LONDON—The names of the winners of the 2017 Green Hotelier Awards have been released as part of Responsible Business Week. The annual Awards invite applications from hotels of any size anywhere in the world; judging them on their efforts to reduce energy and water consumption, their waste output, their roles as responsible businesses to their employees and in the local community, as well as looking at how they communicate their sustainable and responsible ethos to guests. This year brought the largest number of applications yet from a diverse range of properties from eco-lodges to five star luxury resorts, from city boutiques...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Energy Inspectors Corp. has been named a 2017 Energy Star Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award winner for its continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. Energy Inspectors Corporation’s accomplishments were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2017. Energy Inspectors, an Energy Star partner since 1999, has earned 11 consecutive EPA Partner of the Year awards, and is being honored for its continued work in residential energy efficiency. The company certifies tens of thousands of new homes as energy efficient every year in multiple states, to...

BALTIMORE, MD.—Combining heavy duty performance and energy savings technology, Vulcan announces the launch of the CEF Countertop Electric Fryers, including the industry’s first Energy Star certified countertop electric fryer. Driven by customer-backed innovation and insights, the CEF fryers are built to meet the cooking demands of any commercial kitchen. Available in two sizes—the CEF75 with a 75 lb. vat size, or the Energy Star certified CEF40 in 40 lb. vat size—Vulcan’s robust designs feature solid state analog controls resulting in consistent food quality and shorter cook times. “Vulcan co-developed the CEF fryers with a leading QSR chain, so we are confident...

ATLANTA—When the global lighting, design and technology community converges at LIGHTFAIR International in Philadelphia May 7 to 11, professionals from around the world will discover a full slate of industry-specific networking events available to elevate and enhance the trade show and conference experience. The LIGHTFAIR 2017 events lineup brings together professionals to make connections and find out about what’s on the horizon in lighting design, directly from industry experts and manufacturers. Highlighting the 2017 events featured in The HUB, Impact Speaker David Robertson will explore the fascinating topic of innovation. His presentation, “How Any Company Can Learn from LEGO’s Successful Innovation Management...

WESTBOROUGH, MASS.—Save Energy Systems, an energy-efficiency services company that reduces HVAC expenses for businesses in the commercial and industrial sector, recently completed a comprehensive retrofit of dozens of corporate-owned health clubs across the United States and Canada. The announcement was made at the 2017 Planet Fitness Independent Franchisee Association (PFIFA) Convention. By installing its patented demand-limiting controller (DLC) to control the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system in each location, Save Energy Systems reduced the energy bill of each location by an average of 18 percent. With 52 installations now completed, the majority during 2016, the combination of the DLC...

WASHINGTON – More than 1,000 U.S. companies and organizations signed a letter to Congress and the administration calling for lawmakers to strengthen the ENERGY STAR program that was recently proposed for elimination under the Trump administration’s budget. “ENERGY STAR is a model for successful collaboration between the public and private sectors,” the letter states. “It enjoys a long track record of success and should be strengthened, not weakened, to ensure it continues providing these important benefits to the public while helping us meet our energy and environmental goals.” The letter, which was sent Monday and can be found here, was led...

LOS ANGELES—Acclaim Lighting, a leader in innovative and advanced lighting technology, introduces Aqua Drum, its newest series of high-output, submersible LED fixtures developed for outdoor façade wash, fountains, ponds, and landscape applications. Its marine grade stainless steel housing, sealed glass top, and in-grade mounting option enable the IP68-rated fixture to operate under up to 20 feet of water. Aqua Drum is available in multiple color temperatures (2700K, 3000K, 3500K 4000K) and color changing versions (RGBW and RGBA); several beam angles (10X10, 25X25, 40X40, 10X60 and 10X35); and three sizes (8, 18 and 36 LEDs) for custom lighting applications. The fixture...

BUENOS AIRES—Unmistakably green. There is no other way to describe the 26-suite Palo Santo Hotel in the trendy Palermo Hollywood district of Buenos Aires. The hotel’s facade, terraces, balconies, patio and roof are covered with plants. A specially designed iron structure on the building’s exterior serves as a support for the vertical gardens that reach 90 feet high. In total, more than 900 plants are spread throughout the building. The plants provide a natural insulation against climate extremes, absorb excess water, and help reduce the hotel’s carbon footprint by 80 percent by providing oxygen and absorbing CO2. The plants are...

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Xeros, the innovator of polymer cleaning technologies, announced the Symphony Project, an innovative technology collaborative with a mission to improve the sustainability of the world’s laundry rooms. The Symphony Project will include access to the Xeros polymer science, product designs, IoT platform, and its entire commercial laundry eco-system to any participating partner. The goal is to enable partner brands to offer customers a more sustainable laundry system with significant operational and end-user benefits while retaining their hard-earned brand loyalty. Xeros established the Symphony Project with the goal of helping to improve the sustainability of the commercial laundry industry. For...

Green Lodging News’ list of Solar Powered hotels in its Renewable Energy All Stars section grew by yet another this past week with the announcement of the completion of a 269 kW photovoltaic system at the Ramada Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, Calif. The installation is projected to produce 426,000 kWh of power annually. The electricity generated by the system is expected to power at least 70 percent of the hotel’s 175 guestrooms, public lighting and three EV charging stations. The clean energy produced by the system is expected to equal a reduction of 8,727 tons of CO2 over 25 years or...