Tourist businesses in Virginia that take extra steps to recycle and conserve energy are receiving free publicity through a joint program of the state's tourism and environmental agencies.

Through the Virginia Green program, tourist businesses self-report their conservation efforts on a checklist. Motels, restaurants and others that score high enough get listed on a state Web site, www.Virginia.org/green, and receive signs to display to attract like-minded tourists.

Yesterday, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine appeared at the Virginia Beach Convention Center to tout the resort city for having more than 60 businesses taking part. The sheer number qualified Virginia Beach as a "green" city under the program, which is run by the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Tourism Corp., the state's tourism arm.

With its suburban sprawl and strip malls, Virginia Beach is not widely viewed by environmentalists as green. But Mayor Meyera Oberndorf said at a news conference that the local tourist industry has embraced ways to save energy and water and reduce waste.

One of the city's contributions was to place recycling containers along the boardwalk for the convenience of the crowds going to and from the beach, the mayor said.

Sixteen hotels and motels in the city have taken steps such as adding recycling bins and encouraging guests to use towels for longer than a day. Twenty restaurants have agreed to such measures as recycling bottles and substituting biodegradable material for Styrofoam for takeout containers, city officials said.

The state's environmental regulators do not check to see whether businesses have met the standards as they report, said Tom Griffin, coordinator of the Virginia Green program, but tourists can report any shortcomings they spot.

Kaine told the crowd that wide participation in the program could have an impact. He called it an encouraging sign that businesses have come to view conservation as a selling point to the public.
Contact Bill Geroux at (757) 498-2820 or bgeroux@timesdispatch.com.