Jetsettersblog

San Francisco is embracing ecotourism with city initiatives. Among them: On June 1, local restaurants were banned from using polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) disposable food service ware. A list of providers of compostable products is posted at www.sfenvironment.org/foodservice. San Francisco currently has a 67 percent recycling rate. The city’s goal is 75 percent by 2010 and zero waste by 2020. San Francisco’s urban compost program is the largest of its kind in the U.S. More than 300 tons of food scraps and yard trimmings are collected every day in the city. About 90 percent of the compost made from this material is destined for local vineyards.

Mayor Gavin Newsom has pledged to convert 100 percent of San Francisco’s taxi fleet to hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles by 2011. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has pledged to reduce its fleet greenhouse emissions to 30 percent below 1999 levels by 2012 and become 100 percent emission free by 2020; 86 hybrid electric buses have been purchased. San Francisco has the third largest hybrid bus fleet in the U.S. More than 16,000 trees have been planted since 2004, when Mayor Newsom pledged that 25,000 trees would be planted at an average of 5,000 per year. San Francisco has the largest city-owned solar installation in the country, a 60,000-square-foot solar array atop Moscone Center. The solar electricity production on the roof, combined with energy savings from a major energy efficient lighting renovation is expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 34,000 tons, or the equivalent of removing 7,000 cars from Bay Area roads for one year, over the projects’ lifetimes.

Many local tour companies are using more environmentally friendly fuel sources for their boats, vans and limos. Among those leading the way are Adventure Cat Sailing Charters, Alcatraz Cruises, Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation, Hornblower Cruises & Events, SuperShuttle, Mr. Toads Tour LLC and Nature Trip. Two tour companies using Segway personal transporters operate in the Bay Area: Segway of San Francisco and San Francisco & Sausalito Electric Tour Company. Many San Francisco hotels implement these and other eco-friendly practices, such as a towel and linen reuse program, a 100 percent non-smoking policy, a recycling program for guests, use of compact fluorescent lights instead of incandescent bulbs, and use of nontoxic cleaning products by housekeeping staff.

In addition, many of the hotels compost food waste and have installed devices that power down heating and cooling when guest rooms are not occupied. AT&T Park is the first major league baseball stadium to use solar panels. The Diamond Vision scoreboard uses 78 percent less energy than the ballpark’s original scoreboard. San Francisco welcomes “volun-tourism.” Team building can include habitat restorations or beach clean-ups. For more information, contact the Convention Services Department of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau at convention-services@sanfrancisco.travel or visit http://www.sfconnect.org/  More than 60 businesses in all market segments (services, restaurant, hotels, retail) have joined the Green Business Program, a voluntary program that encourages businesses to take proactive actions that are good for their bottom lines as well as for the environment. For more information on this program, visit http://www.sfgreenbiz.org/

Named one of the top 10 green cities in the U.S. by The Green Guide, San Francisco was cited as a city that puts transit first; dedicates over 17 percent of its 47 square miles to parks and open space, protects its water source and leads in the area of green or resource efficient buildings. In July 2005, San Francisco was ranked among the top five cleanest cities in the U.S. in Reader’s Digest’s first ranking of American’s Cleanest Cities.

In June 2005, Runner’s World named San Francisco the No. 1 running city in the U.S. Also in June 2005, SustainLane.com ranked San Francisco the No. 1 most sustainable city in the United States. In March 2005, San Francisco was named among the Top 10 Best U.S. Walking Cities by the American Podiatric Medical Association in its third annual survey. The city’s Orchard Garden Hotel is the first hotel in the city to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification (Silver Certificate) and only the third in the U.S. and the fourth in the world to earn this designation as of June 26, 2007. On June 5, the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa received the LEED Gold Certificate, the first hotel in the world to receive this environmental award. For more information call San Francisco’s Environment Department (SF Environment) at 415-355-3700 or visit http://www.sfenvironment.org/

For more information on San Francisco as a travel destination, call the San Francisco CVB at 415-974-6900 or visit http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/