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...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—To meet the need for precise, reliable automated control in the most demanding HVAC zone applications, Carrier has released a new line of TruVu Dual IP Advanced Application Controllers for the i-Vu building automation system. These controllers were designed to ease installation and enhance system control and monitoring. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corp., a leading global provider of healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent building and cold chain solutions. Designed for robust networking in single equipment and advanced zone control applications, the five new native Building Automation and Control Network (BACnet) controllers feature faster processors, dual IP high-speed communications ports and...

From Walgreens to Target to the doctor’s office…It is safe to say that hemp has made a comeback here in the United States. What most people don’t know is that hemp is far more than your run of a mill CBD concoction. It’s food, fiber, fuel and more. For us here at Anact, we believe that hemp is the future of sustainable textiles due to its performance and sustainable attributes. Here’s why we are excited for the hospitality industry to pave the way in re-introducing this powerful textile. It’s hard to find a negative when it comes to hemp and...

SAN FRANCISCO—FiveADRIFT has announced the launch of their sustainably crafted towels. The company is on a mission to remove ocean plastic and end consumption of single-use plastic—one towel at a time. FiveADRIFT’s luxurious, fast-drying, and lightweight beach towels are made from all-natural hemp and cotton fibers with 100 percent of profits going to the removal of plastic from the ocean; about 75 plastic bottles are removed from the ocean for each purchase. The beach towels are now available for purchase via their website and newsletter subscribers get access to an exclusive discount. More Than a Towel: The FiveADRIFT Mission FiveADRIFT believes that every decision and...

AVONDALE, ARIZ.—Home2 Suites by Hilton, part of Hilton’s All Suites portfolio, announced its newest property, Home2 Suites by Hilton Phoenix Avondale. Designed for travelers who want to maintain their normal routine, the hotel features 127 suites and a range of value, tech-focused and eco-conscious amenities. “We are excited to welcome sports enthusiasts, players and their families as well as the many tech professionals visiting our region to our hotel; it’s a great location and the newest Hilton in the market,” said General Manager Matt Hallinan, a Phoenix native returning to his hometown after years of serving in hospitality leadership roles around the nation. “Avondale...

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. announced the appointment of Kyle Ballarta, Senior Strategist of Corporate Innovation. Ballarta is Founder and CEO of Falkon Ventures, where his portfolio Co-Investors include Tim Cook (Apple), Eric Schmidt (Alphabet), Google Ventures, Y-Combinator, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, Singularity, DFJ, and others. Falkon investments made by Ballarta include SpaceX, Icon, Eight Sleep, Matternet, Happiest Baby, and sustainability player Nebia. Ballarta makes investments and leads the commercial development of technologies and products which promise positive global impact and improvements to everyday life. At SolarWindow, Ballarta will support the Executive Leadership Team in its introduction of the company’s clean-energy...

The CEO of leading sustainability solutions company Green Places, Alex Lassiter, recently sat down with Eric Corey Freed, an award-winning architect, author, and global speaker, to ask him a few questions about the importance of building sustainably. They touched on: what makes a building sustainable, costs involved with building sustainably, scaling green building programs, common obstacles, financial considerations, and the importance of broad adoption. His insights are important for the green building sector overall—including hotels. A big thank you to Green Places for allowing me to share this insightful Q&A article. (You can also see it here in its...

PENSACOLA, FLA.—The eight-room Oyster Bay Boutique Hotel, with its geothermal heating and cooling system throughout the property, becomes the 28th U.S. lodging establishment to be listed in the “Geothermal Powered” section of Green Lodging News under “Renewable Energy All Stars”. The hotel opened in late April of this year and was previously the Lee House, a B&B completed in 2008. After being sold last year to the current owners, the Studer Family of Companies¸ $2 million was invested in renovations. The geothermal system came with the property but it, along with new investments in efficiency, has made Oyster Bay...