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EPA, green sports alliance partner to protect people’s health and the environment

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed an agreement with the Green Sports Alliance to work together to address environmental challenges faced by sports venues, organizations and teams. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe joined Green Sports Alliance Executive Director Martin Tull today to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Second Annual Green Sports Alliance Summit in Seattle, Washington. The agreement will facilitate collaboration between the two organizations on issues such as waste management, water and energy conservation and sustainability for teams and at stadiums and sporting venues.

EPA has also agreed to share tools like the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, an energy management tool that allows building owners to track and assess energy and water consumption, to help Alliance members to improve their environmental performance.
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Cornell Center for Hospitality Research Studies Focus on Hospitality Employee Turnover and Hotel

Source: CENTER FOR HOSPITALITY RESEARCH, Cornell University

Hospitality managers have long suspected that there’s a connection between the industry’s high turnover and employee attitudes. A new report from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research focuses on how that connection works. The report has found that co-workers’ attitudes over time play a large role in whether a person leaves or not. The study, “The Contagion Effect: Understanding the Impact of Changes in Individual and Work Unit Satisfaction on Hospitality Industry Turnover,” by Timothy Hinkin, Brooks Holtom, and Dong Liu, explains the results of a two-year longitudinal study examining the effects on employee turnover resulting from the change in individual and unit levels of satisfaction. The report is available at no charge from the CHR…see more / download report.

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno Earns Prestigious AAA Four Diamond Rating

Source: VisitRenoTahoe.com

Less than 5% of AAA/CAA properties receive the AAA Four Diamond rating

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa joins Peppermill Resort Spa Casino and Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino as an AAA Four Diamond rated resort.

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa has been awarded with the prestigious AAA Four Diamond rating from the American Automobile Association. The AAA Diamond rating process is North America’s premier hospitality rating program. Only 4.8 percent of the nearly 31,000 AAA/CAA approved and Diamond rated lodging properties receive the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award. Over 53 million AAA members rely on the rating to assist with their travel decisions.

“We are honored to receive the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award,” said John Farahi, Chief Executive Officer of Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. “It is a well-deserved tribute to each Atlantis team member’s efforts to consistently exceed our guests’ expectations. We take great pleasure in offering our guests a standard of excellence unmatched in northern Nevada, and are committed to continually improve our product and services.”

Atlantis features Reno’s only Concierge Tower with VIP check-in, butler service, and access to the exclusive 25th floor Concierge Lounge. Repeat winner of SpaFinder’s Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Hotel Casino Spa, Spa Atlantis is a 30,000 sq. ft. haven of tranquility. From its unparalleled amenities to its casino-wide action, there’s always something exciting at Atlantis. Reno’s newest resort rooms are equipped with seamless in-room technology, complimentary high-speed wired and wireless Internet, custom furnishings and Sealy® pillow-top mattresses. Repeat winner of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence and voted Reno’s Best of by locals, Atlantis is known for its award-winning dining. With eight exceptional restaurants, 10 captivating bars and lounges, the world-class Spa Atlantis, and state-of-the-art Cardio Theater & Fitness Center, Atlantis offers something for everyone.

Atlantis has earned top recognition as an award-winning conference and convention facility and is the only resort connected by way of a glass-enclosed Sky Bridge to the 500,000 sq ft. Reno-Sparks Convention Center. With the completion of its $100 million expansion, Atlantis is the perfect location to book the ultimate resort experience with the finest service for business, meeting and convention travel.

Read the AAA Diamond Rating Guidelines

Analysis: Hotels Must Use Targeted Marketing to Attract Green Consumers

Source: Environmental Leader.com>/a>

Hotels trying to attract green consumers should use targeted marketing that draws on both functional and emotional green images, according to research from the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

The analysis Profiling the Potential ‘Green’ Hotel Guest: Who Are They and What Do They Want?, which was presented in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, found identifying green customers can be challenging for hotels. UNH surveyed 563 US hotel patrons who were randomly selected by a national recognized marketing research firm for the analysis.

While industry research has shown a significant percentage of hotel guests prefer to stay in a hotel that cares about the environment, guests are not always that predictable, said Nelson Barber, associate professor of hospitality management at UNH and author of the analysis.

He noted that a study by a major national hotel operation found the opposite and 75 percent of their guest respondents said they wouldn’t give up daily hotel room service activities. That study also found guests pay less attention to the environment while traveling because they’re not directly responsible for the costs of cleaning and utilities.

Barber found in his analysis that green consumers tend to be more concerned for others and have a higher desire to work for the good of society than non-green consumers. Green consumers also place a higher value on the restraint of actions that could upset or harm others and violate social norms; and they’re less likely purchase self-serving products such as those associated with achievement or success, according to the analysis.

As a result of the findings, Barber suggests hotels develop a green placement strategy targeted at green consumers that draws on both functional and emotional images. For example, green consumers look for tangible, functional images such as a recycling program or a LEED certification. They’ll also look for actions that illustrate a hotel’s commitment to the environment, such as a menu that offer food supplied by local farmers.

A growing number of hotel chains have launched environmental initiatives. In May, Hilton Worldwide and sustainability consultants BSR kicked off a three-year initiative to help procurement professionals make more informed purchasing decisions based on the best available sustainability data and information.

Toward More Sustainable Meetings

Source: Environmental Expert.com

Greener Meetings with New ASTM Standards

A collection of standards developed by Subcommittee E60.02 on Hospitality guides planners and suppliers on how to arrange more sustainable meetings.

It’s a meeting at an inn in Vermont designated as a “Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State” that, among other benchmarks, composts leaf and yard waste. It’s a corporate event by a firm that checks for needed products in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing database. It’s a meeting arranged by a planner who considers a destination’s public transportation system and a venue’s recycling program. A green meeting may be any one of these things, and more.

Increasingly, greener — or more sustainable — meetings are occurring across the landscape. Today, more sustainable meetings, encouraged by EPA guidance on the topic and also available with the help of professional planners, mean more than what’s green. Sustainable meetings, in addition to the environment, consider social factors; they also make good business sense.

And now, through the work of ASTM International Committee E60 on Sustainability and its Subcommittee E60.02 on Hospitality, and the broad industry representation on the group, eight recently released standards, with one more coming soon, can assist planners and suppliers in producing more environmentally friendly meetings.

The Benefits of Meeting
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Greener Meetings with New ASTM Standards

Source: Environmental Expert.com

A collection of standards developed by Subcommittee E60.02 on Hospitality guides planners and suppliers on how to arrange more sustainable meetings.

It’s a meeting at an inn in Vermont designated as a “Green Hotel in the Green Mountain State” that, among other benchmarks, composts leaf and yard waste. It’s a corporate event by a firm that checks for needed products in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing database. It’s a meeting arranged by a planner who considers a destination’s public transportation system and a venue’s recycling program. A green meeting may be any one of these things, and more.

Increasingly, greener — or more sustainable — meetings are occurring across the landscape. Today, more sustainable meetings, encouraged by EPA guidance on the topic and also available with the help of professional planners, mean more than what’s green. Sustainable meetings, in addition to the environment, consider social factors; they also make good business sense.

And now, through the work of ASTM International Committee E60 on Sustainability and its Subcommittee E60.02 on Hospitality, and the broad industry representation on the group, eight recently released standards, with one more coming soon, can assist planners and suppliers in producing more environmentally friendly meetings.

The Benefits of Meeting

“We as human beings have a need to meet,” says Amy Spatrisano, principal of MeetGreen®, Portland, Ore., and an ASTM International member who served as a catalyst to begin the work on the new sustainable meetings standards; she also chaired the Convention Industry Council task force for its 2004 Green Meetings Report.
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Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt Among 23 Hotels Launching Carbon Measurement Standard

Source: Environmental Leader
Fairmont, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental and 19 other international hotel companies have agreed on a standard to calculate the carbon footprint of hotel stays and meetings.

The International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) formed the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative Working Group in early 2011 to create a unified methodology of measuring and reporting carbon emissions.

Current approaches vary widely, according to the working group. This can lead to confusion among consumers, particularly corporate clients, looking to understand their own carbon footprint and meet their own targets in this area. In addition, the number of methodologies and tools in use make transparency of reporting within the hotel industry difficult to achieve.

The methodology, named HCMI 1.0, was first developed in 2011 and is informed by the GHG Protocol Standards. Diverse properties around the world, from boutique hotels to resorts, casinos and major conference hotels, tested HCMI 1.0 over the past year, and received input from consultants KPMG before launching the standards. The World Resources Institute also reviewed the methodology.

Hotels in the working group include: Accor, Beijing Tourism Group, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Diamond Resorts International, Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels, Jumeirah Group, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Marriott International Inc, Meliá Hotels International, MGM Resorts International, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd, Pan Pacific Hotel Group, Premier Inn – Whitbread Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, The Red Carnation Hotel Collection, TUI AG and Wyndham Worldwide.

The working group says it will fine-tune HCMI 1.0 over the next year, and encourage wide industry buy-in and use over the next two years.

Last month, Accor, the European hotel group that owns the Sofitel and Adagio brands, launched an interactive tool designed to help seminar organizers determine the carbon footprint of an upcoming event.

U.S. EPA Launches First Waste to Biogas Mapping Tool; Promotes Using Organic Waste for Generating Energy

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest Region has launched an online “waste to biogas mapping tool” to support the use of organic waste for energy projects.

“This innovative mapping tool, the first of its kind in the nation, helps restaurants, hotels and other food waste generators to connect with large energy producers,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Harvesting this energy prevents waste from ending up in landfills or clogging sewer lines.”

The tool is an interactive map created to link food and other biodegradable waste sources with facilities such as wastewater treatment plants that can enhance energy production with their existing infrastructure. Wastewater treatment plants and some dairies manage waste with anaerobic digesters, which produce methane-rich biogas as a natural byproduct.

By adding food scraps or fats, oils, and grease to an anaerobic digester, facilities can increase biogas production to make money while providing a renewable energy source, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These business and environmental opportunities may present a largely unrealized potential.

The tool is designed for decision-makers with technical expertise in the fields of waste management, wastewater treatment, and renewable energy. This includes businesses, state and local governments, and non-profits. The tool allows users to determine the types of facilities in their area, where clusters are located, and the distance between a waste producer and an anaerobic digester. The tool also functions in reverse – allowing generators of organic waste to find partner facilities that will accept it.

Features include:

* Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) hauler information for California, Arizona and Nevada
* California landfill information
* On-site energy generation for California dairies with digesters (in kilowatt hours per year)
* Energy estimates for wastewater treatment facilities, with and without co-digesting FOG (in kilowatt hours per year for California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii).
* A “correct record” option that allows facilities to change information presented on the map.

A study performed by the Northern California Power Agency in 2008 determined that agricultural, wastewater, and food processing wastes could be digested to obtain 453 megawatts of energy – enough to run a utility-scale power plant while also preventing 3.7 million dry tons of organic material from ending up in a landfill. This use of biogas to displace natural gas would have a climate change abatement potential equal to taking approximately 160,000 cars off the road.

A prime example is in Millbrae, Calif. Grease is collected by a licensed material hauler, transported to the wastewater treatment facility in 3,000 to 5,000 gallon tanker trucks, and added to a FOG-condition system, where it is converted into biogas used to meet 80 percent of the facility’s needs. Millbrae has increased biogas production by nearly 100 percent, reducing their utility energy bill by 75 to 80 percent, preventing some 589 tons of green house gas from being emitted into the atmosphere annually, and reducing annual dewatered bio-solids hauling by 35 percent.

Wastewater treatment plants in the region’s four Pacific Southwest states are co-digesting more than FOG. Organic materials – including food waste, yard trimmings, soiled paper, and green waste – comprise two-thirds of the solid waste stream. According to the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), food waste has up to three times as much energy production potential as biosolids. An EBMUD demonstration project indicated that 100 tons of food waste digested per day produces enough energy to power up to 1,400 homes.

Financial assistance provided by federal, state, and private sources can make on-site generation affordable and practical. The federal government provides grants, loans, and rebates. State agencies also provide grants, loans, rebates, renewable credits, and stand-by rates for energy generation. Local utility districts provide private sources of funding as do private third-party leasing arrangements and pooled bond financing.

The mapping tool is found at: http://www.epa.gov/region9/biogas.

More information about co-digestion and funding sources is found at: http://www.epa.gov/region09/waterinfrastructure/funding.html

Caesars Entertainment Sponsors Dartmouth Students On Big Green Bus Cross-Country Sustainability Tour

Seven Caesars regions and 17 properties will contribute fuel made from waste vegetable oil

LAS VEGAS, June 7, 2012 /Environmental Expert/ — For the second consecutive year, Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) is sponsoring Dartmouth College’s Big Green Bus tour across America. The converted Greyhound bus, operated by students, will run on recycled waste vegetable oil (WVO) as it travels the country educating individuals on best sustainability practices.

The 11-week, 12,000-mile journey will take the 13 students across 24 states and will make refueling stops at Caesars resorts including Harrah’s Cherokee Casino (June 26), Harrah’s Tunica Casino (July 1), Harrah’s New Orleans Casino (July 3), Harrah’s Phoenix Ak-Chin Casino (July 14), Flamingo Las Vegas (July 19), Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Casino (July 24), Harrah’s North Kansas City Casino (August 30) and Thistledown Racetrack (September 3).

In 2011, Caesars Entertainment recycled 320,000 gallons of restaurant oil at its resorts and casinos nationwide with 144,000 gallons coming directly from restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant vegetable oil is recycled and reused at the resorts, or is removed and repurposed for use in biodiesel and other products. By providing WVO to the Big Green Bus, the company is helping reduce the vehicle’s carbon emissions during its journey across America.

‘Having Caesars Entertainment as a sponsor has given us great insight to its compelling sustainability practices,’ said Remington S. Franklin, Big Green Bus Communications Liaison. ‘We are on the bus to learn and spread what we learn and are very fortunate to have support from sustainability leaders like Caesars Entertainment.’

Caesars Entertainment’s Big Green Bus gold national sponsorship will enable this ‘classroom on wheels’ to increase awareness about the importance of sustainable practices and incorporating conservation at home.

The bus will provide educational opportunities at each stop through stations including a tour of the bus, an interactive map telling stories of sustainability across the country, a demonstration of how individuals can build and shop for environmentally friendly products, a discussion about the energy cost of food, personal waste reduction and a stationary bicycle that powers a generator to light multiple energy efficient bulbs.

‘This year, we are proud to increase our support of The Big Green Bus and its mission to educate communities around the country on climate change and environmental responsibility,’ said Gwen Migita, Vice President of Sustainability & Community Affairs for Caesars Entertainment. ‘Caesars is committed to support the classroom on wheels while engaging thousands of employees and the community in seven regions around the country.’

CodeGreen seeks to make both positive environmental and social impacts while reducing water, energy and waste consumption at each of its more than 50 properties worldwide. By enabling efforts through thousands of employees, Caesars is increasing sustainability education with the Big Green Bus and serving as a catalyst for environmental change. Supporting the Big Green Bus is just one of hundreds of responsible green practice programs Caesars assists with at its resorts and in the communities it serves.

For additional information about the 2012 Big Green Bus tour, its crew and sponsors visit www.thebiggreenbus.org.

For additional information about Caesars Entertainment’s sustainability efforts visit http://www.caesars.com/corporate/environment-sustainability.html.

About Caesars Entertainment Corporation Sustainability
Caesars Entertainment Corporation’s resorts are committed to environmental sustainability – investing at a corporate level more than $62 million on conservation projects that have reduced energy usage by more than 170 million kilowatt hours (kWh) and carbon emissions by 110,000 metric tons each year. One such investment is the use of solar and steam co-generation facilities at the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Showboat Atlantic City that capture waste heat and steam to create onsite energy, thereby decreasing demand for purchased electricity.

Caesars’ nearly 70,000 employees drive its sustainability strategy, CodeGreen, through innovative environmentally responsible practices; implementing more than 110 large impact conservation projects to reduce water, energy and waste consumption at a corporate level. More than 200 of the company’s employees have completed its Green Meetings & Events Certification training program, the only program of its kind in the industry. During the past eight years, CodeGreen programs have resulted in annual savings of 200 million gallons of water and 640,000 gallons of waste vegetable oil among other waste recycling efforts.

Caesars Entertainment’s leadership in environmental stewardship and energy efficiency has earned the company more than 40 environmental awards and multiple Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) honors. Caesars has achieved ‘industry firsts’ in transparency of impacts such as GRI protocol reporting and establishing aggressive carbon reduction goals around environmental and social metrics. For further information on Caesars’ CodeGreen efforts and its sustainability report visit www.caesars.com/CodeGreen.

About Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s most diversified casino entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 74 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions, and now operates casinos on four continents. The company’s resorts operate primarily under the Harrah’s®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment.

For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.

SOURCE Caesars Entertainment Corporation

NASCAR and EPA Partner on Green Initiatives

WASHINGTON – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) signed an agreement to raise awareness of environmentally friendly products and solutions to address America’s environmental challenges. Today’s memorandum of understanding provides NASCAR with EPA technical assistance and environmental expertise, using EPA programs like Design for the Environment and the Economy, Energy and Environment (E3) framework,  to help protect Americans’ health and the environment.

“Because NASCAR is followed by millions of passionate fans and many businesses, it can be a powerful platform to raise environmental awareness, drive the adoption of safer products by more Americans, and support the growing green economy,” said Jim Jones, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). “The EPA and NASCAR partnership attests to the progress NASCAR has already made on environmental stewardship through greener fuel choices and multiple recycling initiatives for waste and automotive fluids, and highlights opportunities to further these efforts.”

“This MOU is a great example of NASCAR’s commitment to green innovation and our role as a leader in sustainability,” said Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer of NASCAR. “Even with the largest sustainability program in sports, NASCAR – along with our teams, tracks and partners – continues to create innovative platforms to help reduce the environmental impact of our sport.”

One of the areas of focus for the partnership is promoting safer products that have earned EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) label. The Design for the Environment label helps consumers and businesses identify products that perform well, are cost-effective, and are safer for the environment. NASCAR can make a difference by using DfE products at racing events and conveying to fans that choosing DfE products is an easy choice they can make to protect the health of their families and the planet.

Another example is NASCAR’s offer to encourage its suppliers to get an “E3 tuneup”– to increase productivity, reduce the use of energy and materials, lessen environmental impacts and be better positioned to compete in the global marketplace. The E3 initiative – Economy, Energy and the Environment — helps promote sustainable manufacturing and economic growth throughout the United States. E3 can help improve the profitability and competitiveness of these businesses, which can help create higher-paying skilled manufacturing jobs.

This MOU will pave the way for other opportunities and areas of focus for EPA and NASCAR such as sourcing more sustainable concessions at NASCAR events, expanding the use of safer chemical products, conserving water, reducing waste and promoting recycling. By working together to foster more sustainable behavior, addressing sustainability challenges and seizing on E3 opportunities, a greener NASCAR and NASCAR supplier network will have positive economic and environmental impacts that extend far beyond the racetrack.

For more information on EPA’s pollution prevention programs, including the efforts with NASCAR, please visit:  EPA.GOV/P2