RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (NYSE: WYN), announced the winners of its successful “Go Green Awards” for its affiliated resorts in the Pacific, at the recent Australian Timeshare and Holiday Ownership Council (ATHOC) conference.
This year’s winner, Club Paihia in New Zealand, the runner-up in 2010, showed remarkable progress using prize money earned last year to set up a dedicated Club TV channel that provides guests with information about the resorts sustainable activities. Western Australia’s Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific Dunsborough and Queenstown Mews also of New Zealand were acknowledged as runners-up. To recognize their commitment to sustainable environmental practices, each of the three winners received cash donations to further expand their environmental programs.
Martyn Rix, CEO of Monad Pacific Management, the management company for Club Paihia and Queenstown Mews, commented on the awards saying, “The recognition goes to the individual resort managers who worked tirelessly and with passionate dedication to establish the successful environmentally sustainable practices at both resorts.”
As with last year, Dr. David Weaver, Professor of Tourism Research at Griffith University, who was instrumental in developing the award, agreed to adjudicate both the self-assessment and on-site inspection phases.
“This year we tweaked the criteria to better reflect some of the latest findings on trends within the hospitality industry. More importantly we also took into account progress and performance, so that the amount of sustainability-related change made during the past 12 months was a major factor, along with actual practices and initiatives,” Dr. Weaver said.
More than 15 resort submissions and three exceptional finalists who demonstrated credible advances in environmentally-friendly sustainable practices throughout the year, made this year’s Go Green program a resounding success. “Having such committed eco-conscious resort managers, clearly reflects on the exceptional caliber of resorts within RCI’s exchange network,” added Charisse Cox, managing director of RCI Pacific.
Launched over two years ago, the ‘Go Green’ program was a first for the timeshare in the Pacific and indeed a first for RCI worldwide. Recognizing the emergence of a growing ‘green conscious’ member base, RCI set out to encourage affiliate resorts to embrace green initiatives whilst aiming to improve the industry’s carbon footprint as a whole.
Consequently, the ‘Go Green’ program has quickly been embraced by affiliate resorts both regionally and globally. Since its inception, both RCI North America and RCI Europe businesses have followed suit and adopted the program launching similar programs this year, yet another example of RCI’s commitment to the environment on a global level.
“Go Green Award of the Pacific region and The Green Awards of North America and Europe fit in well with our global commitment to corporate social responsibility and the environment,” Ms. Cox added.
Furthermore, across the regions, RCI is promoting and encouraging sharing of environmental sustainability best practices and green ideas with its associates and affiliates through a Green Council in support of its parent company’s WyndhamGreen sustainability initiative.
Wyndham Green by Wyndham Worldwide aims to manage energy consumption as a part of the company’s overall green strategy across its businesses and brands. Due to the company’s numerous brands, properties and distribution points, WyndhamGreen is expected to have a large impact on the company’s overall carbon footprint.
