WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new National Restaurant Association survey of more than 1,600 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—reveals that nutrition and philosophy-driven food choices will be the hottest trends on restaurant menus in 2009. Local produce, bite-size desserts, organics, healthful kids’ meals, and new cuts of meat top the list of nearly 210 culinary items in the third annual “What’s Hot” chef survey. Rounding out the top 10 trends are kids’ vegetable/fruit side dishes, super fruits (including acai and mangosteen), small plates/tapas/mezze/dim sum, artisan liquor and sustainable seafood. “Creativity has always been a hallmark of professional chefs,” said...

YOUNTVILLE, CALIF.—The Napa Valley community of Yountville, Calif., with a population of a little more than 3,000 people, is now home to one of the greenest lodging establishments in the United States—the 62-room luxury Bardessono hotel, restaurant and spa. Set to open the first week of February, the development should earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification later in 2009. If it does reach that goal, it will be only the second hotel in the United States to do so. The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., is the other. The owner and developer of the property is...

LA MIRADA, CALIF.—Architectural Area Lighting (AAL), North America’s first carbon neutral lighting manufacturer and a leading provider of efficient, effective and environmentally sound outdoor fixtures for the commercial, municipal and institutional building markets, unveils its Carbon Neutral for Life lighting sustainability program. The program provides end users, such as building owners, site operators and municipal officials, the opportunity to neutralize the carbon footprint created by fixtures when in operation. “As a company we are committed to lessening our impact on the environment, evident through the eco-friendly luminaries we produce and our effort to eliminate the carbon impact of our manufacturing...

BOULDER, COLO.—Sustainable Travel International (STI) announced an agreement with Green Globe International, Inc., the worldwide owner of the Green Globe brand for travel and tourism, under which Green Globe International and STI will partner to deliver co-branded products and services to the global travel and tourism industry. Green Globe International offers comprehensive sustainability and carbon neutrality programs under its internationally recognized Green Globe brand, including benchmarking and certification, consulting, communications, and carbon neutrality programs. Under the license agreement with Sustainable Travel International, Green Globe International will license certain STI properties for use as part of Green Globe programs. STI will...

BOCA RATON, FLA.—Hollander Home Fashions announced it will commit to an ambitious zero-waste goal for its manufacturing operations by 2010. The nation’s largest pillow manufacturer is the first company of its size in the home fashions industry to make such a bold commitment to environmental sustainability. “A lot of companies are trying to be greener,” says CEO Jeff Hollander. “We are thinking more in terms of true sustainability. What we are doing is integrating a new way of thinking into our entire operation. Over the past 18 months, the company has engaged employees and experts to develop a holistic program...

NEW YORK—NEWH Inc., the hospitality industry network, providing scholarships, education, and leadership opportunities for individuals in the hospitality industry, will host a “Green Day” at the 2009 semi-annual NEWH Leadership Conference in San Diego on January 10, 2009. The NEWH Leadership Conference, designed to focus on leadership and education, takes place January 9 to January 11. The Leadership Conference Green Day, under the auspices of NEWH Sustainable Hospitality, will consist of a sustainability panel and an introduction to LEED presented by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), along with a vendor spotlight on sustainable products and a personal...

DENVER—What began with a company-wide seafood policy that ensured Xanterra Parks & Resorts served only sustainable seafood in its 68 restaurants has evolved into an aggressive program that includes a wide variety of new innovations in sustainable cuisine, waste-reduction programs and sustainable renovations and construction of restaurants. Known for its wide-ranging environmental programs, concessioner Xanterra Parks & Resorts operates lodges, restaurants, gift shops, tours and activities in national and state parks and resorts. “Our chefs have created some of the most innovative sustainable offerings we’ve ever seen,” said Chris Lane, vice president of environmental affairs for Xanterra Parks & Resorts....

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Cascades Tissue Group as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. For more than 40 years, Cascades Tissue Group has provided paper solutions designed with environmental preservation in mind. North River 100 percent recycled tissue paper products have more third party certifications (Green Seal, EcoLogo, and Processed Chlorine Free) than any competitive brand and are now made with Green-e certified wind energy. See www.northriverwind.com. For additional information, e-mail info@northriverwind.com, or go to Cascades Tissue Group.

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes EnviRelation as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. EnviRelation Emissions Management Services (E2MS) help hospitality operations track their greenhouse gas emissions, while providing them with valuable information for measuring the performance of their environmental initiatives. EnviRelation is developing industry indices in order to track hotel performance. Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Per Occupied Room (GEPOR) index serves as a benchmark as well as platform for sustainability dialogue with governments and environmental organizations, in addition to helping the industry maximize its environmental efforts. EnviRelation recognizes that...

LAGRANGE, GA.—Milliken Hospitality announced that all of its carpet collections—broadloom and modular—are now certified to the NSF/ANSI 140-2007 Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard. All collections also achieved carbon neutral certification from the Leonardo Academy without purchased credits. “Milliken Hospitality has made a commitment to certify all carpet products without exception and meet the highest environmental standards for this industry,” said Bill Gregory, Milliken’s director of sustainability. Milliken carpet collections attain carbon neutral certification from the Leonardo Academy with credits earned internally from reduced emissions and forest sequestration. Customers for modular products have the option of ES backing with NSF-140 Gold...