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IN AN AREA HERE SUSTAINABILIT Y IS A WAY OF LIFE, THE SAMOSET RESORT IS STAYING AB EAST OF THE GREEN WAVE BY MINIMIZING ITS MEETINGS AND CONFERENC S' CARBON FOOTPRINT. By David Wetmore
Keeping green in the Pine
Tree State is more of an instinctive rule than it is a forced habit. So it's no surprise the Samoset Resort was recently certified as a Maine Environmental Leader by the Department of Environmental Protection. Yet, here on this peninsula jutting its neck into Penobscot Bay at the edge of Rockland Harbor, the resort's connection to its natural landscape has moved beyond the guestrooms. The Samoset's latest environmental effort has been to make their meetings and conferences
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environmentally conscious, which stands as one of the latest greening trends in the industry nationwide. "T here is definitely an increase in awareness and acceptability for groups to ask for green practices - like recycling, local and organic food sourcing, and water conservation practices - than there was 10 years ago," says Tamara Kennedy-Hill, executive director of Green Meeting Industry Council, a national nonprofit devoted to developing and encouraging green meetings. "For the
Portsmouth I Penobscot Bay I Bar Harbor I Lake George
most part, the hospitality industry is responding to the demands of the eco conscious client, especially when there is a clear connection between sustainability and cost savings." At the Samoset, in addition to simpler steps like the installation of recycling stations throughout meeting centers and swapping out bottled water for pitchers, the resort now supplies groups with drinking glasses instead of disposable paper cups, gives composted food back to local farms for