Sustainable Future for Tourism: How Businesses are Changing

This is an article by Sam Marquit. "I am an entrepreneurial independent contractor and home renovation/remodeling expert in New York. I’ve made it a point to share with my readers a day in the life of sustainable building. Forecasting the possible application and implementation of new green building materials and technologies is just one small part of my effort to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint."

When I started working as an independent contractor, my priority wasn't on green building. Now as a commercial contractor, I've really started to develop a knack for sustainable building and green materials. In today's world, there is so much that can be done for the planet, and yet many businesses are only worried about LEED certification. While this is a necessary part of becoming more eco-friendly, there are a variety of organizations and businesses in the tourism industry that are doing something more.

In the United States, consumers, investors and business owners have a lot of economic power. If you think about the places you choose to visit and the businesses you frequently support, then you can see how businesses have a certain appeal because of what they offer.  GreenAmerica.org works to help businesses that are really moving forward with eco-friendly practices to gain notice while also pointing out those businesses that engage in corporate irresponsibility. In addition, the organization helps to build sustainable communities all over the world.

Being one of the biggest hotel chains, you'd expect that the Marriott hotels have a number of eco-friendly policies. While they do a few things and use recyclable materials, it was their recent purchase of 24 million recyclable and biodegradable key cards that gained my notice. Most key cards are made from plastic. However, The Marriott now only uses corn by-product key cards, effectively saving about 66 tons of plastic waste from going into a landfill.

There are some hotels out there that have taken a serious look at their policies and made changes to become more sustainable and eco-friendly. The Las Vegas Palazzo Hotel and Resort is one of them. This hotel has worked tirelessly to change its policies and facilities, which earned them the award of "TheMost Eco-Friendly Hotel in America." The Palazzo has a solar heat system, waste reuse program and water recycling process in order to save on resources and become more sustainable.

It's so inspiring to see so many businesses making changes and really promoting this culture of conservation. This is especially evident with the new green Las Vegas hotels continuing to be built. It will be essential to continue this trend in order to make a change for the future of our planet.

Find out more at fmarquitv.tumblr.com