MADISON, WISC.—Upon entering the Arbor House—an Environmental Inn, you may want to watch where you step. The door mat is made from recycled truck tires. That is just one of the many ways the eight-room inn lives up to its name. Many of the items found in this historic Madison property were added or kept with the environment in mind. “Arbor House’s mission is to provide the art of hospitality within a model for urban ecology,” the inn’s website says. “Our goal is the wise use of resources and providing guests with an unparalleled combination of natural design, features, fabrics,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Greenbuild conference, the largest green building conference and expo in the world, has selected Los Angeles as the location of the 2007 show. Greenbuild will be held at the L.A. Convention Center from October 17-19, 2007. The theme of next year’s conference is “Accelerating Green Communities,” which also coincides with USGBC’s 2007 educational agenda. “We’re expecting next year to be the Greenbuild conference’s biggest year yet and L.A. is the perfect place for it,” says Peter Templeton, vice president of education & research, USGBC. “Not only is L.A. renowned for...

LAGRANGE, GA.—The Commonwealth of Massachusetts presented Milliken Contract and its Framingham, Mass.-based service provider State Contract Carpet with a 2006 Business Environmental Purchasing and Sustainability Award for exceptional sustainable practices. The business awards recognize leadership and creativity in promoting sustainable products and practices beyond the contract obligations for statewide contractors. Nominees were reviewed on criteria extending beyond recycled content, including background on initiatives for greenhouse gas emission reduction, waste minimization, Design for the Environment, Life Cycle Assessment and other sustainable practices. “Milliken’s rich eco heritage and leadership in sustainable practices across the board were quite impressive,” says...

ATLANTA—The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released the ASHRAE GreenGuide: The Design, Construction and Operation of Sustainable Buildings. The organization says it will help teach designers how to participate effectively on design teams charged with producing green buildings. “This is a design guide for mechanical engineers who are interested in advancing integrated, high performance/green concepts and applications on building design projects,” says Malcolm Lewis, Ph.D., a member of ASHRAE’s technical committee on building environmental impacts and sustainability, which wrote the book. “The guidance will help building professionals analyze system design options and point...

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIF.—Bentley Prince Street announced that all of its standard broadloom and carpet tile products have achieved Scientific Certification Systems’ (SCS) Sustainable Choice Gold/Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification under the new Sustainable Carpet Assessment Draft Standard, NSF-140. This new draft standard for sustainable carpet replaces the previous EPP standard, to which all of Bentley Prince Street’s standard products were certified. In addition, all of the company’s standard broadloom products are certified to the stringent “California Gold” standard required for State of California carpet purchases. Also achieving California Gold certification are broadloom products using the optional Prestige...

DENVER—With the Rocky Mountains and more than 12,000 professionals from all industry and market sectors convening for the U.S. Green Building Council’s GreenBuild Conference as the backdrop, the forming of the Green Cleaning Network was announced. “We are excited to be part of the launch of this important initiative,” says Doug Gatlin, the U.S. Green Building Council’s program manager for LEED for Existing Buildings. “The Green Cleaning Network will play an important role in advancing the green building movement.” “The rapid growth of the green cleaning movement over the past decade has created an urgent need for...

AMERICAN CANYON, CALIF.—The Gaia Napa Valley, a hotel incorporating environmentally friendly building design and technology, has opened here. The 133-room hotel, set on four acres, was designed to appeal to ecotourists. The hotel is pursuing gold LEED certification. The hotel will use solar power, water-saving techniques and certified wood, harvested with the long-term health of forests in mind. A mural by world-renowned artist Yuan Lee reflects on the spirit, beauty and resources of nature in the Napa Valley and surrounding areas. The hotel’s half-acre lagoon has its own ecosystem and is surrounded by a lush garden with...

ATLANTA—InterfaceFLOR Commercial introduces TacTiles, a new installation system designed to enhance the flexibility and efficiency of InterfaceFLOR modular carpet. TacTiles are patent-pending 3-by-3 inch adhesive squares made from a chemically inert polymer, the same polymer used to make soda bottles. They are affixed to the backing of adjoining InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles, bonding the tiles to each other to create a “floating floor.” Because TacTiles contain no liquid components, their use virtually eliminates the issue of volatile organic compounds, so they can be installed almost anywhere at any time, even in an occupied space. TacTiles allow installers to...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood Capital Group, led by Barry Sternlicht, announced the launching of “1” Hotel and Residences, the first luxury, eco-friendly global hotel brand. The concept will combine the best of environmentally sustainable architecture and interior design with luxury service and comfort. “1” will adhere to green construction and operating principles and commit to environmentally sensitive consumption of natural resources. “1” will demonstrate that green principles can coexist and enhance a luxury hospitality experience and healthy residential lifestyle. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has agreed to be an environmental advisor on “1” with the initial goal of...

KENNESAW, GA.—Reinforcing its commitment to providing customers with an expansive collection of sustainable carpeting for contract interiors, The Mohawk Group announces that numerous product platforms have achieved SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) Sustainable Choice Platinum and Gold/Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification. Platinum and Gold are the highest levels of achievement recognized under the new national Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard, NSF-140-2005. The standard is the industry’s new sustainability benchmark for ensuring environmentally and socially responsible carpeting products. “Providing our customers with high quality sustainable products has always been a driving force in The Mohawk Group’s design and manufacturing processes,”...