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Earth Day Every Day: 5 Eco-Conscious Hotels That Maximise Comfort, Minimise Footprints

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SINGAPORE, April 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — While Earth Day reminds us to celebrate our planet, working towards sustainability is a year-round commitment. Across the globe, meet five remarkable hotels that make environmental stewardship their daily mission. Set in historic cities to lush tropical landscapes, these properties prove that fun and sustainability can go hand in hand, offering unforgettable experiences while trying to protect the destinations they call home.

Centara Reserve Samui, Thailand

Set amidst lush gardens along the tranquil coastline of Chaweng Beach, Centara Reserve Samui harmonises luxury with sustainability initiatives. As a flagship property of Thailand’s leading Centara Hotels & Resorts, the resort is committed to trying to protect Samui’s delicate ecosystem, with its energy-efficient architecture and efforts to minimise single-use plastics in line with the group’s sustainability goals. Food waste is transformed into biogas to fuel kitchen operations, while a specialised in-house water treatment facility enables the safe bottling of still and sparkling water—cutting down on plastic bottle use.

Moreover, the hotel participates in global initiatives such as Earth Hour and promotes resource conservation through its Going Greener and My Green Day programmes. These programmes focus on reducing water consumption and chemical use by reusing guest room linens. Through the Centara Earth Care programme, the resort replaces plastic items with more sustainable alternatives, enabling guests to contribute to these efforts during their stay.

Discover more hotels in Thailand and flights to Thailand.

Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore

Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore by Far East Hospitality stands out as an example of urban hospitality with its distinctive biophilic design. The property was selected for Trip.Best 2024 Asia’s 100 Instagrammable Hotels.

Completed in 2016 by WOHA Architects, the 27-storey building incorporates 21 species of tropical plants and flowering vines across its vertical façade, measuring approximately 160m in height. This architecture not only regulates the building’s temperature but also fosters natural ventilation, reducing the need for air conditioning. The lush, vertical green skin provides a natural habitat for wildlife, including birds, bees, dragonflies and butterflies (even squirrels), contributing to a harmonious coexistence between nature and the building’s residents and guests. Additionally, the façade absorbs and reduces noise, providing a restful, wellness-infused atmosphere for guests.

The interior design complements the architecture, with pools integrated into plant life and rooftop spaces designed for relaxation. This project demonstrates how ecological considerations can be combined with urban hotel operations, offering a sanctuary in the heart of Singapore.

Discover more  hotels in Singapore and flights to Singapore.

Trip.com Group Country Retreats, Dawan, Jinzhai, Anhui

Located in the scenic Dabie Mountains of Jinzhai, Anhui, the countryside retreat merges natural beauty with a more eco-conscious design.

The property runs on solar power, with visible rooftop panels, and features electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Guests are invited to participate in a range of environmental education activities, including hands-on science experiments for children and real-time energy monitoring displays, making learning about sustainability both engaging and educational. Surrounded by the stunning Tianzhai Reservoir and Yanzihe Grand Canyon, the resort offers a mix of outdoor adventures and immersive travel experiences. Visitors can enjoy mountain views while participating in local cultural workshops, which range from traditional farming to artisanal crafts. This retreat aims to inspire travellers to connect with nature and local culture through interactive learning and firsthand engagement with technologies and practices.

Discover more hotels in China and flights to China.

Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo

An urban upper-upscale hotel, Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo offers a subtle approach to more eco-conscious city living. Located around the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Station, and Ginza, the hotel provides a refined and more sustainable stay that blends seamlessly into everyday life.

Designed for longer stays, the serviced apartments offer kitchens and a filtered water system, reducing the need for single-use plastic bottles. The hotel also offers a residential feel, with nearby offices and shops within walking distance. At Ascott Marunouchi, sustainability is woven into urban life through simple, effective choices, making it easier for guests to enjoy a greener stay without sacrificing convenience or comfort.

Discover more hotels in Tokyo and flights to Tokyo.

NJV Athens Plaza, Athens

Situated opposite Syntagma Square and the Hellenic Parliament building, NJV Athens Plaza offers easy access to Athens’ most iconic landmarks. Within walking distance of the Acropolis, Plaka’s charming streets, and the city’s vibrant cultural and shopping districts, the hotel combines a great location with a commitment to forward-thinking practices.

The hotel incorporates more sustainable choices into its daily operations through practical measures. For example, it uses colder linen washing machine cycles to consume less energy and concentrated cleaning products to minimise chemical waste, with biodegradable toilet paper also reducing environmental impact. Guests are invited to participate in conservation efforts, such as opting for less frequent linen changes. Additional initiatives include energy-saving key card systems that automatically power down rooms when unoccupied—small but meaningful steps that reflect the hotel’s dedication to more sustainable hospitality.

Discover more hotels in Athens and flights to Athens.

Caring for the Earth with Trip.com

These more eco-conscious hotels represent a forward-looking model proving that more sustainable choices can go hand in hand with enjoyable experiences. Moreover, Trip.com has launched an Earth Day campaign on its Thailand and Singapore sites to inspire travellers on how to meld the two. One user shared on Trip.Moments about her lower-carbon choices when visiting Promthep Cape, such as choosing bikes over cars, sticking to designated paths, supporting local artisans, and making more sustainable choices in an effort to protect fragile ecosystems.

These individual efforts are complemented by platform-wide solutions like our Country Retreats initiative, which helps distribute visitor traffic to rural areas like Jinzhai (mentioned above). By creating jobs, providing tourism training, and promoting local culture, this programme empowers communities while reducing pressure on overcrowded destinations. We envision a future where such efforts—balancing legacy conservation with infrastructure progress—shape a more sustainable, long-term model for rural tourism.

In 2024, Trip.com launched the “Certified Sustainable” feature to help travellers identify hotels with credible sustainability certifications more easily. This initiative was introduced through a partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), highlighting hotels’ efforts in areas such as governance, social and economic benefits, cultural preservation, and environmental protection. The collaboration underscores the growing importance of more sustainable options in the travel industry and empowers travellers to make more informed, responsible accommodation choices.

In addition to stays, Trip.com also collaborates with the Travel Impact Model (TIM), recommended by Travalyst, to highlight lower-emission flight options for each route. Furthermore, the carbon offsetting programme, in partnership with CHOOOSE, enables you to compensate for the emissions from your flights.

As part of our ongoing commitment, users can now use our AI tool, Trip.Genie, to find more sustainable options through its recommendations. With these new tools, travellers can compare environmental impacts and opt for greener alternatives throughout their journey.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/earth-day-every-day-5-eco-conscious-hotels-that-maximise-comfort-minimise-footprints-302432299.html

SOURCE Trip.com

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JAMS Launches AI for Enterprise Job Scheduling: JAX and JAMS MCP, on the Model You Choose

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A new AI agent and an open-standard connector let IT teams query, diagnose, and manage automation in plain language, on the model they choose, with operational data staying inside their own network

LONDON, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — JAMS Software, an orchestration solution for scheduled and event-driven automation, today announced the general availability of two AI capabilities for enterprise job scheduling: JAX, an AI agent built into the JAMS Web Client, and JAMS MCP, a connector built on the open Model Context Protocol standard that brings JAMS into external AI coding tools. Both capabilities ship at no additional cost as part of JAMS Web.

Automation environments grow faster than the teams that run them. Jobs multiply across SQL Server, Azure Data Factory, Airflow, SAP, JDE, and Banner, and when one fails, finding the root cause often means searching several consoles at once, frequently outside business hours. At the same time, IT leaders carry pressure to adopt AI while staying accountable for where operational data goes. JAX and JAMS MCP close both gaps together.

Full details on how JAX and JAMS MCP work, including the control model behind every action, are available at jamsscheduler.com/product/ai.

JAX is an AI agent that runs inside the JAMS Web Client. It finds jobs, troubleshoots failures, and answers how-to questions in plain language, with each response grounded in the JAMS user guide and checked against a built-in glossary. JAX acts only when a user asks it to. Reads flow freely, and every write action pauses for the user’s explicit approval before it runs. JAX does not learn between sessions, and conversations are not retained on the server.

JAMS MCP is a connector, built on the open Model Context Protocol standard, that brings JAMS into the AI tools engineering teams already use, including Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex. Users query jobs, investigate failures, and manage runs in plain language without leaving their tool.

Both capabilities run inside the customer’s own network and act as the signed-in user, with that user’s exact JAMS permissions. There is no elevated AI account: whatever a user cannot do in the JAMS interface, JAX and JAMS MCP cannot do on that user’s behalf. Every JAX and MCP operation is recorded in its own dedicated log, and changes made through the JAMS API land in the JAMS audit trail like any other change. Customers choose their own AI model, whether a commercial provider such as OpenAI or Anthropic or a model running entirely on their own hardware, and JAMS never trains on customer data. In the current release, neither feature edits or deletes a job, folder, schedule, or agent definition. For teams that must keep operational data within a defined boundary, JAX runs on a local model entirely inside the customer’s own network, so nothing leaves at all.

“Adopting AI usually means giving something up, most often visibility into where your data goes,” said Pete Hegland, Chief Executive Officer of JAMS Software. “We built JAX and JAMS MCP so that trade does not have to happen. Every action runs as the signed-in user, every change waits for approval, and the model itself can run entirely inside your own network.”

“IT teams across the United Kingdom and EMEA tell us the same thing: they want the benefit of AI without losing sight of where their data goes,” said Greg McLaughlin, Account Executive for EMEA at JAMS Software. “JAX and JAMS MCP let them keep operational data inside their own network and still get answers in plain language. That combination is what makes this practical for the teams I work with.”

JAX and JAMS MCP are available now to all JAMS Web customers across the United Kingdom and EMEA, with no separate licence, SKU, or additional cost. AI-assisted creation of new jobs and workflows from a plain-language description is on the roadmap for a future release, gated by the same approvals and permissions as every other action.

Learn how JAX and JAMS MCP work at https://jamsscheduler.com/product/ai.

Fast facts

JAX is an AI agent built into the JAMS Web Client for job scheduling and workflow automation.JAMS MCP is a connector built on the open Model Context Protocol standard, for Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex.Both act as the signed-in user, with that user’s exact JAMS permissions, and there is no elevated AI account.Customers choose the AI model, including a local model that runs entirely inside their own network.JAMS never trains on customer data.Both are available now at no additional cost as part of JAMS Web.

About JAMS Software

Founded in 1987, JAMS Software is an orchestration solution that helps IT teams centralize, automate, and manage scheduled and event-driven jobs across complex, hybrid environments. Over 850 customers rely on JAMS to run their automated workloads. JAMS Software, LLC is headquartered at 108 Patriot Drive, Suite A, Middletown, DE 19709.

Media Contact
Bobby Schmidt, Vice President of Marketing
press@jamssoftware.com
800.261.4267

 

 

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/jams-launches-ai-for-enterprise-job-scheduling-jax-and-jams-mcp-on-the-model-you-choose-302833908.html

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Video: CNPC offers green chemical answer

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BEIJING, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

Located on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Tarim 1.2 MTA Phase II Ethylene Project and its supporting green and low-carbon demonstration facility of PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, are offering a new example of China’s low-carbon industrial transformation.

Watch the video to discover how CNPC is exploring a cleaner and more circular future for the industry.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/video-cnpc-offers-green-chemical-answer-302834036.html

SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn

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Shanghai Electric showcases embodied intelligence robot matrix and AI-native smart factory solutions at WAIC 2026

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Featuring humanoid robots with 41 degrees of freedom, pipe‑inspection robots with ±1mm positioning accuracy, and 51 industrial‑grade AI agents

SHANGHAI, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Operations in high-end equipment manufacturing often involve confined spaces, complex objects, and fine manipulation tasks that demand sustained and stable precision. At the recent 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance (WAIC 2026), Shanghai Electric (SEHK: 02727, SSE: 601727) showcased its comprehensive portfolio of embodied intelligence solutions tailored to a range of industrial scenarios.

Themed “AI for All: Smart Squad, Shining Without Limits,” Shanghai Electric highlighted its capabilities across embodied AI robots, robot core components, and AI-native smart factory solutions, demonstrating end-to-end capabilities spanning complete robot systems, critical parts, industrial software, and smart factory architecture.

“The true value of embodied intelligence lies in understanding real industrial tasks: combining the strength, precision, and stability of machines with human experience and judgment to drive a genuine paradigm of ‘machine-assisted, human-machine collaboration,'” said Wang Chunlei, deputy general manager of the Robotics Business Unit at Shanghai Electric Automation Group.

Shanghai Electric’s robotics portfolio covers five key industrial scenarios: connector insertion, electrical operations, flexible sorting, intelligent assembly, and pipe processing. Highlights include:

“SUYUAN” bipedal humanoid robot: With 41 degrees of freedom for enhanced mobility, it is equipped with a multimodal visual sensing system on the head and torso, along with a dual-battery hot-swap system. It is well-suited for inspection, material handling, and assembly tasks.”TUOYUAN” industrial wheeled humanoid robot: Powered by an embodied intelligence foundation model and force-position hybrid control, it is capable of multi-spec connector insertion, material sorting, and loading/unloading of automotive sheet metal parts.”Mermaid” bionic wheeled humanoid robot: Capable of autonomously identifying buttons, knobs, and air switches, it generates real-time operation paths.Autonomous pipe inner-wall chamfering robot: Designed for confined spaces, it can position and process thousands of hole edges with accuracy within 1 millimeter while transmitting data in real time.

Shanghai Electric also showcased its portfolio of core components ranging from power-output to end effectors. Among them, the planetary roller screw offers more than three times the load capacity of traditional ball screws, while the DexHand dexterous hand is designed to meet diverse gripping and manipulation requirements.

Shanghai Electric launched 51 AI models and agents under its “StarCloud Intelligent Manufacturing” series across three domains: R&D and design, production and manufacturing, and operations and maintenance—covering critical equipment processes such as process optimization and wind power facility maintenance.

These industrial agents are embedded in robotic decision-making systems and the operational logic of AI-native smart factories, transforming industrial expertise into digitized, reusable capabilities. They support production-line scheduling, quality inspection, and predictive maintenance, driving the evolution of manufacturing systems from experience-driven to data-driven operations.

Shanghai Electric also released the “AI-Native Smart Factory Technology White Paper,” proposing an active evolution architecture that enables real‑time, closed‑loop optimization of production data, giving the factory self‑perception, self‑decision, and self‑execution capabilities. Built on First Principles, the AI‑native smart factory vertically integrates process flows, industrial software, agents, and smart equipment to dismantle traditional hierarchies while horizontally bridging data silos. The architecture features three core layers: the AI factory brain as the “control center,” industrial agents and embodied robots as the “execution network,” and the physical twin as the “digital mirror.”

Leveraging its deep industrial expertise and comprehensive solution capabilities, Shanghai Electric will continue to drive the implementation of AI in industrial settings, tackle technical challenges facing embodied intelligence in complex scenarios, accelerate the large‑scale deployment of AI‑native smart factories, and deliver replicable solutions across diverse manufacturing environments.

SOURCE Shanghai Electric

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