NEW HAVEN, CONN.—When the Hotel Marcel opens next summer in New Haven, Conn., it will be a shining example of sustainability and what every hotel could and should be. The 165-room boutique hotel will be the result of the renovated Armstrong Rubber Company Building, aka Pirelli Building, originally designed by Marcel Breuer in 1967. It will be run by 100 percent solar power, meet net-zero energy standards, and will target LEED Platinum certification. There will be many other bells and whistles that will make the building highly efficient. Hotel Marcel is the project of Bruce Becker, Founder and Director of...

NORTON SHORES, MICH.—EarthTronics, dedicated to developing innovative energy-saving lighting products that provide a positive economic and environmental impact, has added new “plug and play” Type A and direct wire UL Type B lamps in a range of wattages, color temperatures and sizes to its high efficiency T8 LED products lines, all featuring over 80+ CRI (color rendering index). New to the EarthTronics UL Type A lamp product line is the next generation 48” T8 LED that consumes only 14 watts to produce 2200 lumens. The LT81440G9 and LT81450G9 lamps feature 4000K and 5000K color temperatures. Designed for use on dimming fluorescent ballasts...

ST. PAUL, MINN.—Ecolab Inc., a global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that protect people and vital resources, has been recognized for its sustainability leadership by global environmental nonprofit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious “A List” for tackling climate change and protecting water security. CDP is widely considered the gold standard for corporate environmental transparency. Ecolab is one of a small number of companies that achieved CDP’s double “A” rating, out of more than 5,800 businesses that were analyzed. Because of its significant action on climate change and water security risks, Ecolab is recognized...

FRAMINGHAM, MASS.—Ameresco, Inc., a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, released its first Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) report for 2020. The report centers on the theme of “Doing Well by Doing Good,” which reflects Ameresco’s mission of delivering energy efficient and renewable solutions that enable a low carbon future. The report is a reflection of Ameresco’s progress in the ESG focus areas from the company’s inception, while also addressing many of its goals for the future. Ameresco’s ESG Committee, which includes employee representatives across various functions, geographies and contributions, was established in 2020 to spearhead efforts to...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Carrier announced that it has expanded its AquaEdge 19DV water-cooled centrifugal chiller capacity range in North America by an additional 150 tons. With the capacity range now starting at 350 tons—previously 500 tons—the 19DV can accommodate customer requirements of smaller applications. The top of the range remains at 800 tons. The AquaEdge 19DV is the ultimate innovation in cooling and heating technology and utilizes an environmentally sustainable refrigerant with the highest possible safety rating and an ultra-low global warming potential of ~1. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corp., a leading global provider of healthy, safe, and...

I am currently working on an article on the Hotel Marcel. It is expected to open next year in New Haven, Conn. The hotel will have many unique features—net-zero energy, LEED Platinum, etc. One of the most unique features about the hotel is that it is expected to be the first Passive House certified hotel in the United States. I just came across the certification in another article I read so I thought I would share a bit about the certification. The Passive House certification program is run by PHIUS (Passive House Institute US, Inc.) It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA.—Carrier Global Corp. announced the company’s first set of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) goals since becoming an independent company in April. Building on the company’s vision to create solutions that matter for people and our planet, Carrier is targeting carbon neutrality across its operations by 2030. The company is also aiming to reduce its customers’ carbon footprint by more than one gigaton, supported by a planned investment of more than $2 billion over the next 10 years toward the development of healthier, safer, and more sustainable building and cold chain solutions. “At Carrier, we are applying...

NEW YORK—SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. announced that for the first time ever, the company has successfully produced its electricity-generating flexible glass using roll-to-roll processing, a high-speed method typical to commercial manufacturing of tinted window films, digital displays, printed electronics, and semiconductors. As thin as a business card, flexible sheets of SolarWindow electricity-generating glass generate power from sunlight and indoor artificial light, and are under development to electrify windows and otherwise passive surfaces on commercial buildings, automotive, aerospace, marine and other products. “The world’s leading manufacturers use roll-to-roll production, an innovative process successfully demonstrated by the SolarWindow team today. Importantly, this roll-to-roll processing...

Just how well is the global hotel industry, especially the U.S. hotel industry, doing in reducing its environmental impact as a whole? Thanks to the folks at Greenview, the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research, and companies like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and others who provide access to their data, we have a pretty good idea—and the news is not too bad. This is the seventh time the parties involved have produced the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB) Index and the report shows that carbon emissions per square meter of hotels around the world has decreased by 10 percent since 2015. The report...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—With this week’s launch of Vail Resorts’ 2019/20 season EpicPromise Progress Report, the company announced major advancement toward its Commitment to Zero goal to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030. Through its operations, Vail Resorts is prioritizing efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Detailed in the third-annual report, this year’s milestones include: Achieving the company’s 50 percent waste diversion subgoal, nearly a year ahead of schedule, by reducing landfill waste and increasing composting and recycling. Setting a course to be 100 percent powered by renewable electricity by 2030, in large part due to two...