Wisconsin certifying 'green' tourism businesses

Businesses seeking certification will have to submit what they have done or expect to complete within six months in categories including waste reduction, recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, wastewater management, air quality, and wildlife and landscape management.

The Department of Tourism will eventually list all certified businesses on a Travel Green Wisconsin Web site, Holperin said.

Ivanko, who has written a book with Kivirist on the environmentally conscious lifestyle entitled "Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life," said he believes the Travel Green Wisconsin program will appeal to the traveler "who wants to have a great time but doesn't want to destroy the planet in the process."

To offset the environmental impact of the car and plane travel his guests undertake to reach the inn, Ivanko even donates a portion of each guest's lodging fee to Trees for the Future, which plants trees around the world.

"We are a part of nature, rather than apart from it," he said. "If you ruin the area which people are coming to see, you won't have it any more."

If You Go:

INN SERENDIPITY: Browntown, Wis., about 150 miles from Chicago; (608) 329-7056. Rates: $100 or $115 a night, including tour and vegetarian breakfast.

TRAVEL GREEN WISCONSIN: Go to http://www.wi-ei.org/ and click on "Travel Green Wisconsin." The program will eventually compile a list of environmentally conscious tourism businesses in Wisconsin.

GREEN HOTELS: Lists "green" hotels around the world.

TREES FOR THE FUTURE: (800) 643-0001

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