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| Wyndham Worldwide |
PARSIPPANY, N.J. - RCI, the global leader in vacation, announced the latest winners of the RCI Green Awards program.
These awards recognize the most environmentally-conscious resorts within the company's exchange network. The application process includes an audit of green practices in areas including energy and water conservation, waste management and community outreach. The evaluation process, winner selection and verification system was completed by third-party eco-certification expert GreenCircle Certified, LLC.
"Hospitality properties have great potential – and great responsibility – to reduce the impact their operations have on the environment," said Brian Bruno, vice president of content and brand marketing for RCI and head of the brand's sustainability program. "Many of our affiliated properties are doing fantastic work in areas of sustainability and are leaving positive marks on their communities, and the recipients of the RCI Green Awards are exceptional examples. As a brand that takes sustainability practices seriously in our own operations, RCI is proud to work with affiliates that have a similar guiding philosophy."
Wyndham Branson at the Meadows in Missouri earned the Platinum RCI Green Award for its multi-faceted approach to sustainability. Some of the highlights of the green efforts at this property are a comprehensive recycling program that includes recycling coffee grounds and filters, a robust community outreach program including many volunteer hours by staff at local environmental clean ups and the donation of home goods.
The Gold RCI Green Award recognized Wyndham Royal Sea Cliff on The Big Island of Hawaii. This property recruits guests to get involved with an effective guest recycling program that provides detailed instruction signs, recycling bags and recycling bins in each room. This property also sources all of its landscaping from vegetation native to Hawaii.
The Silver RCI Green Award went to the Wyndham Vacation Resorts Great Smokies Lodge in Sevierville, Tennessee. This property extends its green efforts to the surrounding community with multiple environmental cause events, including a monthly Adopt-A-Road event, a biannual roads and rivers cleanup day, and its Green Team's implementation of a butterfly garden at the Eugene Huskey Environmental Center.
The RCI Green Awards are open to all RCI affiliates in North America, and the application process does not involve a fee. RCI also offers a Green Resource Center on its affiliate website for developers looking to expand their sustainability efforts. The application process for next year's RCI Green Awards will begin in October.
