| 1. MARRIOTT WILL REMOVE MINI TOILETRIES: Marriott International is the latest hotel company to begin removing mini toiletries for more sustainable options. The world’s largest hotel chain announced it will place refillable containers in all 7,000 hotels in 131 countries, with plans to remove all mini bottles by 2020. The brand estimates this will eliminate around 500 million small bottles each year, or 1.7 million pounds of plastic. Fast Company: “Banning single-use plastic shampoo bottles is an expansion of Marriott International’s work eliminating single-use shower toiletry bottles in five of its brands: Courtyard by Marriott, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, Fairfield by Marriott, and TownePlace Suites. Four of Marriott International’s brands (Aloft Hotels, Element by Westin, Four Points, and Moxy Hotels) have swapped out mini bottles for large pump dispensers, which hold as much as 10 to 12 tiny, single-use bottles can. A fifth hotel brand (AC by Marriott) has already started making the change.” 2. CNN TO HOST 10 BACK-TO-BACK CLIMATE CHANGE TOWN HALLS: CNN will broadcast 10 back-to-back climate change town halls with Democratic presidential candidates on September 4. The seven-hour event has been praised by climate advocacy organizations, as the Democratic National Committee voted against hosting a climate change-focused debate. The Hollywood Reporter: “Network anchors and hosts Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Chris Cuomo, Erin Burnett will do the questioning. … But CNN, which did not respond to a request for an interview about the town halls, is not the only game in town: the network's left-leaning competitor, MSNBC, is partnering on a two-day climate change forum at Georgetown University on September 18 and 19. MSNBC hosts Chris Hayes and Ali Velshi will moderate the forum and interview 2020 candidates about how they would address the crisis.” 3. TOYOTA TO DEPLOY ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET AND ROBOTS AT TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS: Toyota, the world mobility partner of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, will deploy a fleet of 3,700 vehicles for the event. Many of the vehicles haven’t been released to the public and 90 percent are electric. The automaker will also deploy other electronic transport devices and robots that will help attendees at venues. Fast Company: “The vast majority, or roughly 2,700 of them, will be existing commercial products, like the hydrogen cell-powered Toyota Mirai. They’ll shuttle people between the Olympic venues. More interesting are the vehicles that Toyota is designing or adapting just for the 2020 Games. That includes a new vehicle the company created for the event called an ‘APM,’ or Accessible People Mover. Toyota will build 200 of these open-walled, battery-powered buses for people with limited mobility within areas like the Olympic Stadium.” 4. GAMING INDUSTRY TO HOLD FIRST MENTAL HEALTH EVENT: The first event focused on mental health in the gaming industry will take place in Toronto this fall. The International Gaming Summit on Mental Health, taking place October 9-10 around World Mental Health Day, was launched by gaming industry veteran Mark Chandler, who has worked at studios like Epic Games and previously organized the GamesCon event in Toronto. VentureBeat: “Chandler said the event will start small and try to develop a strong gathering over time. The first event will focus on mental health in games, mental health in the work force, and mental health in online interaction and community. The event has seed funding from anonymous donors, and it will be held at the Design Exchange in Toronto. Attendees will pay $100 Canadian.” 5. TRUMP WANTS TO HOST NEXT G7 SUMMIT AT MIAMI RESORT: President Donald Trump said he wants to host the G7 summit in 2020 at the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort. At the annual G7 in Biarritz, France, on Monday, Trump told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that his property is a short drive from Miami’s international airport and could handle the event, which is slated to take place in the U.S. next year. CNN: “Trump is sure to receive criticism if he goes through with the idea and will face questions about whether he stands to profit financially from the large summit. Trump has received such criticism in the past for hosting foreign leaders, including China's President Xi Jinping, at his Mar-a-Lago Golf Club in Florida.”
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