Green Hospitality

‘Green Dining’ Best Practices Cut Environmental Impacts and Costs

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Restaurant Associates (RA) recently unveiled their Green Dining Best Practices, which is a comprehensive set of science-based recommendations for environmentally friendly foodservice. In a National Restaurant Association survey of trends for 2009, environmentally friendly equipment and sustainable practices topped chefs’ lists of hot trends and top cost-savers.

Green Jobs Spotlight: Sales and Membership Development – Green Restaurant Association, Boston, MA

Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is a 19-year-old international, non-profit organization with the mission of creating environmental sustainability in the restaurant industry. The position goal is to expand the number of companies working with the Green Restaurant Association. This position is responsible for communicating the business benefits of becoming a Certified Green Restaurant® to restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. He/she fields calls and emails from interested restaurants from around the world; and he/she outreaches to restaurants in all 50 states through phone, email, mail, association meetings, trade shows, etc. All efforts of sales and membership development have the goal of signing contracts with individual restaurants, chains, and restaurant groups. Once the contracts are signed, the restaurant becomes the responsibility of another GRA team member who helps them implement the environmental changes.

World’s First Green Hotels Directory Launched

The GreenHotels Directory, the first online reservation system designed for travelers seeking environmentally-friendly hotel accommodations, was launched last week by a partnership between Environment News Service and ARES Travel Network. Now, for the first time, business and vacation travelers are able to instantly locate and make online reservations at hotels offering responsible conservation features.

National Geographic and Changemakers Announce Geotourism Innovation Competition

National Geographic and Ashoka Changemakers have announced the second annual global Geotourism Challenge. This year’s theme is Power of Place — Sustaining the Future of Destinations. National Geographic is committed to protecting the world’s distinctive places. To further our mission, we welcome you to the second annual global Geotourism Challenge: Power of Place—Sustaining the Future of our Destinations, the second of three annual collaborative competitions. This collaborative competition is designed to identify and showcase innovators, both individuals and organizations, that directly or indirectly promote tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place — its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.