CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Syndecrete LLC as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company’s Syndecrete countertops have the look of concrete but with an eco-friendly twist. Syndecrete is made of recycled carpet fibers, natural minerals and aggregates. It’s half the weight of ordinary concrete, yet has twice the compressive strength. Resistant to cracking and chipping, it contains no polymers or resins. Syndecrete comes in 8-foot slabs in several trademarked colors and aggregates. Syndecrete’s concrete tile alternative comes in three standard sizes: 12”x12” 18”x18” and 24”x24”. It is...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes LSI Wallcovering as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The Louisville, Ky.-based company’s award-winning Second-Look is the first vinyl wallcovering to include post-consumer recycled content. New from Versa, Cirqa and Plexus, Second-Look has the same look, performance and price as standard designs but with 20 percent recycled content. LSI’s Second-Look Retrieval Program converts reclaimed vinyl wallcovering into recycled post-consumer product without compromising the original aesthetic appeal and durability of the wallcovering. Call (866) 522-6072 for information., e-mail info@secondlookwc.com, or go to www.secondlookwc.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to EPA’s nationwide challenge issued in December 2006, 53 Fortune 500 corporations are now collectively purchasing more than 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. These purchases surpassed the goals set by EPA’s Green Power Partnership by 130 percent and equal the avoided carbon dioxide emissions of more than 570 million gallons of gasoline each year or the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 670,000 average American homes annually. Aramark Parks & Resorts is among the top purchasers of green power. “EPA applauds our Fortune 500 partners for protecting our environment by...

TOBERMORY, ONTARIO—With its six suites, the E’Terra Inn here serves as one of the best examples of sustainable building in Canada and the United States. Ninety-five percent of products and materials used throughout the inn were made in North America, and the property is one of the first in the world to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status. It was awarded that designation in 2005 by the Canada Green Building Council. E’Terra sits within the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve, at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula separating Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. The luxury property...

DENVER—The Colorado Hotel and Lodging Assn. (CH&LA) hosted a “Green Practices for the Hotel Industry” workshop for 150 participants last week. It was the second in a series of five workshops aimed at helping businesses in the Denver area and across Colorado create sustainable business practices. Denver is the host site for this summer’s Democratic National Convention, and the workshops help further the host city’s goal of making the August convention the greenest political event in history. The workshops also help Denver build momentum for its Greenprint Denver program, which works to create innovation and provide leadership around improving the...

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS—Dr. David Suzuki, one of the world’s most celebrated voices on preserving the environment, will deliver the keynote address at the 10th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development to be held April 28 to May 1, 2008 at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa (by Sandals), a Green Globe Certified hotel. The conference, organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization in collaboration with the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board and the Caribbean Hotel Assn., is designed to provide attendees with information on the development and implementation of tourism practices in a responsible manner. Many experts have identified...

ATLANTA—Georgia Power recently signed an agreement with TOTO USA, Inc. to begin providing the company with green energy. Under the terms of the agreement, TOTO USA, Inc. has agreed to purchase 480,000 kilowatt-hours of green energy. Green energy is environmentally friendly electricity generated from sources like the sun, wind, water, landfill methane and biomass. Customers who participate in the program help reduce the environmental impact of energy production, conserve natural resources, and support domestic energy self-reliance. “The recent green energy purchase by TOTO USA is evidence that more and more of our customers see the value of making renewable sources...

LOS ANGELES—Jim Burba, chair of this year’s Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), started the event this week by announcing that the travel of every one of the approximately 3,000 attendees would be offset by a donation to the Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program. That announcement set the tone for this year’s ALIS here at the Hyatt Regency Century City. Throughout the three-day event, green hotel development and operations most definitely were hot topics. At the Hotel Leaders Outlook session, some of lodging’s leading executives were asked to give their take on the sustainability movement and whether or not it is...

DENVER—As part of its ongoing efforts to set the pace in the travel and tourism industry, Xanterra Parks & Resorts has published the third edition of its Environmental Sustainability Report. The report is used to measure the progress of the company’s environmental program—called “Ecologix”—and track the company’s environmental impacts as well as steps toward meeting long-term environmental goals. “We have learned that tracking our performance helps us to better assess where to focus our efforts in the areas of resources and staffing, regulatory compliance and sustainability initiatives,”...

ARCOLA, ILL.—Agri-Fab Holding Company (AFHC) and Bob McElwee announced that they are developing about 100 acres into a green village near Arcola, Ill. This resort, called Green Mill Village (GMV), is set to open in the fall of 2009 and will include a lodge/conference center, spa, restaurants, retail center and education center—all operated on wind power and solar power. “It will be an unprecedented midwestern sustainable project, from both an environmental and an economic standpoint,” McElwee says. The resort lodge, to be called the Green Mill Hotel, will have 200 rooms and guestrooms will feature furniture made locally. McElwee says there...