Name: Catherine Dolton Title: Vice President, Global Corporate Responsibility Company: IHG Years in Current Position: 1+ years Primary Responsibilities: “My primary job is working with our team—making sure everything we do is embedded in operations. I also work on collaborations—with ITP, AHLA and other organizations.” Organization’s most significant accomplishment in the area of global corporate responsibility: “Our bulk amenities announcement—a real mark in the sand. I came into my role at the end of 2018. We made the announcement in July 2019. It shows the power of IHG. It is companies like ours that need to take the lead.” Organization’s most significant challenge moving forward...

COMMERCE, CALIF.—Nora Lighting’s Ari LED Step Lights feature a modern, screwless face plate with three mounting styles: vertical, horizontal and field-interchangeable. Ari is available in 2.5W LED or 5W LED (30 to 80 lms) and can be installed indoors or out. The fixtures improve lighting around stairways, patios, balconies or outdoor walkways. They save up to 80 percent in energy costs when compared to 10W incandescent step lights, and are cETLus listed for wet locations. A scoop reflector produces maximum illumination without a diode image and a non-dimmable driver is integrated and embedded. Color temperatures include 3000K or 4000K CCT with...

SAN FRANCISCO—Carbon Lighthouse, a company delivering profitable climate solutions, announced a partnership with Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel, to bring improved energy efficiency solutions to the property, turning energy waste into guaranteed financial returns with zero upfront cost. Through optimizations to existing equipment in the hotel’s HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment) and lighting, Claremont stands to achieve more than $300K in energy cost savings. The partnership also aligns with Fairmont’s longstanding commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its portfolio across operations globally. Located in the Oakland Hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay, Claremont marked its...

LOS ANGELES—In a major step toward sustainability, USC Hotel has achieved certification from the nonprofit Green Seal organization, a national leader in setting environmental standards. To earn certification, the hotel underwent a full year of an in-depth audit of purchasing records, practices and on-site inspections to meet Green Seal’s GS-33 green lodging standard. “We want to be an example of sustainable practices in the hospitality industry,” said Dirk de Jong, Executive Director of USC Hospitality and USC Hotel. “Traditional hospitality practices use a lot of resources and materials and generate substantial waste. When we rebranded the property as the USC Hotel a year...

CLEARWATER BEACH, FLA.—Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), Page Development Group and Choice Hotels’ Ascend Hotel Collection announced the first ever Winter the Dolphin’s Beach Club Hotel. With the conversion expected to be unveiled in the spring of 2020 and sitting on America’s number one beach with 91 rooms, this eco-friendly hotel will be dolphin and marine life themed, featuring the inspiring dolphin made famous by the Dolphin Tale movies—Winter. “The opportunity to partner with Clearwater Marine Aquarium is unique and special,” said Page Development Group President Steve Page. “Our eco-friendly hotel will not only provide a great guest experience, but will...

WILMINGTON, MASS.—In the heart of the fashionable Garment District in New York City, LEDVANCE LLC, the makers of SYLVANIA general lighting, announced its new SYLVANIA Natural Series of LED lighting products with TruWave Technology. This LED portfolio offers the best alternative to natural light by mimicking the natural light spectrum to deliver Natural Light for Natural Living. In addition to supporting an improved sleep/wake cycle, this robust industry-first LED portfolio delivers superior dimming and less intense blue light for reduced eye strain. It also helps you see realistic vivid colors and enhance your color experience with high CRI and...

WEST CALDWELL, N.J.—Adding to a comprehensive portfolio of LED products that support California Title 24 residential lighting applications, MaxLite introduces new JA8 listed G9 base lamps for use in miniature decorative luminaires. Available in 2700K and 3000K color temperatures, MaxLite G9 base lamps consume just four watts of power and emit 400 lumens of light (an output equivalent to that of a 40-watt incandescent bulb). UL listed, enclosed-rated and dimmable, the lamps measure approximately two inches long, making them ideal replacements for halogen bulbs in chandeliers, bath bars, wall sconces and other decorative luminaires. These price-effective miniature LED lamps are...

NATIONAL REPORT—Advancements in textile technology are making it easier for hoteliers to incorporate towels and robes into a property’s sustainability program—product that requires less water and detergent to wash and less time to dry. The textile fiber type can vary but suppliers are currently offering material ranging from Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton, to microfibers derived from plastic bottles, to TENCEL+Plus Lyocell derived from eucalyptus and other botanicals. In just the last few months, Majestic International began selling earthright towels and robes made from ELS cotton. According to Wendy Thompson, President, Majestic International, towels come in bath mat, wash cloth,...

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL.—It’s official: VITO Fryfilter has a clearly structured quality management, certified by the ISO 9001 standard. This means that the processes are systematically organized and therefore obviously understandable for every employee. Continuous improvement is the basis for a sustainable company development. When consequently implementing this principle, the company can increase its potential of overall performance. Therefore, the quality of service, products and projects significantly improves—customers profit from a faster processing and high standard manufacturing. In addition, all the necessary requirements that define environmental management according to ISO 14001 were met. This is a central component of corporate environment...

CHICAGO—A year and a half ago, Great Wolf Resorts announced it would replace plastic straws at all 17 of its indoor water park resorts with more environmentally friendly paper straws. That step completed by the end of 2018 stopped more than 5 million plastic straws from entering local landfills annually. Bob Holesko, Corporate Director of Engineering at Great Wolf Resorts, said there were very few complaints about the switch. Eliminating plastic straws is just one of many of the steps Great Wolf Resorts has taken to reduce its environmental impact as part of its Green Wolf program. Great Wolf Resorts...