Image via Wikipedia

Hello again after a long absence! Today’s post is a guest post written by Leon Powell, a certified human resource specialist who writes for the interior design career blog to help people who want to become an interior designer. As a hotel owner, these are several types of service providers that you may want to keep an eye out for to help you with your sustainability issues. Enjoy!

With problems such as overpopulation, bad air due to smog and other fumes, and global warming it is no wonder our planet is deteriorating as such a quick rate. Recycling, using a filtered water pitcher instead of bottles, using your own bags at the grocery store, and buying recycled paper napkins are just a few of the many easy things you can do to help save our planet. While the aforementioned tasks can easily be done by anyone anytime, there are a few career paths that you could choose to take which will greatly help to save our planet. If you want to further help make our home a more reliable place to live, consider one of the following green jobs.

1. Home Energy Auditor- There are often many people whose homes add to the damage done to our environment but that doesn’t mean those homeowners are intentionally hurting our planet; they just don’t know what they should be doing differently to help. This is where you, as a home energy auditor, comes in. You inspect people’s homes, looking for ways to increase energy efficiency. One common adjustment is adding insulation to keep the cold air out which in turn cuts down on the amount of gas people use for heat. Another common adjustment is replacing old windows.

2. Green Teacher- If you are experienced in building energy efficient homes, increasing energy efficiency, or creating creative ways to help the planet, you should consider teaching others what you know. People are becoming more curious about what they can do to contribute to our planet, and in order for them to learn, they need teachers. Your expertise will help others to become experienced in said tasks, which leads to them teaching others, resulting in more energy saving people.

3. Green Engineer- Perhaps one of the most crucial parts to building energy saving homes, companies, and other buildings is the engineer. You have to decide where the best place to build is, come up with the plans for the land, create systems to handle water run-off, as well as find a way to manage and treat storm water. If you are interested in becoming a green engineer, your first step is to become certified with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

4. Wind Power Salesperson- Due to the tax breaks offered to people who use renewable energy systems, more people are buying said systems. You can use this to your advantage by choosing a job selling wind turbines, and other renewable energy systems. Not only will you be helping others to contribute to our planet, but you will be making a profit from it. Wind Power Salespeople are much needed in order to get the word out to others about saving energy and maximizing our earth’s natural energy.

5. Weatherization Expert- As a weatherization expert, you are not only responsible for inspecting homes and buildings for ways to improve energy efficiency, but also for finding problems with current buildings and fixing them and submitting ideas to home builders about how to make new projects more energy efficient. This is arguably the most lucrative field to pursue, as there are not a large number of weatherization experts out there.

In conclusion, having a green job helps you and everyone else around you by insuring our planet doesn’t self destruct. Even if you don’t pursue one of the above mentioned professional fields, simply doing the small things to save energy, trees, and natural resources gives you the feeling of fulfillment while evoking a sense of confidence about yours and your family’s future. Everyone should do their part.

Leon Powell is a certified human resource specialist, he writes for the interior design career blog to help peeople who want to become an interior designer.

You can also compare your hotel’s “econess” against their environmental criteria list (this is worth doing even if you aren’t located in Greece, as criteria are international),  helping you determine just how eco your hotel is, and what measures you can take to improve.

They also have a green certification program for Greek eco hotels (site is in Greek).

For hoteliers located in Greece, this site is a very useful resource, as the directory allows eco travelers to easily find sustainable properties for their next Greek vacation. For hoteliers not located in Greece, their environmental criteria list is quite useful.

They also have a fairly new blog with eco travel tips and information in both English and Greek.

Check out the site and blog, and let me know what you think.

Image via Wikipedia

Check out this new educational resource called the Green Hotels and Responsible Tourism Initiative, designed to educate both travelers and hotel owners about making more responsible choices.

For hotel owners:

• The green hotels whitepaper in both online and .pdf formats.
• The review your hotel section which includes a questionnaire about your hotel, designed to create a sustainability and environmental statement for your business.

For travelers:

• The responsible traveler guide in both online and .pdf formats.
• The 15 question Responsible Traveler Quiz. Most of the questions are pretty much common sense, but I did learn a few things. Do you know whether it’s better for the environment to fly during the day or night? Check out the quiz.

For ideas on how to participate and help raise awareness, check out the website, with info on The Big Squat. Involve your staff and your hotel guests: explain the issue to your team members, and post information near the front desk so guests can learn more. Spread the message.

Also look into sanitation issues in your region or country. How can you help raise awareness about local problems near your hotel?

Events are being held all over the world. You can organize a Big Squat at your hotel, or in conjunction with other hotels, and post the event on the World Toilet Day website. Get creative. As they say, “We are raising awareness for serious issues on World Toilet Day, but when the issue is related to poo, let’s have fun with it.“

For additional information, follow World Toilet Day on Twitter or check out their Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of Lua Cheia.

Imagine vacationing in complete isolation from any other tourist facility, fishing village, or any other human disturbance…just solitude, untouched nature, and complete relaxation. Sound good? Check out Lua Cheia Beach Camp in Bweni Village.

This gorgeous tented camp located on Mafia Island, just off Tanzania in Eastern Africa. It has only nine tents, all located right on the beach (see photo to the left).

It’s also an excellent example of a sustainable boutique hotel that makes use of a variety of eco practices that you can adopt at your hotel, too. Take a moment as you read the rest of this post to jot down ideas on how you can apply these techniques at your hotel.

Photo courtesy of Lua Cheia.

Community

This hotel’s community involvement is strong and forms a part of its every day life . Lua Cheia has been working with a group that organizes fundraising for a children’s playground in the nearest town. This group also receives clothes for the local orphanage, as well as additional supplies for teens in the high school. Guests are encouraged to participate by bringing clothes and school supplies on their trip to help the local community.

Construction

All tent posts were obtained from sustainable eucalyptus forests. The hardwoods that were used for door and window frames were purchased from government managed allocated supplies.

Energy

The beach camp supplies guests with 24 hour electricity, provided by solar panels and aeolic power. All lights and ceiling fans are energy efficient, to maximize energy use.

Food & Beverage

All fruit and fish are obtained locally, though most vegetables must come from the mainland.

Ground & Landscaping

Sea grass regularly washes up on the beach at Lua Cheia, and after three years of decomposition, it has found a new use in improving holes in the beach road. The sea grass is also used for composting and gardening.

As far as the grounds are concerned, all natural vegetation has been maintained, including the forest surrounding the camp. All landscaping is natural, with no imported plants or soil.

Organics

The spa uses organic oils for their treatments.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle

Aside from the sea grass recycling mentioned above, food scraps are saved for both compost and duck feeding. Bottles are re-used when possible, and boxes are also reused for the transportation of goods.

Photo courtesy of Lua Cheia.

Water from the showers and sinks supports constructed wetlands, providing controlled nutrition to a variety of plants. Toilets are low-flush, reducing water usage. Waste is filtered into composting units, eliminating the need for septic tanks. Excess water is returned to the earth via dry wells, or soakaways.

Keep in mind that this is a small tented camp located in a very remote part of Africa. Having a hotel located in a remote location can make being sustainable easier in some ways (alternative energy sources are often the only option), and more difficult in other ways (such as obtaining locally grown foods). Think about how you can adapt some of these practices to your hotel.

For additional information, check out Lua Cheia reviews on TripAdvisor, or add them on Facebook or Twitter.

I know this is a late post for today, but it’s not too late to act. Take some time to think about how you can help fight hunger in your city/town, state/province, or country. Is there a particular social group or region that is in need? What can your hotel, staff, or guests do to help?

Does your hotel currently take any actions to fight hunger in nearby communities? How can you improve this program?

Please feel free to share any ideas in comments. Thanks!

Vegetarian Wellness Month is a great time to try new dishes. Image via Wikipedia

I know I’ve already mentioned this, but October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, kicking off with World Vegetarian Day tomorrow, October1. Odds are, you already offer vegetarian or non-meat options on your restaurant’s menu. But have you considered highlighting them to make them easy to find for vegans or vegetarians?

There are three ways of making meatless dishes easy to locate on a menu: you can either set up a special separate menu for vegans and vegetarians that only includes these options, you can design your menu with a separate vegetarian section within the main menu, or you can simply highlight meatless dishes by printing them in green ink within your regular menu.

The third might be the best option. It clearly identifies meatless meals for vegetarians, and also leaves them up for consideration for omnivores. It’s likely that you have more vegetarian guests than you think, and they’ll love the extra consideration.

Take advantage of Vegetarian Awareness Month to add some new veggie dishes to your menu to showcase fruits and vegetables that are in season now.

Mallard, Burnaby Lake Regional Park, BC, Canada. Image via Wikipedia

October 1-7 is World Wildlife Week. Celebrate this week by building awareness with your staff and guests on the importance of the preservation of wildlife. Start out by doing some research on local wildlife in your area. Is there a national or regional park or other natural or eco park nearby? They’ll have information to get you started.

If you live in a more urban area, start out with some online research. Even if you live in a large city, there are animals around. You might also look into what animal species were originally living in this area, but were displaced by urban growth.

Set up a table in reception with information on World Wildlife Week to inform your guests about local animals. Out of town guests will be interested to learn more about local wildlife and how their vacation choices can affect animals. Be sure to provide them with full information on how to choose eco tours that avoid disturbing local animals as much as possible.

You can go an extra step to do some good by searching for a reputable charity on a local or national level on Charity Navigator to donate a percentage of your company’s profit to help animals. Be sure to look at their Tips & Resources page for questions to ask charities before donating, and details to look for on the charity’s profile. Check out their Animals section, which has over 70 charities listed in Wildlife Conservation. You can also ask guests to join you in your donation when they book, or at check out.

Pumpkin soup can be made with either a chicken broth base, or a vegetarian base. It's easy to adapt regular recipes to a vegetarian lifestyle.

World Vegetarian Day was founded in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society, and was endorsed a year later by the International Vegetarian Union. The entire month of October is considered Vegetarian Awareness Month, and the official date for World Vegetarian Day kicks it all off on October 1.

Regardless of how you feel about vegetarianism, your hotel can still participate on this day. Offer a special vegetarian meal in the restaurant, or give a discount on vegetarian dishes on your regular menu. Consider hosting a special vegetarian cooking class featuring vegetarian versions of regional dishes for your guests.

Your and your guests don’t have to make a commitment to vegetarianism to participate, but a small change in diet for one day can be enlightening. Here are some ideas from the website:

• Eat meat-free for the day or throughout the month
• Learn how a vegetarian diet can benefit you personally
• Try the meatless options available at local restaurants and eateries
• Discuss vegetarianism with your interested friends, family and co-workers
• Host a meatless meal or potluck for your friends
• Eat meatless meals on a regular basis

What does vegetarianism have to do with being sustainable? Check out the environmental vegetarianism article on Wikipedia: “ Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism or veganism based on the indications that animal production, particularly by intensive agriculture is environmentally unstable. The primary environmental concerns with animal products are pollution and the use of resources such as fossil fuels, water, and land.”

Give it a try. You’ll probably learn something new or try new foods, and there’s no commitment involved. Have fun with it, and encourage your guests to do the same!