I have green design on the mind this week for two good reasons. First, I will be attending the HD Expo + Conference in Las Vegas (May 2-4). I wrote about the event in a previous column that highlighted some of the products that will be featured and the conference sessions that will address sustainability and wellness in one form or another. Be sure to watch for coverage of this event that will feature more than 600 suppliers in more than 25 product categories. HD Expo is truly one of the best marketplaces on the planet for products and...

AUGUSTA, GA.—T2EARTH LLC, the breakthrough, science-based and innovation-driven manufacturer of sustainable, toxic-chemical free, and superior-performance forest products in the green building world with its focus on eco-wood products, debuts OnWood as the Earth’s first ever circular economy, sustainable, Class A, high performance, eco-fire-retardant treated wood (eco-FRTW). OnWood 1.0 is the first ever wood product of its kind. OnWood 1.0 qualifies as an Interior Type A (HT) fire-retardant wood in accordance with American Wood Products Association (AWPA) Standard U1. It is the world’s first fully circular economy principles focused, environmentally sustainable Class A, ICC-ES certified, fire-retardant treated wood product. Circular economy products are designed...

NEW YORK—Designtex presents Drop 20, better known as The Wild Bunch, a collection of textiles and wallcoverings that places “performance luxury” center stage. Luxurious fabric constructions such as fil coupé and chenille, are not usually associated with performance attributes. But these elegantly designed textiles are also cleverly engineered to withstand robust cleaning and disinfecting. The yarns are intentionally engineered with performance in mind and are designed to release stains when cleaned. The playful wallcoverings take inspiration from the digital age and are printed in Designtex’s Surface Imaging facility in Portland, Maine. Performance Luxury Textiles Trouvaille, meaning “lucky find”, has a carefully planned geometric...

Evaporative cooling towers play an important role in green buildings by significantly reducing energy consumption when they supplement or replace traditional air conditioning systems, thereby reducing carbon footprint and operating costs. Although evaporative cooling is great at saving energy, it does consume some water but the benefits on energy savings outweigh the water usage, which in some places is a scarce resource. Water conservation is therefore a high priority in designing and operating water-cooled equipment and plays an important role in USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and other sustainability programs. LEED assigns credit points to reduce...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International has won the Best in Building Health Award from Fitwel for its new global headquarters in Bethesda, Md. The award recognizes Marriott International’s outstanding achievement in healthy building design, which has become increasingly important in the hospitality sector of commercial real estate. The new headquarters showcases cutting-edge technology and design, providing an intuitive and healthy workplace for its employees. The new HQ campus features innovative design elements that prioritize health, such as natural light, green spaces, and active workstations. Marriott International worked closely with Fitwel, a people-centric healthy building certification system, to achieve the highest score for healthy...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM—Building on its long heritage as a leading sustainable hotel group, Radisson Hotel Group had a successful 2022 in which the Group committed to Net Zero by 2050, published approved near term Science Based Targets and pioneered key milestones and innovative Responsible Business initiatives aligned with its three pillars of People, Community, and Planet, as outlined in its 21st Responsible Business Report. Last year was a strategically important year for Radisson Hotel Group’s sustainability program. With approved science-based carbon emission reduction targets for 2030 by SBTi, Radisson Hotel Group is placed amongst the leading companies aligning their targets with...

NAPA VALLEY, CALIF.—Six Senses is taking its wellness and sustainability formula to a sanctuary in Napa County, an agricultural haven producing some of the world’s most sought-after wine. Named after the natural thermal Aetna Springs discovered in the 1870s, the original resort thrived until the 1970s as a natural spa destination, with Aetna Mineral Water also sold throughout the American West. “Six Senses Napa Valley will marry the region’s beauty with the unique natural resources of the original Aetna Springs,” said Six Senses CEO Neil Jacobs. “Working with Weller Development Partners, Pegasus Capital Advisors, and committed sustainability partners, we have...

HOUSTON—During the past 11 years, DaVinci Roofscapes, a division of Westlake Royal Building Products USA Inc. has reprocessed more than 10.9 million pounds of polymer scrap materials. In conjunction with the upcoming Earth Day on April 22, the composite slate and shake roofing manufacturer announced that its operations successfully recycled 1,697,249 pounds of polymer waste in 2022…the most ever recycled by the company in a single year. “This is more than half a million pounds of scrap in excess of what we reprocessed in 2021,” according to Mark Pagel, General Manager at DaVinci Roofscapes in Lenexa, Kan. “For the sixth consecutive year we have contributed...

SOLON, OHIO—Tarkett, a worldwide leader in innovative and sustainable flooring solutions, has welcomed Tracy Cook to its growing commercial team as Senior Director, Product Management, Soft Surface. Cook will set the strategy for all Tarkett North America commercial soft-surface products. Her role will include life cycle analysis, protecting and growing market share within current target market segments, and managing existing product portfolios. She will also be responsible for identifying new product and service ideas, as well as opportunities for growth in new market segments. “Tarkett’s design vision gives me confidence that we will see continuous growth in the soft surface segment...

CROSSVILLE, TENN.—Crossville recently announced two new manufactured collections that will be carbon neutral through measuring embodied carbon (EPD) and purchasing carbon offsets to account for what cannot be immediately reduced for the full lifecycle of these product lines. The Civilization Collection and the Native Metal Collection are the company’s first carbon-neutral products. “Just as important as style and performance, the Civilization and Native Metal collections are the visible efforts that Crossville is consciously taking to reduce our environmental impact,” said Lindsey Waldrep, Crossville’s VP of Marketing. “Throughout our manufacturing and delivery processes, Crossville is making changes that we believe will affect our global...