ATLANTA—Acuity Brands, Inc. announced that six Acuity Brands lighting solutions were selected for the 2023 Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Progress Report, which showcases the year’s most significant advancements in the art and science of lighting. Selections were made by an impartial committee that evaluated submissions based on uniqueness, innovation, and significance to the lighting industry. 2023 IES Progress Report winners include WarmDim technology from Aculux, A-Light Lean Sustainable Luminaire, EVO/Incito 4" and 6" Emergency Battery Backup Cylinders from Gotham, Hydrel Flame Lighting Technique, Lithonia Lighting D-Series LED Area Luminaires, and Peerless Proper luminaires. WarmDim technology from Aculux allows the color temperature of its AX3 and AX4 Series downlights to warm perceptibly to...

Instant Power Professional The Drain Experts We are a Dallas, Texas based family-owned business started in 1968. Instant Power has grown to be one of the largest drain chemical solution providers in the USA. As The Drain Experts, we take a personal approach to helping customers solve drain problems. We are proud to offer our new Line of Green Products—ECO THAT WORKS! We are the first drain chemical company to offer environmentally friendly products that are Green Seal and NSF Certified. In terms of product efficacy, we have some of the highest active ingredient counts in the industry. For more information,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ninety-eight percent of Los Angeles residents say homelessness in the city is a crisis or a major problem. Despite that, 86 percent say LA should not prioritize housing people experiencing homelessness in hotels, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. (AHLA) and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies. LA residents are set to vote in March 2024 on whether to require all local hotels to house unhoused individuals next to paying guests as part of a ballot initiative proposed by Unite Here, a labor union that represents LA-area hotel workers. The issue is headed...

AAA was founded over 100 years ago for the purpose of lobbying for driver and passenger rights, fair laws, and safer vehicles—all to better promote the love of the open road and the adventure of driving. Since then, AAA has grown to over 60 million members strong, while providing valuable membership services such as roadside assistance. Additionally, AAA has broadened its horizons to include all types of travel-related services, as well as offer a variety of insurance and financial products and services. Today’s AAA is a national federation comprised of 30 clubs throughout the United States and Canada. As large...

Hasek Communications, Odessa, Fla., introduces Green Lodging News—the lodging industry’s first weekly newsletter devoted solely to environment-related issues that impact profitability. The newsletter has a corresponding website—www.greenlodgingnews.com—that is updated on a daily basis. The website is currently averaging more than 35,000 different visitors and 60,000 total visits a month. Green Lodging News is delivered by e-mail on Mondays to 22,500+ hotel owners, managers, executives, front-line employees, vendors, students, consultants and others throughout the lodging industry. On Wednesdays, Green Supplier Spotlight is delivered by e-mail to the same circulation list as the Green Lodging News newsletter. Similarly, on Thursdays, Green...

NATIONAL REPORT—Sustainability is the buzzword for diners in the current millennium, reports Forbes, with 65 percent of customers declaring that they are interested in products and services that can help them lead a greener life. Foodies are seeking to support restaurants that follow “slow food” principles, rely on renewable energies, display ethical attitudes towards staff and suppliers, and prepare food in sustainable kitchens. Since the kitchen is the heart and soul of a restaurant’s operations, businesses wishing to run greener kitchens should tackle this goal from a multifaceted perspective. Reducing Water Consumption Saving water involves various measures ranging from keeping pipes and faucets free...

NATIONAL REPORT—Workplace injuries can prove to be very serious and even fatal if they are not tended to properly. Safety guidelines and policies are not enough to prevent accidents, and what is needed is to encourage employees and staff members to identify unsafe behaviors and make well-informed safety decisions every day. New technologies have significantly changed the workplace conditions as the number of workplace injuries has decreased over the years. While the presence of aluminum scaffolding and other such products makes things easier, the risk is still there. Human labor is being replaced with machinery and many industries are taking precautions...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Alliance to Save Energy released the following statement from President Kateri Callahan regarding a House Appropriations bill report that was to be taken up yesterday that would slash the budget for the Energy Star program by approximately 40 percent: “We appreciate that the committee has rejected the administration’s proposal to eliminate Energy Star, but a 40 percent cut would be crippling as well. I have to wonder where this is coming from. Energy Star is one of the most popular government programs in U.S. history and has enjoyed broad bipartisan support since it was created under President George...

Writing about environmental sustainability issues is not the most gratifying task. You are invited, dear reader, to please continue reading, though. This article does not attempt to stimulate guilt or parent-ego induced finger wagging. What follows are insights, learnings, thoughts and musings from a hotelier viewing the impact—particularly the hospitality industry’s impact on the environment. These thoughts are based on insights stemming from eight years of hospitality related environmental sustainability consulting work. It is stating subjective observations about possible changes in value perception of a person, a profession and an industry. Hotel Business A hotel is an organization or economic system...

Smoking rooms were in the news again this past week—in several instances. First, state lawmaker Ken Zebrowski proposed a bill that would ban smoking rooms within lodging establishments in New York. Second, Choice Hotels International announced that Comfort Inn will join Comfort Suites in implementing a 100 percent smoke-free policy beginning July 1, 2016, making Comfort the largest hotel brand in the United States to do so with more than 1,700 properties across the country. Third, Caesars Entertainment announced that 11 of its casino-resort and entertainment properties achieved LEED Equivalency (10 Gold and one Silver). The properties failed to...