Since 2007, Marriott International has reduced its energy consumption by 11 percent, reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 10.7 percent, and is on track to meet its aggressive goal of a 25 percent decrease in energy and water consumption per available room by 2017. These results are among those reported to shareholders, customers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), associates and other stakeholders in the company’s first official Sustainability Report using the guidelines set forth by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), making Marriott the first major U.S.-based hospitality management company to report in accordance with this initiative. J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc. said
Category Archives: Sustainability
Surfer Dudes make Rapanui Eco Fashion Cool
Rapanui has just won the UK 2010 Sustainable Business Awards and now employs 12 full time staff in its office in Bembridge. This achievement is even more remarkable considering the brand was founded with only $316 of savings in University halls; recognized when Rapanui won a runners-up place at the 2010 Enterprising Young Brits Awards. The Brothers’ ethos of ‘doing business the right way’ won them a finalist place at the 2010 RSPCA Good Business Awards. Rapanui was set up by brothers Mart and Rob Drake-Knight in early 2008 now aged 23 and 25 respectively. Through surfing they saw and experienced the changing environment and climate at their local beach and as inspired, unemployed graduates in a recession, they took a different path; if you can’t find a job, make one. The aim still is to inform through the brand and mix eco with trend – to make it fashionable for people to go green.
Rapanui makes clothing from natural organic fabrics in a Fair Trade audited, wind powered factory. They say it’s not that people don’t care about child labor, the environment, our climate, it’s just they don’t know. They make it easier for people to see where clothing comes from and how it is made so they can make informed choices. It’s called Traceability. The brand’s forte is its radical approach to Sustainability: Rapanui take a total life cycle approach to their product’s human, environmental and climatic impact, and address each aspect. This is not a clothing company ticking the green box. This is a company aiming to change the entire fashion industry. Rapanui uses Certified Organic fabrics, Fair-Trade labor and Renewable Energy.
Rapanui has held Seminars and Lectures at UK and EU universities and multinational companies such as Centrica PLC on Sustainable Business and sit on the Panel at Plymouth University’s All our Futures Conference. These events have helped Rapanui share their Eco-Labelling idea, a way of packaging textiles products to communicate the effects caused by their buying action, essentially a way of forcing and regulating transparent business ethics in textiles. Rapanui also hosts the national petition for Textiles Eco-Labelling at 10 Downing Street. Rob and Martin Drake-Knight are listed on the Future 100 List of Top young Ethical Entrepreneurs.
NEW SOLAR ENERGY INTL ONLINE COURSE
Blue jeans go green
Looks as if everyone’s getting into going green. Gap has just announced from Blue to Green. Gap wants shoppers to gather their old jeans and bring them to a local Gap store where they will receive 30% off new “1969″ jeans purchases just in time for fall.
Today through October 20, Gap and Cotton Incorporated are teaming up to collect old denim, which will be given a “new life” by being converted into UltraTouch Denim Insulation and donated to communities in need. Shoppers can recycle their denim at more than 1,000 Gap stores in the U.S. and Canada.
Gap North America President Marka Hansen said, “Earlier this year, we partnered with Cotton Incorporated on their first ever national denim drive with a retailer, and it was met with such success that we wanted to give our customers another opportunity to recycle their old denim, help communities in need, and update their fall wardrobe with the latest 1969 jeans. FROM BLUE TO GREEN.’ merges the ideas of fashion, environmental sustainability and helping others.” I still want too see if you can get solar power from jeans.
NEW Learning Green WEBINARS
Sleek eco friendly designs for urban vertical farms
IBM’s recent rollout of CItyOne should be a wake up call that business as usual just isn’t going to cut it. CiyOne is IBM’s new interactive ecosystems game. CityOne is an innovative way to create collaboration among all the participants of our cities. Maybe it’s wishful thinking to hope our political representatives will figure that out and start working on a national renewable energy plan that includes solar and wind power that can transform the nation to new prosperity. But than again it’s our job to tell them that green jobs is what we want and need.
When you think green though it’s important to recognize its impact effects every aspect of daily life. That includes the idea of vertical farming as a method to meet increased food demand and reduce co2 emissions. We as a nation have a tremendous about of knowledge that has to be shared in order for us to move ahead.
No where is this more apparent than in agribussiness. Recently Richard Keller, AgProfessional editor writing about two agribusiness conference the Farm Progress Show and Agriculture 2.0 Global Investments Conference wrote” Both glass building farming systems were outlined at the New York City Agriculture 2.0 Global Investments Conference for agricultural innovators and investors. The attendees of the conference in September were quite different than those attending the Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa, at the end of August.
ITALIAN DESIGNED VERTICAL FARM
At one conference, most attendees thought global warning is a make believe concept, and at the other conference, attendees were positive that changes in global weather are obvious and not a theory. At the farm show, tripling the yield per acre by 2050 was a typical discussion goal, and at the conference, two speakers outlined the goal to find financing for multiple-story greenhouse-type building for growing food crops by 2050 in the middle of cities.” In Vancouver,BC Terrashere Systems is already operating a small scale vertical facility. Vertical farming and TerraSphere Systems
IBM has eco game
IBM’s new interactive ecosystems game CityOne is an innovative way to create collaboration among all the participants of our cities. Today announced the availability of CityOne, the world’s first Smarter Planet interactive simulation designed to help business and civic leaders discover how to make their cities and industries smarter by solving real-world business, environmental, and logistical problems.
Historically, simulation gaming has been used extensively in the military, by athletes and by scientists to discover effective new strategies and techniques and develop the skills needed to implement them. Businesses have realized the value of this and are deploying their own games to create life-like simulations of real markets, customers and business situations that they deal with every day.
CityOne presents a unique opportunity for business leaders, city planners and government agencies to develop and budget improvements that address the challenges facing today’s global cities. Delivered as a simulation game, players have the opportunity to explore more than 100 real-world scenarios to transform cities through technologies that reduce traffic congestion, save water, streamline supply chains and tap alternative energy sources through a series of crisis scenarios. In all of the missions,
The Bay Area is West Coast Green
West Coast Green is in full effect at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The conference has become a leading forum for environmental and social change. Four years since it’s inception, West Coast Green continues to provide dynamic, big-picture, systems-thinking education, strategy, connections and professional development to those seeking a better world. Throughout the year the organization works to serve the community in part through West Coast Green Institute(WCGI).
WCGI has developed a program dedicated to transforming low-income communities into ones that are sustainable, healthy, empowered and vital neighborhoods. Some past projects have been the Fort Mason Design Slam, the Innovation Pipeline and Green Jobs Pavillion; a live multi-media, interactive space simulating our future economy right on the tradeshow floor. Attendees were introduced to more than 50 employers, training centers and financial resources. This allowed them exposure to opportunities in the green industry.
This years’ conference called, “Where Innovation and Opportunity Converge” brings together more than 150 speakers such as Arianna Huffington, Van Jones, Lisa Michelle Galley, Arno Harris, Panama Bartholomy and Hunter Lovins just to name a few. Hundreds of green companies are exhibiting and thousands of people will attend. The creative festival like nature of the event has made it something you, family and friends will really enjoy.