SEATTLE—The Living Product Challenge (LPC) is now an approved certification path in the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED v4/4.1 BD+C program. Living Product Challenge certified products join Declare as a compliant pathway in the LEED version 4 and 4.1 Building Product Disclosure and Optimization—Material Ingredients credit. In fact, LPC now receives the highest points for demonstrating healthier products under Option 2 of the credit. There are currently 21 LPC-certified products that comply, and the program is scaling rapidly. This builds upon the recognition of the Declare program by LEED V4 in 2016, and reflects a broader industry alignment and trend to embrace ingredient...

ARROYO GRANDE, CALIF.—Arroyo Grande’s newest destination, The Agrarian Hotel, is set to open its doors in June of 2019, offering well-appointed rooms, plush amenities, and inviting, sustainably-designed spaces that seek to redefine the boutique hotel experience. Located in the historic Village of Arroyo Grande, The Agrarian Hotel is an exquisite new boutique hotel at the gateway to wine country, where comfort and sustainability coincide to create a memorable, relaxing stay on the Central Coast. All 54 rooms and suites are spacious and tastefully-designed, offering Tempurpedic beds, high-end bedding, and plush amenities, such as private patios and Jacuzzi tubs in some...

PORT CHESTER, N.Y.—The Shade Store, a leading resource for premium custom window treatments, will show at HD Expo for the first time, May 15 to 17 in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Featuring a selection of new offerings and bestsellers curated for the commercial market, The Shade Store’s booth #3275 will highlight full-service solutions and state of the art window treatment products that can be tailored for hospitality, retail and workplace commercial design projects. “At The Shade Store, many of our customers are interior designers, and our work in the contract market is in many ways a...

SOUTH RIM, GRAND CANYON—Grand Canyon South Rim is getting a “birthday present” for its Centennial: as part of its concession contract with the National Park Service (NPS), Xanterra Travel Collection is investing $30 million to rebuild the Maswik South Lodging complex at South Rim. The existing 90 rooms, constructed in 1971, will be replaced with 120 new lodging units within four new lodging structures in the same general location. The new Maswik guest lodging is anticipated to open in Summer of 2020. The new units will greatly improve the guest experience adding new amenities to the two-story structures including private...

NATIONAL REPORT—Did you know that by shifting to green design and sustainable practices you could increase the property value of your guest houses by 7 percent and reduce operational costs by 8 percent per guest house? This is according to the World Green Building Trends 2018 SmartMarket Report. Sustainability, which first started in industrial, residential, and commercial buildings has now swept over the hospitality industry. More and more spas and resorts are going green and with good reason—talk of higher profits, increased property value, and enhanced marketability not to mention significant contributions to creating a clean, nontoxic environment. If you run an accommodation...

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA.—Carrier announced that its world headquarters, the UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings, is the first commercial building in Florida to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum v4 certification. The Platinum rating—the highest designation—was awarded under the stringent version 4 LEED green building program for building design and construction from the U.S. Green Building Council. Carrier, a leading global provider of innovative heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security and building automation technologies, is a unit of United Technologies Corp.“Earning LEED Platinum certification is a significant...

Design and photo credit: Danny Forster & Architecture BETHESDA, MD.—The world’s tallest modular hotel—which will carry a brand of Marriott International—is on track to be stacked in late fall in New York City with prefabricated and pre-furnished guestrooms. Once erected over a 90-day period, the 360-foot-tall tower will represent a milestone for Marriott’s ongoing initiative to encourage hotel developers in North America to embrace modular for new construction projects. To be topped with a modular roof and modular rooftop bar, the world's tallest modular hotel is expected to open in late 2020 as...

SAN DIEGO—Duchateau, an innovator in the design and manufacture of luxury architectural finishes from hardwood flooring to 3D wooden wall panels, announces the launch of DUGOOD, the brand’s new corporate sustainability program. Duchateau has partnered with the nonprofit organization, National Forest Foundation (NFF), and DUGOOD will directly contribute to NFF’s ambitious campaign to plant 5 million trees by 2023. The DUGOOD initiative will commit that one tree will be planted for every Duchateau hardwood floor sold, with a portion of the trees being planted in areas directly impacted by California Wildfires.

KRABEY ISLAND, CAMBODIA—Six Senses Krabey Island has flung open the (sustainably-built) doors of its 40 private pool villas to welcome its first guests as they step off the speedboat to this tropical island escape. The landscaped 30-acre (12-hectare) private island with dense tropical jungle and rocky coastline is located 3 miles (5 kilometers) off Ream National Park in southern Cambodia. From Sihanouk International Airport, it is a 10-minute drive to the resort’s mainland reception for the short 15-minute crossing to Krabey Island. Remote enough yet not cut off from a country offering...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.—Native Trails, a premier artisan-crafted kitchen and bathroom brand that makes a grand visual impression with a small ecological footprint, announced its commitment to using business as a force for the greater good, with the announcement of its recent B Corporation Certification. Held to the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability, B Corp brands are accelerating a global cultural shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Working toward reducing inequality, lowering levels of poverty, creating a healthier environment, building stronger communities, and creating more high-quality...