Live green, Travel green

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Vacation trips often are the highlight of the summer.  Now more than ever, summer travel can be green.  With a little research, it is possible to find great travel destinations with Eco-friendly amenities.

One such destination is the Hilton New York.  Located in Manhattan, the Hilton New York is Manhattan’s largest hotel.  It boasts 1,981 rooms plus common areas.  It has a 16,000 square feet green roof system that is planted with vegetation from upstate New York.  This remarkable system serves several purposes.  The foliage absorbs airborne pollutants which prevent the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  Secondly, it deflects solar radiation, thereby reducing the amount of energy needed to cool the air.  The incorporation of this roof top garden has resulted in a significant decrease in the high temperatures in Manhattan from dense cityscapes and lack of vegetation.

The New York Hilton also uses an Eco-friendly natural gas to produce electricity and hot water.  This system is expected to produce more than half of the hotel’s required electrical power, thereby reducing its carbon footprint by more than 30 percent.  Additionally, visitors to all Hilton hotels, including the Hilton New York, benefit from LightStay, which is the chain’s worldwide system for improving its sustainability program.  There is a constant analysis of all functions at Hilton hotels, including but not limited to housekeeping, waste management and use of paper products, to measure their impact on the environment and to make changes necessary to improve the ecosystem, all without cost to the customers.  All eco-conscious visitors are encouraged to participate in the Global Soap Project which encourages everyone to donate discarded soap to be reprocessed and given to needy people all over the world.

The Hilton New York has set the benchmark for providing excellent service to its visitors while at the same time maintaining green standards and promoting sustainability and introducing customers to programs and efforts to help the green movement.  This hotel truly allows you to vacation green, live green and be green.

Do The Worldwide WALL STREET’s Have a Heart?

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Well, the answer to the above question remains to be seen, with time.  For now, however, it does appear as though the Stock Exchanges from around the world do, as many are active members of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.  One of the world’s best sustainability ideas, as labeled by Forbes, this initiative aims to provide a forum wherein international regulators, exchanges and investors can openly deliberate on issues of sustainability.

Formed in 2009, the SSE Initiative is co-organized by four United Nations organizations: the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.  According to a Reuters article, the SSE will be holding a Global Dialogue on Monday, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, prior to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), scheduled for June 20-22. 

This is incredibly good news, and a great sign that these international powerhouses are actually taking sustainability seriously, going so far as to make it a priority.  The dialogue is reportedly focusing on the transparency of the industry, through official sustainability reports, among other topics.  Let’s hope that the movement not only continues, but that its thriving momentum carries forward to realizable changes in global corporate environments. 

China Dream

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In recent years, China has emulated the American way of massive consumption, mainly due to its burgeoning middle class and influences from the west. Yet, the nation has taken note of the negativities associated when energy fuels the growth of a nation, and has outlined plans to change social policy to retard that behavior. In fact, China has outlined its need to create, “A social movement to radically change their attitudes about consumption by helping them develop a different vision of prosperity.” This vision, coined the “China Dream” is to promote a sustainable lifestyle, and not necessarily one fueled by consumption, to achieve prosperity. To promote a desire for this lifestyle, it is suggested by the author Peggy Liu, to look toward advertisers to make the green movement more attractive. China has the largest potential audience in terms of consuming media. Thus, the implications of a successful message to include social responsibility and sustainability could have a significant impact. But, in order for this to happen, government will have to also influence the purchasing behavior of its citizens. For example, policy changes of banning free plastic bags, has helped to eliminate over 24 billion bags in the first three years in the nation.  Helping to change the actions of a country the size of China will influence other nations to follow suit, policy-wise, in their respective countries. China’s actions as a nation speak softly, but often carry a heavy stick. Their message with the “China Dream” is to socially impact the way we think and purchase goods, and to believe that the end goal of prosperity can be achieved through responsible and sustainable behavior. To check out more from the article follow the link below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/china-dream-sustainable-living-behaviour-change?newsfeed=true