I will never forget a conversation I had with a wood flooring vendor at Hospitality Design Expo a couple of years ago. The gentleman went on and on about the environmental evils of carpeting. To be honest, the guy made some good points. Carpeting manufacturing is a resource-intensive process, the carpeting itself creates a waste dilemma, and it requires a lot of energy to clean over its lifetime. Maybe that is why companies like Accor North America are choosing to reduce the amount of carpeting they use. (Their Motel 6 Phoenix prototype replaces carpeting in the guestroom with wood-effect flooring with 80 percent pre-consumer recycled content).
Prior to doing research for an article on carpeting (see article), I knew the carpeting industry had been taking its environmental impact seriously for quite a long time—decades, in fact. Arguably, they should, given their miles upon miles of product that had been deposited in landfills. After doing my research, I was quite impressed with the steps manufacturers are taking to reduce energy and water consumption during manufacturing, to use recycled content in their products, to recycle material waste, to offer waste-minimizing modular carpet tiles as an option, and to take back product for reuse after its useful life. Few other industries have done as much to reduce the flow of product to the landfill.
Given all that carpet producers have done, however, it means little if you do not partner with them. If you throw away your carpet in a dumpster without even asking your supplier about recycling it, everybody loses. If you don’t choose carpeting with recycled fiber content or recycled material in its backing, you fail to help push the industry toward sustainability. If those specifying carpet for your property fail to educate themselves about the best green options available, an opportunity to do the right thing is lost.
As with mattresses, furniture, televisions or any other bulk item on your property, you need to think very seriously about where your carpeting will end up at the end of its life. Ideally, it will be food for new product—an idea espoused in Cradle to Cradle, the highly popular book written by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. At the point of purchasing, make the environmentally smart decision. Don’t do business with companies that do not share your values. Avoid suppliers with poor environmental or safety records. Run from vendors who cannot at least tell you where your old product can be recycled. Embrace those companies that will take back your old carpeting, whether they made it or not.
What has your experience been working with carpet suppliers? Do you believe they are paying enough attention to their products’ entire life cycle? Have you tried to find a place to recycle your carpeting but failed? Have you considered the option of replacing carpeting with wood or laminate-type flooring? What environment-related questions do you ask when considering the purchase of carpet? I would love to hear from you. I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
GLN Adds Noritz America Case Study to Website
Green Lodging News has just added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the 130-room Florence Residence Inn by Marriott (Ala.) and its installation of a 17-unit tankless water heating system from Noritz America. The original specification for the hotel called for a pair of 750-gallon, 750,000 BTU per hour (BTU/h) boilers, each measuring roughly five feet by 12 feet. The mechanical room where they were to be squeezed into could accommodate both pieces of equipment, but with just a few inches of clearance between each unit and the surrounding walls. Contractor Anthony Crouch, owner of Crouch & Sons Plumbing LLC in Florence, reviewed the original specification with his plumbing distributor, the Tallman Co., and quickly concluded that the installation was all but unworkable. A tankless multi-unit water heating system was selected instead. Tankless water heaters heat water only when it is needed, unlike traditional water heaters that heat water over and over. How the contractor and distributor installed the system is a fascinating read. To read the complete case study, click here.
For more information on Noritz America and its entire line of tankless water heaters, call (877) 986-6748, or visit www.Noritz.com.
See You in New York?
I will be attending the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show in New York City. The event will be held from November 13 to 16 at the Javits Center. If you plan to attend or exhibit at the show, be sure to let me know. Approximately 700 exhibitors and 30,000 attendees are expected.
Off the show floor, seminars will address everything from adapting to new consumer attitudes and online customer interaction, to powering up profits and developing winning sales strategies. Be sure to catch “Green Certified Demystified” on Sunday, November 14, 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., featuring AH&LA green consultant Pat Maher. This program will address the process and criteria for the top green certification programs, including LEED, Energy Star and Green Key Global.
For more information about the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show, click here.
Advertising Opportunities
Several new advertising spots have opened up on the Green Lodging News website—two skyscraper ad spots on the right hand side of the site, the home page bottom banner ad spot, and the Featured Product ad spot in the lower center area of the home page. Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com if you are interested in these ad spots. There are also other excellent spots available on the website and in the weekly e-newsletter. The 2010 and 2011 media kits are available by request or by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Green Lodging News Blog & Twitter
Be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also now on Twitter. To follow my postings, go to http://twitter.com/greenlodging. Be sure to add Green Lodging News to those tweets that you follow. Green Lodging News now has 571 Twitter followers.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
