Leading Hotels Launches Leading Green Initiative
World's Leader in Luxury Travel is Among the First to Support Carbon Neutral Efforts on a Corporate
EW YORK, NY / BOULDER, CO, April 23, 2007. The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. the largest global luxury hotel brand, announced today the launch of the Leading Green Initiative. This innovative program will enable and encourage guests to make a conscious decision toward greener travel by actively supporting Sustainable Travel International (STI), the foremost non-profit organization in responsible tourism.
The Leading Green Initiative is a carbon neutral program whereby The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. will directly absorb the cost to offset guests' energy consumption for stays at any of its 440 hotels worldwide.
"We are extremely proud to be the first luxury hotel brand to provide a carbon offset program with STI. While many companies offer the opportunity for customers to voluntarily make donations, we feel strongly about taking a leadership position in environmental responsibility and setting the example. We are, therefore, delighted to be making the financial contribution on our guests' behalf," said Paul M. McManus, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.
"We will make a donation of 50c to STI for every night of a guest's stay when their reservation is made through www.lhwgreen.com, or when 'Leading Green' is mentioned to any one of our worldwide voice reservations centers. The investment per guest represents 29.3 kilowatt-hours of electricity supplied by new wind and solar power, which equates to 33.7 pounds of greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Leading Green Initiative is entirely underwritten by The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. corporate entity; prices have not been augmented to support this effort."
Brian T. Mullis, President of Sustainable Travel International stated, "We are excited to be partnering with The Leading Hotels of the World to educate their guests and hotels to reduce their environmental footprint by the efficient use of energy and minimization of waste."
"We are most pleased to see how seriously Leading Hotels executives are taking this partnership as they have already committed to offsetting the energy consumption of their upcoming annual Sales & Marketing Conference held in Stockholm May 9 - 12, 2007. A corporate donation will be made to STI to offset the energy consumption of all nearly 200 attendees, not only including accommodations, but also air transportation, meeting rooms and common areas," Mullis concluded.
The Leading Hotels of the World and STI are evaluating a number of other programs, including sustainable tourism certification, travel philanthropy, and the potential implementation of environmental management systems by Leading Hotels. Additional information can be obtained by visiting www.lhwgreen.com.
About The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. is the prestigious luxury hospitality organization representing more than 430 of the world's finest hotels, resorts and spas, and is the operator of www.lhw.com - the online source for your luxury lifestyle. As the largest international luxury hotel brand, the firm maintains offices in 24 major markets across the globe.
Since 1928, the company's reputation for excellence derives from the exacting levels of quality it demands of its members, each of which must pass a rigorous, anonymous inspection covering 1,500 separate criteria.
High resolution images of member hotels are available for downloading at www.lhw.com/press. For reservations and information, visit www.lhw.com or telephone toll-free from the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, (800) 223-6800.
About Sustainable Travel International
STI (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and responsible travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the environmental, socio-cultural and economic values of the places they visit, and the planet at large.
Media Contacts
For The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.
Claudia Kozma Kaplan
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Tel. (212) 515-5708
E-Mail: [email protected]
For Sustainable Travel International
Brian T. Mullis
President
Tel. (720) 273-2975
E-Mail: [email protected]
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