Hutton Hotel to host to Al Gore's North American Summit

A few months back, we posted a piece highlighting some of the nuances of the lean and green Hutton Hotel in Nashville. This May 14-16, The Climate Project (TCP), an international non-profit organization founded by Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore, will host its North American Summit at the eco-friendly hotel to mark the beginning of the organization’s “Phase Two,” signalling the transition from its original mission of increasing public awareness of the climate crisis to its expanded objective of “advocacy and activism.”

The Climate Project now seeks to educate people on how to get involved and take action to persuade elected officials and community leaders to urgently confront climate change concerns.

“The Hutton Hotel’s commitment to sustainability and conservation made it the natural choice for us in terms of locations for our North American Summit. We are excited to be hosting our event at the Hutton, Nashville’s newest hotel in Al Gore’s hometown, and to be bringing more than 500 committed TCP climate change ambassadors from across the U.S. and Canada to the area for this significant event,” said Jenny Clad, Executive Director of The Climate Project.

Some of Hutton Hotel’s environmentally friendly features include energy-conscious lighting throughout the hotel, bamboo furniture and flooring, low-energy EcoDisc elevators, and card readers that automatically turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied. All cleaning products used are biodegradable, and the hotel courtesy vehicle is a hybrid.

“We are honored to be a part of such a progressive movement that works for essential change,” said Steven Andre, General Manager of Hutton Hotel. “The Climate Project’s ideals align with Hutton’s sustainable efforts and practices, which we consider to be of utmost importance.”

The shift from public education to activism is inspired in part by the upcoming Copenhagen Treaty negotiations, a gathering in December 2009 of hundreds of representatives from around the world to discuss the replacement of the Kyoto Protocol, expiring in 2012. The Kyoto Protocol set limits on greenhouse gas emissions for all participating countries. The treaty contained emissions trading options to combat the potentially harmful economic effects of sudden restrictions. The objective of the Copenhagen meeting is to establish options for furthering the Kyoto treaty goals. The Climate Project’s role will be to advocate for key leaders throughout the world to take strong positions during the Copenhagen meeting.

The Climate Project has the following goals:

• Increase public awareness about the climate crisis in a relevant and expedient way in order to harness the power of mass mobilization
• Expand the audience of An Inconvenient Truth’s message and demonstrate the urgency for policy to combat global warming
• Educate and encourage the public to make informed choices, to take action, and to commit to slowing dangerous climate change

About The Climate Project

The Climate Project (TCP), founded by Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore, is an international non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the climate balance on which humanity and our planet depend. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, TCP began operations in June 2006 with the mission of increasing public awareness of the climate crisis in the United States and abroad. TCP consists of a professional staff and more than 2,600 volunteers worldwide who have been personally trained by Gore to present a version of the slide show featured in the Academy Award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth. In 2009, TCP expanded its mission with a new commitment to grassroots advocacy and activism to persuade world leaders to take urgent action on global warming.

For more information about The Climate Project, visit http://www.theclimateproject.org.

About The Hutton Hotel

The Hutton Hotel is Nashville’s newest independent luxury hotel. Situated at 1808 West End Avenue, Hutton offers 248 guest rooms and 13,600 additional square feet of meeting space, along with some retail space. Hutton’s modern, yet elegant design is one-of-a-kind and comparable to some of the best boutique hotels around the world. Hutton Hotel is a development of Amerimar Enterprises, a recognized leader in the renovation and repositioning of office, hotel, retail, multi-family and mixed use properties throughout the country.

For more information, visit www.HuttonHotel.com.