the Green Hotel Initiative

About the Green Hotel Initiative

According to the Travel Industry Association of America, US business travel expenditures totaled $185 billion in 2000, with $37 billion spent on accommodation alone. The Green Hotel Initiative (GHI) is a Ceres program designed to increase and demonstrate market demand for environmentally responsible hotel services. Despite the promotion of environmentally sound practices by environmental advocates, even within the industry, hotels currently feel little demand for these services.

The leaders behind the GHI – including representatives from business, the hotel industry, labor, academia, and environmental advocacy organizations – have identified the tremendous potential for the combined buying power of corporate and organizational purchasers of hotel services. The ongoing challenge for the GHI is to determine how to leverage that buying power to increase the supply of green hotel services – for both businesses (as institutional purchasers) and individual travelers.

In this respect, the GHI’s work is focused on:

• Educating purchasers of hotel services, particularly large buyers such as corporate meeting planners, about what they can ask from lodging providers,
• Creating vehicles for these purchasers to express their demand for these services, and
• Providing mechanisms for hotels to communicate their environmental performance.

Tools

Best Practice Survey, an easy-to-use list of criteria that helps a purchaser to assess a hotel’s environmental commitment and performance. Using the survey enables decision-makers to choose hotels that meet all business needs, including their own environmental preferences. This tool also helps make the hotel industry aware of business demand for "green" accommodations.

GHI Guest Request Card , a tool to help individual travelers request environmentally responsible services upon checking-in to a hotel, as well as the opportunity to provide feedback when checking-out. This tool also sends an important message to hotels that there is a customer demand for environmentally friendly services. To order cards for your organization please use the GHI Guest Request Card order form.

GHI Community, offers a free online list serve that enables participants to become part of a virtual community of green hotel advocates. In the past, the breadth of organizations and sectors that have contributed to the efforts of the GHI community have included Swissôtel, Saunders Hotel Group, Meeting Strategies Worldwide, Fairmont Hotel and Resorts, Eco-Logical Solutions, Green Seal, Inc., Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Nike, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, PA Consulting Group, Meeting Strategies World Wide, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Co-op America, Ocean’s Blue Foundation, and Conservation International.

Current State of GHI

The GHI is an important industry program within the Ceres network. We work with hotels and the GHI network and also respond to requests for our Best Practice Survey and Guest Request Cards – tools that continue to advance our work.

Huge Icebergs drifting towards NZ

A huge mass of icebergs continues to drift from Antarctica towards New

Zealand, according to a NZ Herald report. At least 20 icebergs have been spotted off the east and west coasts of Macquarie Island, ranging in

size from 50m to an estimated 2km long. Glaciologist Neil Young was reported saying that they could reach the country’s South Island.

Chinese scientists set to study Mekong River

Sixteen Chinese scientists will start a 20-day exploratory mission of the Mekong River this week, aiming to learn about the state

of the river’s current ecosystem, how it evolved, and the extent of its environmental impacts. According to a Xinhua report the

team includes experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources

Research, the Institute of Hydrobiology, and Kunming Institute of Botany. The team’s tour will start from Xishuangbanna in

Yunnan province and gradually move downstream.

East Antarctica is losing ice

The East Antarctic ice sheet has been losing mass for the last three years, according to an analysis of satellite data. The BBC reported that scientists have been surprised by the findings, as the giant East Antarctic sheet, unlike the west, has been relatively stable until now. The satellite has previously shown that the smaller West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are losing mass. The complete melting of the East Antarctic sheet would raise sea levels by over 50 meters.

Tourism through the Buddhist “Trail of Civilisation”.

Minister of Tourism Milinda Moragoda took part in the third annual meeting in connection with the Borobudur Declaration, on the invitation of the Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jero Wacik. The signatories of the Declaration: Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam agreed in 2006 to cooperate on a 5-year plan of action to preserve and promote, through sustainable cultural tourism, a Trail of Civilization, which links prominent Buddhist heritage sites located in these six ASEAN countries. Left: Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda looks on as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife leave the stage at the end of the cultural performance of The Trail of Civilisation at the Vesak celebrations held at Borobudur, Indonesia. Left: Tourism Minister Milinda Moragoda looks on as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife leave the stage at the end of the cultural performance of The Trail of Civilisation at the Vesak celebrations held at Borobudur, Indonesia. Sri Lanka, although not a signatory to the Declaration, was invited to participate at this event both at a ministerial and technical level. Vidya Jyothi Ashley De Vos, accomplished architect, archeologist and preservationist, assisted Minister Moragoda at the sessions. Through this process, Sri Lanka will seek to link up its prominent Buddhist heritage sites to the Trail of Civilisation initiative and thereby become a bridge between South and East Asia in the promotion of Buddhist cultural tourism and pilgrimages.

green ship

The Costa Luminosa is the first ship in Italy and one of the first in the world to be equipped for "cold ironing", whereby vessels are plugged into shoreside electrical power. The ship conducts 100% waste separation, recycling of aluminum, glass and other waste streams such as production of water from desalination plants.

The Costa Luminosa is also cutting-edge ship in terms of environmental compliance, which has always been one of Costa Cruises’ distinguishing features. The Italian Company stands out on account of its environmental excellence and innovation. The Costa Luminosa is in fact the first ship in Italy and one of the first in the world to be equipped for "cold ironing", namely a system whereby vessels are plugged into shoreside electrical power, enabling generators to be shut down during stopovers in port. This is a way of further reducing the environmental impact of ships when they call at ports.

Like the other 12 members of the Costa fleet, the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica are among the most advanced ships in the world in terms of environmental design, management, compliance and energy saving. Costa Cruises is in fact the only cruise company in Italy that has an Environmental Management System developed in accordance with the requirements of UNI EN ISO 14001/2004. Costa’s is the only cruise fleet flying the Italian flag, and therefore the only line whose cruise ships are subject to often more restrictive environmental, safety and social accountability regulations. In any event, Costa Cruises not only operates in accordance with the prevailing laws but also, where possible, seeks to preempt the legislation, setting itself higher standards and more ambitious objectives by means of internal procedures that go beyond the scope of mandatory requirements laid down by (local, national and international) regulations.

The commitment to safeguarding the environment and to corporate social responsibility in general is reflected in particular in Costa Cruises’ Sustainability Report (consultable online at www.costa.it/azienda/costaelaresponsabilitàsociale), a purely voluntary form of reporting designed to provide comprehensive and transparent information on the effects of corporate activity on the environment and the community. The Sustainability Report has its roots in the application of the "B.E.S.T. 4" (Business Excellence Sustainable Task), an integrated management system that encompasses four types of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards in the areas of quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, issued in 2000), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 2007) and social accountability (SA 8000, 2008), guaranteeing the measurement of company performance and continuous improvement. Costa obtained the B.E.S.T. 4 from RINA (the Italian Shipping Register) in 2004, thus becoming the first company in the world to do so.

The following are key components of Costa Cruises’ environmental excellence:

• the Green Star notation assigned by RINA;
• 100% waste separation of shipboard solid waste;
• no solid waste is discharged overboard (food waste is processed separately);
• no special waste is ever discharged overboard;
• approximately 400 m3 of aluminum and 2100 m3 of glass from Costa’s ships were sent for recycling in 2007;
• most of the water used on the ships in the Costa fleet is produced directly on board using desalination plants;
• discharge at sea of sewage and gray water only at a distance greater than 12 miles from the nearest land, instead of the 4-mile limit stipulated in the international regulations;
• double bilge (oily water) separator;
• fail-safe "white box" system enabling a further check of the oil content of effluent water;
• sampling and analysis of engine and diesel generator emissions;
• sampling and analysis of incinerator emissions;
• monitoring of electromagnetic emission levels (Guest and crew areas);
• adoption across the fleet of the Ballast Water Management Plan (compulsory only in the US and Brazil);
• regular audits carried out by independent organizations;

In addition, numerous energy- and fuel-saving measures have been introduced or are being piloted on board:

• use of ecological silicone-based coatings for the ship’s hull. These antifouling coatings enhance hydrodynamic performance and reduce the growth of microorganisms on the hull surface without any toxic effects;
• an awareness campaign aimed at Guests and crew and designed to rationalize the consumption of electricity and water on board;
• use of low power consumption LED light bulbs;
• enlargement of reverse osmosis desalination plants to produce potable water on board;
• installation of an automatic lighting control system designed to adjust the ship’s external lighting in accordance with the current sunlight intensity;
• economizer enabling the recycling of hot water produced by the engines for heating in the cabins and public areas;
• optimization of the air conditioning system in the public areas: the airflow adjusts automatically in accordance with the presence of people in the room and the outside temperature.

Costa Cruises believes in and actively promotes responsible tourism: its shoreside excursions are also organized in accordance with this priority. Costa offers various eco-tourism excursions, comprising visits to parks, oases and nature reserves, with programs that minimize the impact on the ecosystem and create economic opportunities for the local communities.

Costa Cruises’ environmental commitment goes beyond its ships. Waste separation is carried out in all the Company’s Italian offices as well as in the Savona Palacrociere, the cruise terminal managed by Costa. Meanwhile, April 17, 2008 marked the official commencement of the innovative "Palazzo Costa" project, an architectural plan to extend and redevelop the Company’s headquarters in Genoa. The new offices will be a perfect blend of creativity, innovation and respect for the environment, with certain features that will be at the cutting edge of Italian architecture. For example it will be one of the country’s first buildings with "zero C02 emissions on site".

Environmental awards and recognition

Throughout its sixty-year history the Company has always paid a great deal of attention to economic, cultural, social and environmental issues, constantly striving in pursuit of the right balance between development and conservation. This is borne out by the many achievements and widespread recognition it has attained in the environmental field.

In 2005 Costa Cruises became the first company in the world to receive the "Green Star" across the fleet from RINA; this prestigious notation certifies that all Costa’s vessels comply with environmental standards for the prevention of pollution of the marine environment and it is actually stricter than the prevailing provisions of the international MARPOL Convention.

Further confirmation comes in the form of the partnership established in 2005 with WWF Italia, which Costa Cruises is supporting in the efforts to safeguard the marine environment. Starting in 2009, this partnership has been devoted to a project protecting the Mediterranean Sea.

In 2007 Costa Cruises endorsed the very first version of the voluntary "Venice Blue Flag" agreement designed to safeguard the environment and heritage of Venice. The initiative, which is promulgated by the local Municipality, Harbor Master’s Office and Port Authority, is designed to reduce air emissions. Under the terms of this major environmental undertaking, Costa Cruises, along with the other signatories to the agreement, adopts standards for all its ships calling in Venice that are actually stricter than the environmental compliance provisions currently in force.

For three editions in a row since 2005, the Swiss branch of the tour operator Kuoni has bestowed on Costa Cruises the Green Planet Award, which is the highest seal of eco-approval in the travel and tourism sector, for the exemplary ecological management and performance of its ships, aimed at minimizing their environmental impact.

Confirming its role as a major player in the field of environmental compliance, in 2007 Costa also entered an agreement with CIAL – the National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Aluminum -for the separate disposal and recycling of aluminum packaging on board its liners, a first for Italian shipping.

Elsewhere, in 2005 Costa launched a project of collaboration with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission for monitoring climate change in the Mediterranean.

Last but not least, on April 22 2008 Costa Cruises participated in "International Earth Day", through the promotion SEED (Steiner Evergreen Earth Drive) launched by Steiner Leisure, Costa’s partner in the management of its shipboard spas. For every Guest who experienced a treatment that day at one of the wellness centers on board the 12 Costa liners, Steiner Leisure planted a tree (donation of $1) in support of the "Arbor Day Foundation", which is the world’s largest tree-planting organization.

Global warming facts: How does deforestation speed up climate change?

With the House recently passing an energy bill that places large emphasis on forest carbon offsets, it is time for everyday citizens to learn facts about global warming. A new report by Rare Conservation outlines how the developing tropic zones and global deforestation are crucial to mitigating climate change.

Yupukari Wildlife Club Project Wins ECOCLUB.com 2009 Ecotourism Award

From Wild to Web, an ecotourism-based wildlife monitoring project in Guyana’s Yupukari village was announced as a winner of the ECOCLUB.com 2009 Ecotourism Awards. The sixth annual eco-project competition, with a theme of “Their Crisis, Our Communities – Progressive Change through Social Ecotourism,” asked for “innovative projects that meet urgent needs, help create ‘another world’ at the grass roots level and improve life for all in their communities.”

Yupukari Wildlife Club Project Wins ECOCLUB.com 2009 Ecotourism Award

From Wild to Web, an ecotourism-based wildlife monitoring project in Guyana’s Yupukari village was announced as a winner of the ECOCLUB.com 2009 Ecotourism Awards. The sixth annual eco-project competition, with a theme of “Their Crisis, Our Communities – Progressive Change through Social Ecotourism,” asked for “innovative projects that meet urgent needs, help create ‘another world’ at the grass roots level and improve life for all in their communities.”

Suntech plans China solar power project

Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd has reached agreements to develop four solar power plants in

China, Reuters reported. Deals were signed with the governments of Shaanxi and Qinghai provinces as well

as the Shizuishan and Panzhihua city authorities. The Shaanxi development will generate 300 megawatts,

while the remaining three projects will be 500MW each.