I have worked as a commercial contractor for a number of years. In my profession, I have worked with a number of initiatives and businesses that have sought to use building materials that benefit the environment. There are a number of businesses as well as programs and initiatives that are continuing to push the green movement forward.

The county and city of San Francisco has done a fine job in terms of reducing the amount of gas emissions that fleet operations vehicles uses. As part of the Clinton Global Initiative, the county and city of San Francisco has teamed with ESRI and NAVTEQ. NAVTEQ has mapping data that is extremely detailed. This works well with ESRI as it produces routing solutions. The result is that fleet operations has saved the area about 15% to 20% of the cost of commuting from one place in the city to another. In addition to this, there has been a reduction in the amount of greenhouses, which helps the environment.

Another fantastic initiative that I really appreciate is Green America. This initiative strives to create a society that seeks to benefit the environment. Green America educates individuals of businesses that are a goal of sustainability and those that don’t. With financial power that is available, individuals then support businesses that are doing things the right way. Furthermore, this initiative seeks to promote businesses that are green.

In addition to these programs and initiatives, green buildings are continuing to be built. In North Carolina, the Ritz-Carlton has a garden on the rooftop of the building that has over 60,000 honeybees. The honeybees pollinate the garden, which benefits the environment. In addition to this, these honeybees make excellent honey that is used in the restaurant at the hotel. Besides this, the Ritz-Carlton has showerheads and toilets that are low flowing and an excellent linen program.

One of my favorite hotels is the Palazzo Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas. This facility has done an amazing job in benefiting the environment. This includes having systems that work on recycling water. Besides this, solar panels have been installed to help heat the facility. Furthermore, the Palazzo Hotel & Resort can reuse the waste that it creates. As a result of its innovative and sustainable features, the resort was named the “Most Eco-Friendly Hotel in America.”

All of these initiatives and individuals are doing great in helping the earth. It is encouraging to see greener Las Vegas hotels continue to be built, as well as across the world. With more programs and buildings like them, I believe the world will continue to become a greener place. I am glad to be one of them.

 Sam Marquit is an independent ‘green’ contractor and co-author of Fair Marquit Value.

* The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Natural Awakenings.