NEW YORK—GROHE America, a division of GROHE AG, the leading provider of sanitary fittings, has appointed Jennifer Humphrey as Director of Hospitality. In this position, Humphrey will be responsible for developing the GROHE relationship with the top global hospitality brands headquartered in the United States. She will develop a best-in-class key account management program for these groups, and will work closely with key international account managers to ensure a unified delivery of GROHE support across the hospitality sector.Humphrey brings extensive industry and sales expertise to the GROHE team. She has worked at building the hospitality divisions for Simmons Bedding,...

NEW YORK—Atlanta-based Interface, Inc., the world’s largest modular carpet manufacturer, announced at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, its commitment to expanding Net-Works in partnership with Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Net-Works is an innovative, cross-sector collaboration designed to tackle the growing environmental problem of discarded fishing nets in some of the world’s poorest coastal communities, while at the same time supporting one of the company’s ambitious Mission Zero goals to source 100 percent recycled nylon. Today, the program is established in rural coastal areas in the central Philippines (including the Bantayan Islands and Danajon Bank, one...

DALTON, GA.—J+J Flooring Group is launching the Counterbalance Collection, its second offering of award-winning Kinetex textile composite flooring. Kinetex textile composite flooring, introduced last year, is an effective and efficient alternative to hard surface flooring. Constructed of knitted polyester fabric and cushioned polyester felt backing, it provides the durability of hard surface flooring, the comfort and warmth of soft surface flooring and better acoustics and safety than either. The flooring is virtually unaffected by common stains and resists crushing, withstanding more than 5 million foot traffics. Named one of Environmental Building News’ Top 10 Green Building Products of 2014,...

PORTLAND, ORE.—Viridian Reclaimed Wood announced it has launched a line of paneling derived from reclaimed cedar and redwood fencing, according to Viridian co-owner Pierce Henley.“Robert Frost’s musing verse, ‘good fences make good neighbors’ was the inspiration for our newest product,” Henley said.  “Our pet project to keep old fence boards from going to the landfill has grown into an extensive recycling operation and a gorgeous new paneling line called Good Neighbor.”Available in Weathered Redwood, Fresh-Sawn Redwood and Multi-Toned varieties, Good Neighbor paneling is lightweight and easy to work with.  Good Neighbor Weathered Redwood has been exposed to years of...

DALTON, GA.—Tandus Centiva, a Tarkett Company, has been Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver (v3) for its ethos modular soft surface products from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. The Cradle to Cradle design principles provide for continual improvement and innovation around the economic, environmental and social issues of design and use of products. The purpose of the product certification program is to improve the way we design, make, use and reuse products.Tandus Centiva’s ethos is a backing option for Tandus Centiva modular soft surface product platforms. It was developed in 2010 from recycled PVB, which is an abundantly...

TORONTO—Aerelight Design, a product design studio focused on developing innovative OLED-enabled lighting, announced the aerelight desk lamp. Powered by an advanced energy-efficient OLED light panel, the aerelight lamp provides a warm, natural light source unlike that of a traditional lamp or overhead light.Organic light emitting diode (OLED) is the next-generation of energy-efficient lighting, generating natural light by passing electricity through a thin layer of carbon-based organic dyes. OTI Lumionics started Aerelight Design with an exclusive focus on OLED light to demonstrate that the technology is finally ready for the consumer market. While the technology has been successfully implemented into...

SHAWANO, WIS.—The NEWH Sustainable Hospitality Committee announced the addition of four sponsors to support the return of its popular Green Voice Conversation Webinars on Friday, September 26.  Thanks to the support of Global Lighting, JLF Lone Meadow Furniture, Northwest Carpets, and Valley Forge Fabrics, the live webinar sessions are easy to attend using any computer and phone. The webinars will feature two CEU-accredited panel discussions, one in the morning, and another in the afternoon. Both webinars are suited for a wide audience of architects, interior designers, purchasing agents, hoteliers, suppliers, and educators to the industry and include six industry...

KA‘ANAPALI, MAUI, HAWAII—Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa is celebrating its LEED Silver EBOM (Existing Building Operations and Maintenance) certification, awarded as a result of a long term commitment to environmental sustainability. This certification is the first of any building in the state of Hawaii. The property recently completed renovations throughout the resort, including the pool area, Drums of the Pacific Luau, and dining outlets. Throughout the renovation process members of the Hyatt Regency Maui operations team worked closely with property owner Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and with third-party consultants Green Building Hawaii to make the necessary environmentally...

ALPHARETTA, GA.— Emerald Expositions announces the launch of Design Americas, a new show catering to the hospitality, contract, kitchen and bath and retail design markets. Developed as a response to the evolving world of design, the show will serve as the definitive destination for designers looking to explore the latest products and services either from a respective sector or across the entire design industry. Taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Fla. from September 16 to September 17, 2015, the event will take the form of four shows in one, with a floor plan that...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announce the signing of a memorandum to collaborate on the development of Standard 189.1, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the LEED green building program.The cooperation aims to create a comprehensive framework for jurisdictions looking to implement and adopt green building regulations and codes and/or provide incentives for voluntary leadership programs such as LEED.The agreement outlines the development, maintenance and implementation of new versions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for...