The industry is paying homage to Mother Earth by launching initiatives that reach far beyond the upcoming Earth Day.
1 Hotels—Earth Day Every Day
This nature-inspired luxury lifestyle brand with locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and South Beach, has launched its Earth Day Every Day campaign, a year-long initiative that will include activations across all properties focused on raising awareness of environmental issues, specifically around saving our shores. These programs will also be a fundamental part of the soon-to-open 1 Hotel properties in West Hollywood, Cabo, Sunnyvale and Sanya (China).
The campaign to save our coasts is focused on creating awareness of issues such as off-shore drilling, rising sea levels, beach pollution and other human activities that threaten the coasts where many 1 Hotels are located. 1 Hotels is working with the NRDC to help guide advocacy efforts.
Earth Day Every Day consists of several brand-wide initiatives including a Phone2Action campaign, a speaker series with advocate guest talks and sustainability screenings, establishing Earth advocates amongst our highly engaged team members, a Save Our Shores (SOS) package, statement T-Shirts & a letter writing campaign.
Phone2Action: 1 Hotels will use the Phone2Action platform to provide a digital space where activism can thrive. Through action centers situated in each 1 Hotel lobby the community and guests can educate themselves about various environmental issues, including those in their hometown. Once a person selects the cause on which they’d like to engage, they can easily use e-mail, phone or social media to contact their federal, state and local legislators. This technology offers an opportunity for the 1 Hotels community to engage on issues they care about and become agents of change.
Speaker Series: Each property will host events and talks led by innovators and thought-leaders. Scheduled events include:
1 Brooklyn Bridge: A talk hosted by zero waste advocate Lauren Singer.
1 South Beach: Three stories of peace & sustainability: A blueprint on ways to minimize our impact on the planet and maximize it in the world around us—a panel discussion with 3 local experts (Sarah MacMillan, Anastasia Mikhalochkina and Saira Fida)
Dinner in the Dark: On April 22, 1 Hotels’ dining outlets will dim the lights for dinner to raise awareness about a more sustainable and responsible future.
Save Our Shores (SOS) Package: Save up to 30 percent off your stay, plus a $20 credit for guests to use as they wish. 1 Hotels will donate any remaining credit to Natural Resources Defense Council to help protect our oceans and other precious natural resources.
Letter Writing: For the entire year, each room will have digital letters that address environmental issues ready to be sent to Congress and relevant government organizations. By having e-letters already drafted, 1 Hotels is simplifying the first step in making your voice heard.
Statement T-Shirts: 1 Hotels has partnered with designers Knowlita, Timothy Goodman, Baron Von Fancy and But Like Maybe? to create statement T-shirts that will be sold at all properties and online. A portion of proceeds will benefit the NRDC.
Other activities include an Earth Day Festival & Artisanal Market at 1 South Beach, test driving the fully electric BMW i3’s at 1 Brooklyn Bridge and participation in March for Science (April) in DC and Climate Change March (October) in NYC.
For more information, visit 1hotels.com.
Iberostar Says Bye-Bye to Plastics
In 2019, Iberostar Group’s portfolio of more than 110 hotels will be free of single-use plastics, following an initial implementation on the chain’s 36 Spain hotels by June this year. Reducing plastic pollution is one of the key objectives of the sustainability policy on which Iberostar’s business strategy is based. Together with promoting certified sustainable fishing, the protection and conservation of coral reefs and care of the Mediterranean Sea, reducing plastic pollution is one of the key actions included in the Wave of Change initiative, part of the Iberostar Group’s sustainability policy that channels its commitment to the environment.
Thanks to this initiative, regular products including bathroom amenities, bags for slippers or clothing and minibar items will be replaced by others made of alternative materials such as glass, compostable cardboard or renewable plant-based items. Eliminating the 1.5 million plastic bottles that will no longer be used in Iberostar hotel rooms each year will prevent the generation of 43 tons of plastic waste in Spain alone.
Iberostar’s Wave of Change initiative is centered on three main areas: the reduction of plastic pollution; the promotion of sustainable fishing; and the conservation of coral reefs and the protection of the Mediterranean Sea. Through the actions included in this project, the company is seeking to raise employee and guest awareness of just how important individual actions are in the daily fight against climate change.
For more information on Iberostar, visit iberostar.com.
Celebrating Wildlife
The TreadRight Foundation, a joint initiative between The Travel Corporation’s family of brands, celebrates Earth Day 2018 by celebrating the TreadRight Wildlife Initiative.
Destinations around the planet are often defined by their iconic wildlife, and many local communities depend on a robust ecosystem to make a living. However, wildlife crimes like poaching and animal exploitation threaten to harm these innocent creatures and even wipe entire species off the face of the Earth. Earth Day 2018 provides TTC and TreadRight the opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of those leading the charge to defend animals in vulnerable situations, such as big cats, elephants, and rhinos.
Traveling with TTC helps fund The TreadRight Foundation’s big cat conservation project, delivered in partnership with their Wildlife Initiative partners at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
To learn more about The TreadRight Foundation and the work it does to ensure the environments and communities we visit remain vibrant for generations to come through the more than 50-plus sustainable tourism projects it helps to support worldwide, visit treadright.org.
