Green Globe Sustainable Leadership Award given to Ruby Falls

LOS ANGELES, California – Green Globe presents its Sustainable Leadership Award to those travel and tourism businesses that demonstrate an enduring commitment to preserving and promoting their travel and tourism related enterprise. To be a sustainable leader means surmounting not only the challenges of preserving the natural assets; it means maintaining a thriving business while managing thousands of guests, while also finding time to connect and care for the local community.

Ruby Falls, one of America’s greatest and oldest tourist attractions has today been presented with the Green Globe Sustainability Leader Award. Located within Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ruby Falls is a natural wonder and a much-revered site for recreation and education. This geological marvel has been named one of the Ten Most Incredible Cave Waterfalls on Earth. It is also America’s deepest commercial cave and largest underground waterfall.

Ruby Falls has a proud tradition of green leadership and enterprise success. Only last year the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association recognized this attraction for its sustainable and philanthropic efforts, presenting Ruby Falls with its Good Earth Keeping Award and the Community Service Award, as well as the Ongoing Special Event Award for the Haunted Cavern.

Green Globe first certified the sustainable management of Ruby Falls back in 2009 and has been pleased to award certification every year since then. So much of what makes Ruby Falls a premier attraction is based on its sustainable approach. The original buildings are constructed from reclaimed stone; all staff are from the surrounding area and bring with them authentic local hospitality; and the business is a reliable supporter of conservation and community organizations including – Lookout Mountain Conservancy, Rotary; and the Mountain Recreational League, among others.

Ruby Falls is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and prides itself on delivering tours that are educational by design with emphasis on science and geology. It is active in the local Green Space program and, in line with Green Globe’s certification, has made significant contributions to reducing its energy usage and working toward a cleaner, greener planet.

Since its first certification, Ruby Falls’ commitment to solar power has cut its energy bill by a quarter and saved approximately 1,400,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from being pushed into the atmosphere. To understand the size of this contribution, it is equivalent to 1,600,000 miles driven by an average vehicle or the same as the total energy used by 58 homes for a year.

From the hundreds of certified Green Globe members around the world, Ruby Falls is unique in leading the preservation of natural beauty both on top of the earth and below the ground with its famous caves and subterranean waterfall. For more information, click hereclick here.

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Green Globe is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .