WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that its flagship Element hotel—Element Lexington—is the first Starwood hotel to earn Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and the first hotel in Massachusetts to achieve this prestigious rating. Element Lexington earned LEED Gold certification in recognition of its superior performance in areas including water and energy conservation and improved indoor environmental quality measures. The hotel, which opened its doors in July 2008, expects to recoup its investment in green building in less than five years, due to associated operational savings....

ADELPHI, MD.—More than three years after earning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification—it was the first hotel in the United States to do so—Marriott’s University of Maryland University College Inn and Conference Center (UMUC ICC) is continuing its efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. The property, which includes 237 guestrooms and 11 suites, has recently stepped up its recycling efforts and has pledged to pursue Green Seal certification to ensure its continuous commitment to operational improvements. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, which manages the LEED program, UMUC ICC earned LEED certification for its 127-guestroom,...

INDIANAPOLIS—The Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis, a hotel owned and operated by Rosemont, Ill.-based First Hospitality Group, Inc., has requested a grant from the Indiana Department of Energy and Defense to install solar panels on the roof of the hotel. Taking the next step in environmentally-friendly business practices, the initiative would make way for alternative energy use at the property. The proposed 4,050 kW solar array will be deployed on the top of the 16-story hotel building, making it one of the largest arrays in Indianapolis. The solar panels will also offer guests the opportunity to see first-hand a real-time...

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels announced that The Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro have been awarded LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is the USGBC’s rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient, and high performing buildings. Opened in late 2007, the Proximity is the first hotel and Print Works is the first restaurant to obtain the USGBC’s top level of certification. “When we started the design process four years ago, I would have never believed that we could use 41 percent less energy and 33 percent less water without...

ATLANTA—The Emory Conference Center Hotel (ECCH) in Atlanta is continuing its commitment to the environment and its “green” guests. The property has recently been re-certified by Green Seal, converted to a new food waste elimination system, began recycling its waste cooking oil into fuel, and introduced single stream recycling. ECCH is the only Green Seal-certified hotel in Georgia, meeting rigorous environmental standards for U.S. lodging properties that include waste minimization, water and energy efficiency, and environmentally responsible purchasing. Certification must be renewed annually and ECCH has been certified since 2004. The hotel’s new food composting system is...

PITTSFIELD, VT.—A two-year restoration that included relocating a farmhouse dating to the mid 1800s has created a new, highly eco-friendly, 16-room lodge called The Amee Farm, one mile north of Pittsfield, Vt. The Amee Farm restoration was undertaken by Michael Halovatch of New York City. Amee Farm is managed by Becky Mcmillian, chef/caretaker, and also by Chris Orosz, farm manager. Amee Farm is designed for sustainable yet luxurious living with such touches as hand-selected antiques in guestrooms that are dressed with plush bed and bath linens. Amee Farm offers scenic views of The Green Mountains and surrounding Amee Farm’s hillsides...

KANSAS CITY, MO.—Doug Gamble, managing partner of the Q Hotel + Spa, is on a mission to make his 123-room hotel as sustainable as possible—even to the point of turning off lights in the lobby during the day and hanging clotheslines to help dry washed linens. Gamble’s company has owned the hotel since April 2007. It was originally built in 1986. Renovations began in July 2007 and were completed in March of this year. It formally opened as the Q Hotel + Spa on April 1. “It was a cool little boutique hotel,” says Gamble of the Kansas City, Mo.-based...

HANCOCK, MASS.—After the price of electricity jumped 50 percent during the 2005-2006 ski season at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, management knew it had to do something significant. It could not just keep passing along rising costs to its customers; it would lose market share. According to Jim Van Dyke, vice president of sustainability at the Hancock, Mass.-based property, the resort had already installed compact fluorescent bulbs and taken other simple steps to reduce costs. “We had exhausted the low-hanging fruit,” he says. The resort was already using more than 2 million kilowatt-hours less of power annually thanks to its...

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—Biltmore Farms SM Hotels announced that it will install a large-scale solar water heating system atop its new Hilton Hotel in Biltmore Park Town Square. The system will provide the 165-room hotel with more than 2,000 gallons of hot water a day, and it’s expected that the system will save approximately $10,000 annually in fossil fuel costs at current rates. The hot water system is one of the many environmentally friendly measures the community developer and its partner, Crosland, LLC, are undertaking at Biltmore Park Town Square to promote a healthy environment, reduce energy costs, and help it achieve...

GALLOWAY, N.J.—Seaview, a Dolce Resort, a resort in New Jersey, is taking environmentally friendly actions to become a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary and help preserve the Diamondback Terrapins. As part of a recent mandate program whereby 34 managed golf properties throughout North America and the Caribbean will become Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries by the end of 2008, Seaview, a Dolce Resort, is doing its part to help preserve the environment by protecting a species of special concern in the State of New Jersey. Each year, Seaview, a Dolce Resort’s famed Bay Course is inhabited by nesting Diamondback Terrapins, a...