NEW YORK—Highgate, a leader in global real estate investment with more than 65,000 hotel rooms under management, recently announced an upgrade to 100 percent renewable electricity, beginning with a majority of its select service properties as well as 17 full-service hotels. The initiative will be certified by Green-e Energy, the nation’s leading independent certification and verification program for renewable energy. “We’re determined to be part of the solution to address climate change. According to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, the hotel industry needs to reduce its carbon emissions per room by 90 percent by 2050 to keep the industry within UN...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Green Theme Technologies Inc., a global leader in innovative and sustainable textile finishing, announced that new third-party testing shows the brand’s EMPEL platform provides robust stain release and creates a protective PFC-free treatment that outperforms other currently available options. GTT launched the EMPEL platform in 2018 with the goal of eliminating toxic PFCs (perflurocarbons) from textile processing. In addition to being highly sustainable, EMPEL delivers the highest water repellency and longest lasting protection available. The EMPEL Stain Release product encapsulates each fiber inside a yarn with a molecular protective polymer, which creates a barrier preventing stains from sticking to fabrics. According...

LONDON—EO Charging, a leading U.K.-based provider of technology-enabled turnkey solutions for electric vehicle (“EV”) fleets, announced its expansion into the U.S. market and the initiation of the site selection process for its North American office, planned to open in early 2022. This new division will deliver EO’s complete fleet charging ecosystem for businesses and government fleet operators throughout the Americas, as well as additional offerings from EO’s charging products and services. EO’s experience in delivering EV fleet charging solutions at scale in the EU and U.K. for fleets like Amazon, DHL, Uber, and Tesco will prove invaluable for similar global...

NEW YORK—In keeping with its ongoing commitment to be an industry leader in the area of sustainable and responsible travel, Ensemble Travel Group has partnered with Trees4Travel. Through this “business for good” partnership, the travel agency consortia will work with the organization that creates “Planet & People Positive Travel” programs to rewild the world through the creation of new forests in support of impoverished communities. As the first U.S. travel agency consortia to partner with Trees4Travel, Ensemble’s member agencies will be able to offer their clients an opportunity to support its mission to help convert islands around the world from expensive and carbon generating fuel,...

BEVERLY, MASS.—Dalkia Energy Solutions, EDF Group, an international leader providing comprehensive building energy solutions for commercial, industrial, institutional and municipal customers, announced a new service offering: strategic energy management. Known for efficiently managing energy services in commercial facilities, the company’s services now extend further, to the strategic planning and implementation of programs for large corporations with multiple locations. The strategic energy management services are offered as part of Dalkia’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) program, and notably achieve turnkey results. “Other energy consulting firms are just that—consultants,” explained Erik Moser, Vice President of National Accounts. “Through our new ESG program, we...

PARIS—HRS, the leading global corporate lodging platform, announced the addition of Accor properties, a world leading hospitality group, in HRS’ new Green Stay Initiative. This decision provides analytical and time-saving benefits to corporate hotel procurement executives as they increasingly require sustainability data as they consider which properties to include on their list of preferred hotels for 2022 and beyond. “The world’s leading multi-national companies are promoting their aspirations to achieve net-zero operations by 2030 or sooner. These company-wide goals impact managed travel programs, who are tasked to travel more sustainably as they recover from the pandemic,” said HRS CEO Tobias Ragge. “Dozens of...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—With this year’s winter season officially underway, skiers and snowboarders have another reason to celebrate: Vail Resorts’ 34 North American mountains have reached 85 percent renewable electricity—one big step closer to a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Through its operations, as well as by promoting collective participation, Vail Resorts is prioritizing efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Now released, Vail Resorts’ 2020/21 EpicPromise Progress Report tracks the company’s commitment to preserving the environment, addressing the most urgent needs of mountain communities, and supporting employees. Major achievements over the past year include: Vail Resorts is on track to reach...

MIDLAND, MICH.—Dow announced plans for 2022 to launch the world’s first commercially available carbon-neutrality program for silicone materials used for structural glazing, insulating glass, and weather sealing. Selected DOWSIL Materials will include PAS 2060-certified carbon certificates from Dow’s backward integrated siloxane productions and carbon reduction investments. This carbon offset program, whose theme is “Designing with more freedom by engineering less impact,” can help to decrease the environmental impact of buildings and achieve better green building certification ratings. “The commercial introduction of our carbon-neutrality program for DOWSIL Silicones for building facades represents a true evolution in silicone carbon-neutrality,” said Markus Plettau,...

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is technology that passes electric power over twisted-pair Ethernet cable to powered devices, such as wireless access points, IP cameras, and VoIP phones in addition to the data that cable usually carries. As mentioned last week, The Sinclair, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of hotels, has taken the traditional use of PoE and gone much farther. Sinclair Holdings, the hotel’s developer, opted for PoE, utilizing Cisco Digital Building Switches, to power the hotel’s lights, window shades, smart mirrors, and minibars. The hotel opened a year ago in Fort Worth Texas. I interviewed Hannah Walker, Chief...

FORT WORTH, TEXAS—This month The Sinclair, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of hotels, will celebrate its one-year anniversary. Located in Fort Worth, the 164-room boutique property was once the Sinclair Oil building—quite the contrast from its status today as one of the most cutting-edge green hotels in the world. In renovating the 17-floor building, Forrest Perkins and Merriman Architects retained the property’s ZigZag Moderne facada and Art Deco interiors but Sinclair Holdings, the hotel’s developer, opted for power over Ethernet (PoE) technology, utilizing Cisco Digital Building Switches, to power the hotel’s lights, window shades, smart mirrors, and minibars. Ethernet...