SAN FRANCISCO—MindClick Global, a leader in supply chain sustainability performance and sourcing solutions, announced that Marriott International is ahead of its sustainable sourcing goals for 2013. In 2012, Marriott committed to spend 75 percent of its 2013 furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) budget with suppliers who are part of the MindClick Hospitality Index for Sustainable Sourcing (HSP Index). As of June 15, 2013, Marriott has reached 60 percent of its goal.“With over 30 participating suppliers representing 20 product categories ranging from bath fixtures to seating, carpets to casegoods, fabrics to mattresses, lighting to mirrors, and more, we are very...

STAMFORD, CONN.—Element Vaughan Southwest, the first international hotel within Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s Element portfolio, has opened. Built green from the ground up, Canada’s premier Element hotel is an all-suite, 152-room extended stay enclave in Vaughan, Ontario, offering easy access between Pearson International Airport and downtown Toronto.“Vaughan is one of the country’s fastest growing cities with a strong emphasis on sustaining the environment, which made it a natural choice for Element’s first foray into Canada,” said Brian McGuinness, senior vice president of Specialty Select Brands for Starwood. “Whether staying for a few days or a few weeks, Element...

SPOKANE, WASH.—Ecova, a total energy and sustainability management company, recently released its second annual Big Data Look at Energy Trends: 2008-2012 report. The report draws from Ecova’s Big Data Warehouse, which contains more than 2.5 billion points of data from more than 700,000 facilities. This year’s analysis, specifically pulled from 150,000 facilities, including 2,200 lodging establishments, shows a decrease in total electric consumption intensity of 8.8 percent (5 percent decrease in lodging sector) and a 6 percent decrease in peak demand. The report also shows the lodging industry experienced a 30 percent increase in water and sewer prices from...

LAS VEGAS—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have commended the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) for passing a slate of sustainability resolutions that renew its commitment to local green building and clean energy efforts that help spur economic savings and protect the environment.“Once again, mayors are showing courage and leadership by embracing a strong sustainability and green building policy agenda that helps communities save money, save energy and create jobs,” said Jason Hartke, vice president of national policy at USGBC. “As the first responders on the front lines in the battle to...

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—On July 15, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed legislation into law that would create the United States’ second mattress recycling program. The International Sleep Products Assn. (ISPA) worked closely with Rhode Island Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio and House Environment and Natural Resources Committee Chair Representative Arthur Handy to craft legislation that will recycle used mattresses in Rhode Island. The legislation tasks mattress manufacturers in Rhode Island with creating an organization to responsibly collect and process discarded mattresses throughout the Ocean State.“We were pleased to work with state officials to develop legislation that promotes the proper disposal...

CHICAGO—The National Restaurant Association has launched a new report focused on sustainability best practices for the foodservice industry. Created by the NRA’s Conserve sustainability program team, the report, “Bright Ideas: Sustainability Tips from Industry Experts,” features tips, trends and real-world advice from industry experts who appeared at this year’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago.“For restaurateurs, implementing sustainable best practices into their operations is more popular than ever before,” said Scott DeFife, the NRA’s executive vice president of policy and government affairs. “We want to make that implementation as successful and cost effective as possible, which is...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the release of an upgrade to its popular online energy management and tracking tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The upgraded tool can help businesses achieve the President’s call to make commercial buildings at least 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020. The new Energy Star Portfolio Manager delivers a more user-friendly interface, enhanced data sharing capabilities, better reporting, and for the first time, the ability to manage buildings across their lifecycle from design through occupancy.Tens of thousands of organizations—including school districts, retail chains, hotels, hospital systems, and local governments—currently use...

MANUEL ANTONIO, COSTA RICA—In their ongoing pledge to promote sustainable tourism in Costa Rica, Escape Villas announces the availability of eco tours through their 300-acre tract of Manuel Antonio rainforest that was purchased as a carbon offset project. In 2008, former President Oscar Arias declared his intentions for Costa Rica to become the world’s first carbon-neutral tourist destination by 2021, and since that time, the government has fast-tracked multiple strategies to reach that lofty goal.Escape Villas has adopted a multi-faceted approach to reducing their impact on the country’s natural resources. The company has been offering Costa Rica vacation rentals...

DALLAS—NYLO Dallas South Side has achieved LEED Gold certification—one of the highest possible rankings from the U.S. Green Building Council. The hotel, which opened in August 2012, is the first NYLO property to achieve LEED certification, the first historic hotel in Dallas to achieve LEED Gold certification and one of only 69 LEED Gold certified hotels in the United States.“This was NYLO’s first adaptive-reuse project, and it’s in a landmarked historic building to boot—which meant our design team did even more creative problem-solving than usual,” said Michael Mueller, NYLO Hotels’ CEO. “We couldn’t be happier or more proud of...

DURHAM, N.C.—The biggest barrier restaurants in Durham, N.C., face in achieving “zero waste” is a lack of affordable composting and recycling options, a new study conducted at Duke University has found.Zero waste encourages the reuse of all materials. For businesses, it is often defined as diverting 90 percent of a location’s waste stream away from landfills and into other uses. For example, a restaurant can take much of its packaging, food scraps, and cardboard—items that often go into the trash—and recycle or compost those materials.The study, commissioned by the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve Sustainability Education Program and conducted by...