CONCORD, CALIF.—The Hilton Concord Hotel, located in the East Bay of San Francisco, is incorporating environmental and sustainable systems into its multi-million dollar hotel renovation anticipated to be fully completed in early 2012. The hotel is owned and operated by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the largest U.S.-based global management company. “Reinvesting in a leading hotel such as the Hilton Concord ideally positions the Company to take full advantage of the anticipated recovery in the lodging segment,” said Jim Abrahamson, CEO of Interstate.In addition to a redesign, the Hilton Concord is a leading example on how to successfully integrate sustainable...

BOSTON—The Lenox Hotel, a global hospitality leader in eco initiatives, announced recently that it will sponsor and host Boston’s first commercial curbside charging station for electric cars on Exeter Street. The Lenox Hotel recently unveiled the electronic vehicle charging stations in a special ceremony. The move, in conjunction with Voltrek, is intended to create a new guest incentive while also generating eco awareness for passersby on the high-traffic corner where the hotel is perched. “We’re hoping to lead the charge by inspiring more electric vehicles to hit the road,” said Lenox’s brand ambassador Scott Grigelevich. Guests with EVs will receive complimentary valet...

BOSTON—Through a program that includes electric and gas utility NSTAR and electrical supplies distributor Munro Distributing Company, Inc., Boston area hotels are benefiting from LED lamps at no cost to them. The program began this fall and bulbs must be installed by the end of 2011. According to Jeffrey Pollock, manager energy efficient marketing for NSTAR, the LED program most likely will be continued in 2012.NSTAR customers are funding the program. NSTAR currently transmits and delivers electricity and gas to 1.1 million customers in Massachusetts, and gas to nearly 300,000 in that state. Munro Distributing is supplying the bulbs...

LONDON—Premier Inn, the United Kingdom’s largest budget hotel chain, is celebrating a hat-trick of breakthroughs in its efforts to reduce CO2 emissions from its business operations and provide its customers with more sustainable choices. In 2010 Whitbread, the owners of Premier Inn, committed to a target of reducing its carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2020 (relative to a 2009 baseline). Premier Inn is announcing three significant achievements in its drive to reduce CO2 emissions and raise standards of sustainability across its 46,000 bedrooms. These are: 1. Achieving an “excellent” sustainability rating for its Burgess Hill Premier Inn and Beefeater...

MIAMI—Some important project details are currently confidential—the name of the owner and developer, for example—but information released by Miami-based Oppenheim Architecture + Design indicates that a 244-room, 440-foot high hotel is in the pipeline for the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. The hotel is being design to earn LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. According to Carolina Botero, a designer at Oppenheim Architecture + Design, the hotel is still in the early stages of development and will be completed by 2015. Key sustainability features will include vertical access wind turbines, green roof, rainwater harvesting and reuse,...

PARIS—Accor recently decided to assess its environmental impact 15 years after it took a stand and started taking concrete action to embrace sustainable development. The company began working on gauging its environmental footprint at the end of 2010. The study stretches beyond measuring greenhouse-gas emissions to encompass energy and water consumption, water pollution and waste generation throughout lifecycles in the Group. “Four thousand and two hundred hotels in 90 countries, 145,000 employees, 56 million breakfasts a year and almost 545 million liters of water a year all add up to the environmental impact that we are now in a position...

WESTPORT, CONN.—More than 1,700 companies have already reserved more than 414,500 square feet of exhibit space for the 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago January 23 to 25, making it the largest HVACR exposition of all time. With several weeks remaining before the Show opens at McCormick Place, the 2012 event has already surpassed the previous all-time record of 410,415 square feet set at the 2006 exposition in Chicago. “We are very pleased about achieving this new all-time record, especially as this is our company’s 100th Anniversary,” said Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Company, which produces and manages the AHR...

MINNEAPOLIS—Carlson, a privately held, global hospitality and travel company, announced that its world headquarters earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Silver level certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB O&M) certification. LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Carlson is the 40th LEED EB certified property in Minnesota; of which, two are rated Platinum, 15 are rated Gold, 11 are rated Silver (including 701 Tower) and 12 are rated Certified. The project was completed in 11 months and was a joint effort by several departments...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton Worldwide announced new support for Sundance Institute, a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences in film and theater. Hilton HHonors, the loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide’s 10 distinct brands, and Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, a part of the Hilton Worldwide luxury portfolio, have been named the official hotel sponsors of the Sundance Film Festival through 2014. In addition, in partnership with the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program (DFP), the company will launch the Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainability Fund & Award. LightStay is Hilton Worldwide’s proprietary system for sustainability...

BOSTON—As early as April 2012, Boston will welcome its new Boston Hostel. Perhaps the most expensive hostel in the world, the $43 million project has been designed to earn LEED Silver certification. The new hostel’s location at 19 Stuart Street is at the intersection of Boston’s midtown cultural district, theater district, and Chinatown, close to the Boston Public Garden and adjacent to public transportation. Set in the renovated six-story, 60,000-square-foot Dill Building, the Boston Hostel will have 468 beds, a common area for guests, a self-serve kitchen, and another kitchen for group functions. The hostel is expected to attract...