As reported this past week on Green Lodging News, The Duffie Companies’ Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring (Silver Spring, Md.) is on its way to becoming LEED Platinum—the highest level of green building certification available through the U.S. Green Building Council. Earlier in May, MGM Resorts International announced that MGM Springfield, located in Springfield, Mass., has received the world’s first LEED New Construction Platinum level certification for a gaming resort. The Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring and MGM Springfield join these other LEED Platinum hotels or resorts in the United States: Proximity Hotel, Greensboro, N.C.; Hotel Skyler...

SILVER SPRING, MD.—With 13 years of building to LEED standards under its belt, it is no surprise that The Duffie Companies’ first hotel project would be a LEED one. With the Home2 Suites by Hilton Silver Spring (Md.), however, The Duffie Companies has gone far beyond basic LEED certification; the hotel is on the way to becoming one of just seven LEED Platinum hotels or resorts in North America. Unique to the hotel is its location, says Shane Pollin, Director of Development for The Duffie Companies. “This community has no other hotels nearby,” he says. The property is located on...

ATLANTA—UPS announced an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. This is the largest commitment for use of RNG to date by any company in the United States, with a range of 22.5 to 25 million gallon equivalents per year. RNG is a key part of UPS’s strategy to increase alternative fuel consumption to be 40 percent of total ground fuel purchases by 2025, supporting the logistics leader’s efforts to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its ground fleet 12 percent by 2025. “The world has a trash...

NATIONAL REPORT—Major cities across the United States feel palpable tension between the demands of exploding population growth and developing an infrastructure that can meet the modern standards of energy efficiency. To keep efficiency front and center, many cities, counties, and states have implemented local laws to measure and improve the energy and water performance of buildings in their jurisdictions. These mandatory building efficiency policies are fairly new in the United States, unlike the optional (and more well-known) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications, which launched in 1994 and is shepherded by the U.S. Green Building Council. Understanding and...

SINGAPORE—Come 2023, a new resort experience will open to guests at Mandai, bringing them closer to nature through a biophilic design that integrates the buildings with their natural surroundings. The design of the new Mandai resort will be helmed by local architectural firm, WOW Architects. Speaking on the appointment of WOW Architects, Mike Barclay, Group CEO of Mandai Park Holdings (MPH) said, “WOW Architects’ concept demonstrated the best design response to our brief, one that will bring our guests closer to nature. We have brought together the strengths of two homegrown brands, WOW Architects and Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts....

EL PASO, TEXAS—The Plaza Hotel, a historic Art Deco styled 19-story hotel built in 1930 in downtown El Paso, will be undergoing a multimillion-dollar gut rehabilitation. The hotel has been out of service since the 1990s and will be brought back to life as the first 4.5-star luxury hotel in El Paso upon completion. The rehabilitation project is utilizing Texas’ Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program to finance a portion of the project through a special property assessment. Greenworks Lending will provide over $9M in capital through the program, which deems energy efficient projects as public goods. Once complete, the...

PHILADELPHIA—I-Star Lighting, an innovative global supplier of LED lighting fixtures, LED drivers, and advanced solid-state lighting controls, has developed a lighting system that enables users to program a full range of color temperatures and dimming options to adjust light output throughout the course of the day to provide a healthier, more human-centric lighting environment for interior lights. The I-Star Circadian System natural spectrum lighting combines several different I-Star technology innovations to produce a user-friendly, simplified lighting and control system. “This year we are introducing the I-Star Circadian System, featuring natural spectrum LED light fixtures integrated with our innovative wireless lighting...

Name: Emily Smith Title: Director, Corporate Strategy Company: Park Hotels & Resorts Years in Current Position: 2.5 years Primary Responsibilities: “I am in the corporate strategy group—a two-person team. I help investors invest in our company, work on our earnings reports, and help maintain our website. Over the past six months my job has evolved to include ESG (environmental, social, governance). ESG has become about 50 percent of my duties.” Organization’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “The installation of Melink Intelli-hood systems in all kitchen exhaust and make-up units at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The savings have been incredible—an annual energy reduction savings of more...

SAN FRANCISCO—Volta, an industry leader in developing innovative and highly-used electric vehicle charging networks, revealed a new visual direction with the debut of a completely reimagined charging station to go with its business model. The design embodies a decade of experience in building charging infrastructure that is economically viable, free to drivers and optimized for the rapidly growing electric vehicle community. The station cuts a slim airfoil-like silhouette with design focused on both the experience of the user and the impact to the community. Throughout the charging process, the station communicates real-time status using emotive and intuitive external lighting. A...

TROY, OHIO—Advancements in energy and resource savings have earned Hobart’s newest and most advanced flight type dishwasher a prestigious Kitchen Innovations 2019 Award presented by the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. The Hobart FT1000e Low Energy Series dishwasher is among 25 products selected in 2019 as part of the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show’s 15th annual Kitchen Innovation Awards. Built for high volume operations, the FT1000e’s technology was redesigned to reduce energy use and connected amp load requirements. It offers the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership, saving operators thousands of dollars in energy costs annually for greater...