Green Daily

When I saw that the Fairmont Hotel chain was partnering with the World Wildlife Federation to get more ecofriendly, naturally I envisioned my resort of pre-pubescent fantasy where wild animals roamed freely through the rooms and I'd ride a tiger down to the breakfast buffet every morning. It turns out it's not quite that exciting, but even without monkey butlers, there's still some good greening going on.

The plan would see Fairmont and the WWF working together to measure and then reduce the CO2 footprint of the hotel chain. The goal is to set a CO2 reduction target by June of this year, and then construct a plan to get there. The main tactics are expected to be "improved energy efficiency, increased conversion to renewable energy supply, (and) promoting conservation practices among its colleagues. " Fairmont has about 50 hotels and resorts around the world, with 20 more in development, which translates into a lot of potential for greenhouse gases, and hence for reduction of same.

Travel is a huge contributor to pollution, so it's good to see a large hotel chain getting proactive in cleaning up, especially hand in hand with a reputable group like the WWF. Moreover, because businesses are copycats, a big public announcement like this has probably got some folks in boardrooms at Hiton and Holiday Inn wondering out loud how they can get into the green game.