Hotel Industry Moves Beyond GreenWashing.

Jay Westerveld, a New York Environmentalist, spotlighted the hotel’s industry’s practice of placing “green” placards in each room and promoting reusing guest towels. Coining the term “Greenwashing“, he implied such practices are a facade and are not a serious attempt by the hotel industry to “save the environment”.

Times have changed. Top hotels are aggressively tackling the issue and pulling out all the stops to lower their impact on the environment. By 2009, Westin will open 20 of its new Elements hotel. Elements will be a chain of “green” hotels that meet and pursue LEED certification. Hilton and Marriott all have presented action plans to reduce their impacts. Marriott’s plan includes adding solar panels to some hotels by 2017. The Intercontinental Hotel Group even launched a virtual hotel. Innovation Hotel allows visitors to look at the news ideas in “green” hotels and give feedback.

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Introduction: Clear CO-OP

The challenge of this, both, honors and humbles us. “Honors us” because we are part of the solution. “Humbles us” through realizing we are only a part. We recognize that changing the globe will take a global effort.

This is why Clear Standards offers Clear CO-OP; a proposed partnership of our resources and your insight. The vision is a Green-centric business blog supplemented by your real world knowledge via a discussion forum. Think of it as “an interactive Green news exchange” where you share with international colleagues as we all go about changing the planet. The virtual “Give a penny. Take a penny.” of eco-strategy.

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