SYRACUSE, N.Y.—At Destiny USA there’s always a lot of buzz generated around our LEED certification. When we began the expansion, we wanted to continue the commitment to the environment we began when first building Carousel Center in 1990. Now, having just celebrated our one-year anniversary as Destiny USA, we are proud to be recognized not only as a premier shopping center, but as the largest LEED Gold commercial retail building in the world. Yet with all the talk around LEED, many are left wondering what it really means and whether it’s actually beneficial.LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy &...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes GE Lighting as a Founding Sponsor. GE Lighting offers next-generation, energy-efficient lighting and intelligent devices for the hospitality industry. GE Lighting partners with hospitality professionals to create lighting plans that get the most out of every space. The company’s comprehensive portfolio allows customers to maximize energy savings, minimize maintenance and add to LEED credits. GE Lighting solutions are ideal for lobbies to lounges, guestrooms to garages, and ballrooms to back-of-house. All while minimizing maintenance and maximizing energy savings for an exceptional return on investment.GE Lighting has helped...

STAMFORD, CONN.—In an event that culminated in a pedal-powered “spin” on traditional ribbon-cuttings, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide celebrated the grand opening earlier this month of the Element Vaughan Southwest. The Toronto-area hotel represents the international debut of Element Hotels, Starwood’s extended-stay, eco-wise brand. Built green from the ground up, Element Vaughan Southwest is a 152-room hotel in Vaughan, Ontario, just outside Toronto. Its opening marks the beginning of a global expansion that will see the Element brand add to its global portfolio and enter key European and Asian markets over the next few years. These include new...

CORAL GABLES, FLA.—K. Denaye Hinds, Director of Sustainability with OBM International (OBMI), one of the world’s leading international architectural and planning firms, has been appointed Chair of USGBC Miami, a branch within the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) South Florida Chapter. Hinds was elected by member-peers in the green-build community of Miami-Dade County. “I am personally elated for Denaye,” said Lee Cooke, Executive Director of the USGBC South Florida Chapter. “I speak with confidence, knowing that she will make the coming year one of the strongest for the Miami-Dade Branch. We look forward to her accomplishments and welcome her to...

LAFAYETTE, CALIF.—Aquamenities reports that its dispenser fixture is gaining traction in the marketplace with brand approval and installations in properties including Four Seasons (multiple locations), The Nines (Starwood Luxury Collection), several Kimpton hotels, Destination Resorts, and Affinia properties (New York City), as well as numerous other flag, independent and boutique properties.The properties report that feedback they have received from guests and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. The Aquamenites fixture increases savings, decreases a property’s carbon footprint, and increases the productivity of staff while still providing the level of quality that guests have come to expect from a luxury brand....

NOTTINGHAM, PA.—Zandur has relaunched its Cork Rubber Flooring under the Sustain brand name. The new color line features extensive options in cool and warm neutrals as well as brighter primaries. This updated pallet coordinates with current trends in wall coverings, fixtures and other flooring materials. Along with the updated color line, Sustain’s best-in-class slip resistance, low intensity maintenance and underfoot comfort make it a natural choice for commercial facilities that are looking for a safer product that is more durable and contains more recycled content than most other resilient products today.  Sustain Cork Rubber is made from more than 65...

DANVERS, MASS.—Osram Sylvania is offering a full portfolio of Sylvania ULTRA 25 LED lamps that offer energy and cost savings and a 2500K color temperature. The ULTRA 25 LED portfolio includes lamp types most often found in ambient, accent and decorative luminaires in hospitality settings such as B10, B13, BR40, PAR20, PAR30 and MR16 lamps.These energy efficient replacements for traditional incandescent and halogen lamps offer up to 86 percent energy savings, are phase-cut dimmable down to 10 percent and have a rated lamp life of up to 25,000 hours.Of particular note is the first to market Sylvania ULTRA B13...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—The Refinishing Touch, a leader in on-site environmentally safe and sustainable furniture refinishing and re-upholstering for private and public organizations, has completed a guestroom desk preservation project across 143 rooms for  the Hilton Garden Inn Columbia/Northeast hotel, in Columbia, S.C. The Refinishing Touch refinished the desks and applied protective edge molding on-site with minimal disruption in room use and environmental impact, and saved the hotel $46,439 compared to buying new assets. As a hotel with a high guest demand, the Hilton Garden Inn saw progressive wear and damage on its frequently used wooden desks, a result of chairs...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its inaugural LEED in Motion report, a holistic statistical snapshot of the green building movement aimed at equipping its members with the insight to make a strong case for sustainable building activity.The first of three reports in the LEED in Motion series, available exclusively to USGBC member companies, LEED in Motion: People and Progress examines the individuals and organizations that are driving and benefitting from green building, utilizing graphics, charts and other tools to demonstrate the breadth of the community intent on creating buildings that are better for the environment...

NEW YORK—Duravit has applied its innovative design sensibility to bathroom lighting with the introduction of its LED mirrors. This feature, now available across a range of classic and newly launched Duravit collections, lends a soft and natural effect to the bathroom, and the even source of light is ideal for grooming and makeup application. The functional LED lighting can also be applied in Duravit’s mirrored cabinets, providing a practical and energy-saving solution.“At Duravit, one of our goals is to always treat the bathroom as a living space,” says Duravit USA president Tim Schroeder. “Our LED mirrors substitute the harsh...