Inc. (a Hewlett Packard Co.) agreed to a 10-year partnership beginning in 1999. Go for Green facilitates the project while Compaq Canada (HP) provides diminishing financial support. The goal is to have the project self-sustainable through tourism revenues before the tenth anniversary. One example incorporates Web-based mapping linking trails to community banner advertising on Trailpaq. This initiative is providing tourism delivery agents the ability to assist with local trail initiatives, while gaining national exposure.

An example of a project moving more towards sustainability, this project is a beneficial example for both locals and tourists. There are no fees charged for information posted from trail managers and the information provided is and it is free for all visitors. For more information please visit www.trailpaq.ca.

Travel Foundation - is a UK based charity set up by industry for industry which aims to respond to concerns of sustainable travel. They provide tools and assistance to travelers, travel agencies and business to become more sustainable. The organization provides hands on training and tools that range from greening your hotel (or tour operator or facility) to running a water and enery savings project.

Blue Ventures - a marine conservation group awarded for its efforts in socio-economic development and resource protection in Madagascar. Given numerous conservation, ecotourism and geotourism awards.

Friends are everywhere!
Interestingly NGO's have expanded past general conservation and social concern groups to specific regional organizations. While there are still organizations such as Friends of Conservation, Friends of the Earth and Friends of the Environment, initiatives such as Friends of Maldives (FOM) and Friends of the Otter are now becoming common and their scope ranges from raising awareness of tourism issues in countries and small states to restoring environmental habitats and animals and providing local tours.

Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative – a new industry standard for carbon measurement has been adopted by most ITP members and is a start to measuring and monitoring for GHG's.

Federation of Tour Operators - Travellife Sustainability Guidelines
A set of guidelines aimed to help suppliers understand and manage environmental and social issues.

Blue Flag
The Blue Flag program works to certify beaches and marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services. Currently the program operates in Europe, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand & the Caribbean.

AAA Tourism's STAR Ratings Turning Green
Now AAA gives out green stars as well! Green STARS was developed in partnership between Australia's Auto Clubs and GREEN GLOBE Asia Pacific under the guidance of the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre. The AAA has introduced an environmentally friendly endorsement called Green STARS which showcase accommodations which have embraced green practices.The star rating for accommodation will not change, however, energy efficient electrical appliances and fixtures such as compact fluorescent lamps, a waste recycling program and optional towel or linen replacement are just some of the services guests choosing a Green STARS property can expect. Criteria covered by Green STARS are divided into three key areas; energy efficiency, waste minimisation and water management.

Green Globe 21 is a program that provides the travel and tourism industry with a certification system that responds directly to the major environmental problems. For more information, click on http://www.greenglobe21.com

AiTO Responsible Tourism Star Classification
The three star award is the highest level of RT recognition offered by AITO. It means the company has successfully implemented and continually improves an RT policy. To gain three RT Stars, the company must also undertake a specific project which contributes to the economy, culture or environment of a destination.For AITO's responsible tourism policy, check out http://www.aito.co.uk/corporate_Responsible-Tourism.asp

Greentraveller.co.uk - a website dedicated to providing information on how to have a greener holiday including tips and destinations for travellers wishing to minimize their environmental footprint and contribute to the livelihoods of local communities. Greentraveller provides a route to market for eco places to stay and tour operators, and currently features over 600 places to stay and over 2,000 organised trips and tours, all reachable by train/foot passenger ferry services from the UK.

Step Up Travel - responsible travel and help to local initiatives
Step Up Travel is a website which was launched to promote ethical, fair-trade and responsible travel options to travellers. Mainly focusing on developing countries, this website offers a world map where travellers can find locally owned and run products and services. Local providers can post ads for free and the site even has a responsability agreement for providers and a feedback site for users. For more information, check out http://www.stepuptravel.org

Google Green Maps
Earth Day Network (EDN) partnered with Google for the launch of the new Google Maps Summer of Green, an environment-focused video and map guide to eco-tourism spots, including spas, hotels and restaurants. The presentation features the top U.S. travel city destinations (New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco). Google Maps Summer of Green enables users to discover green travel options by featuring guided virtual video tours of environmentally friendly destinations such as nature museums and horseback riding outposts.

International Network for the Sustainable Development of Coastal Tourism Destinations
Offered by the National Distance Education University (UNED) and the WTO, this site is a web-based mechanism aimed at facilitating the transfer of knowledge and the exchange of experiences generated by international, public and private sector organizations, especially local authorities and destination management organizations, in the sustainable development and management of coastal tourism.

American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) - has a fairly comprehensive list of greening initiatives for hotels as well as case study examples of impacts and savings

Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism
The Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST) is intended to advance the quality and success of Atlantic Canadian tourism operators through an array of training programs to be developed and offered at the Institute. The objective is to enhance the quality and sustainability of outdoor/nature-based experiences afforded throughout
Atlantic Canada, by providing developmental training programs
respecting: sustainable tourism practices, experiential tourism
services and eco-adventure tourism.

WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards
The World Travel and Tourism Council took over the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards from British Airways last year. There are four winners - one in each category:
- Destination Award - Jurassic Coast, UK
- Conservation Award - Damaraland Camp, Namibia
- Investor in People Award - Haciendas del Mundo Maya, Mexico
- Global Tourism Business Award - Casuarina Beach Club, Barbados
More information can be found here.

The Tourism-Site
The Tourism-Site network is a network for the exchange and the dissemination of information about sustainabletourism development. There is an Internet webpage with a virtual library and interesting information about various tourism issues. Starting two years ago, the network was officially lauched in October 2002. Tourism-Site is a Network open to members from all sectors from the Tourism Industry. Most of the Tourism Networks around Europe are specialised in one field, sustainable development in coastal Regions, etc.. Tourism-Site gives his members the opportunity to exchange different opinions and informations through the whole of the tourism industry. Tourism-Site is an example of a "European idea" put into practise. I think there is a lot potential.

Green Travel Market
'Although the need for tourism to be more sustainable is widely recognized, the travel trade has been slow to embrace sustainability. Sustainable products are available, but few international tour operators are promoting them. The objective of Green Travel Market is to help European and North American tour operators become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into the packages they offer, and reach relevant markets.' A nice idea but not yet quite established on-line although a few good examples of community initiatives. This site is mainly geared towards tour operators but the future expects to have a consumer site as well. For more info see www.greentravelmarket.info

 

Whistler Blackcomb
A ski resort with a mission to be zero waste, zero carbon and zero net emission. They implemented a Fitzsimmons Renewable Energy Project in 2010 and have a mountain remediation project called operation Green up that has invested more than $1.5 million to protect and conserve natural areas. They produce a CSR report and have detailed sustainability efforts posted on their website.