CINCINNATI—The Procter & Gamble Co. was recognized this week as the eighth Most JUST Company in America and first among personal care companies, according to Forbes and JUST Capital, a nonprofit that ranks the largest publicly traded corporations in the United States on the issues Americans care about most. The ranking compares America’s companies head-to-head, based on performance in environmental sustainability, employee treatment, community support, product impacts and sourcing responsibly. The JUST Capital rankings encompass nearly 1,000 of the largest publicly-traded companies in the United States and are based on comprehensive surveys conducted on public attitudes toward corporate behavior, involving...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company, has received a Gold recertification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for the company’s headquarters in Parsippany, N.J. The recertification designates Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ corporate campus as one of the highest-performing green buildings in the country, reflecting the company’s commitment to minimizing its environmental footprint. LEED is a third-party certification program and premier benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. It uses a point system to determine the environmental merits of a building, with four levels of...

NEW YORK—A solar powered USB charging station. An electric bicycle lending program. A one hundred percent recyclable wine glass. A system that integrates an alarm clock, HVAC and lighting controls, Wi-Fi and more into a single unified platform. A salad-making robot (vending machine) named “Sally” that delivers eight-component meals in seconds. These are just some of the products that were introduced at HX: The Hotel Experience and Boutique Design New York (BDNY). Both events were held November 11 to 12 at the Javits Center in New York City. It would be impossible to list all the eco-friendly products and...

A good idea gone bad? What do you think? It was almost a decade ago that the “Make a Green Choice” program first emerged at a couple of Sheraton hotels. It then began spreading throughout Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In case you are not familiar with the program, it allows guests to opt out of housekeeping for up to three or four days in exchange for a vouchers or loyalty points. Once Marriott acquired Starwood, it continued the program and added a similar “Your Choice” program at some of its hotels. When the program was first gaining traction, I remember...

NATIONAL REPORT—In early 2009, almost 10 years ago, the Sheraton Seattle and Sheraton Kauai Resort launched a program that later became known as “Make a Green Choice.” That program, which allows guests to opt out of housekeeping in exchange for a reward during their stay (vouchers, loyalty points), grew within Starwood Hotels and Resorts and now falls under the Marriott International umbrella because of its purchase of Starwood. In addition to Make a Green Choice, Marriott also has a housekeeping opt-out program called “Your Choice.” “The program allows guests to be part of that sustainability effort when it fits their...

LOS ANGELES—NatureZway introduces its rapidly-growing line of eco-friendly cleaning products made of bamboo and other renewable materials. Most commonly native to warm and moist tropical environments in the Pacific Asia region (though also found in South and Central America, Mexico and even the Southeastern United States), bamboo is one of nature’s greatest gifts to the planet. In addition to being a vital source of food for pandas and other animals and a highly durable material for construction, bamboo (part of the grass family with some species growing 3 feet in one day) is easily renewable and matures in only three...

CORONADO, CALIF.—The historic Glorietta Bay Inn  announced several recent investments in environmental initiatives and sustainable solutions for daily hotel operations. The initiatives include installing a new renewable energy source, implementing a chemical-free cleaning program and introducing a digital application to reduce paper waste across several different hotel departments. Recently, Glorietta Bay Inn installed more than nine large solar panels to generate its own renewable energy to power lighting, HVAC, heat water and more around the resort. As the first historic hotel in the region to install solar panels, Glorietta Bay Inn looks to significantly reduce its carbon footprint. Located on Coronado Island, the...

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.—3 Pillar Solutions, LLC announced the launch of their online 3Pillar Hotel Sustainability Assessment, eliminating what can sometimes be unaffordable on-site consulting and travel fees. This comprehensive 238-question assessment takes a comprehensive snapshot of the entire operations. Shortly after submittal, a custom-tailored report of recommendations for improvement and cost savings are provided, along with a 3Pillar Hotel Sustainability Guide offering education in all areas of sustainable hospitality, from food waste prevention, stakeholder engagement strategies, to adopting the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 2030 locally. “The 3P Hotel Sustainability Assessment by 3 Pillar Solutions provided a comprehensive and affordable...

STATE COLLEGE, PA.—Aprehend, a mycoinsecticide developed by researchers at Penn State University, may now be the best weapon available on the market to manage bed bug infestations, which have surged in recent years. And, that’s just the kind of tool the founders of Centre Hall, Pa.-based ConidioTec want the pest-control industry to deploy in the fight against a seemingly relentless and insecticide-resistant nuisance. According to one of ConidioTec’s founders and Chief Technology Officer, Nina Jenkins, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate in Entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State University, bed bugs were effectively killed off in the United States after World War...

Hotel preventive maintenance (PM) has long been viewed as a necessary hotel engineering function and best practice. Most owners assume the management team is doing proper maintenance to achieve the useful life of assets (equipment, guestrooms and public spaces) and to avoid costly premature failures or replacements. Both owners and operators want to know PM’s are getting done, but few prioritize and monitor maintenance as a key performance metric like they do with revenue. Research shows strong hotel maintenance is a revenue opportunity. Hotel guest satisfaction research has shown for years that guests are less likely to return if they...