The American Hotel & Lodging Association is teaming with the London-based International Tourism Partnership, a program of The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, in its Going Green initiative. Going Green offers guidelines (PDF) for hotels to set minimum standards to improve sustainability and achieve goals for better environmental management.

A set of six defined standards have been established to assist hotel managers in designing a framework for making choices that are good for the environment and the bottom line. These standards involve hotel policy; staff training; environmental management; purchasing; communities; and destination protection. By enacting a comprehensive plan, AH&LA says that hotels reduce the waste they produce, improve the working environment for the staff, attract guests who seek out establishments that address sustainability, and save money.