TORONTO—Global voluntourism organization Planeterra announces a new partnership with U.K.-based STA Travel, the world’s largest student, youth and budget travel organization. STA Travel is committing $1 million over five years to a responsible tourism program led by Planeterra which will develop mutually beneficial volunteer travel and community projects targeted to STA Travel’s more than 6 million passengers who travel annually to 90 countries.  “This is a significant partnership with STA Travel, a key industry player,” said Richard Edwards, Planeterra director. “The scope of their commitment signifies a major shift as more and more travel companies are now adopting full-scale...

TEMPERANCE, MICH.—MTS announced that Ian King has been promoted to national sales manager-Lodging. In this role, King will be responsible for leading MTS Seating’s efforts with major lodging and convention customers, as well as select lodging distribution customers.  “Ian’s previous successes as an MTS sales manager, combined with his passion for excellence, will provide the foundation for success in his new role,” said John Menas, senior vice president of sales, MTS Seating. “We are confident in Ian’s ability to build relationships, understand customer needs and deliver superior service.” A graduate of Miami University, King joined MTS in 2004 as a...

NEW CASTLE, DEL.—Speakman Co. introduces the next generation of its Speakman shower products, Anystream Massage. The Anystream Massage product family was designed to provide luxurious, full-body sprays from ergonomically designed fixtures. By simply rotating the showerhead faceplate, users can transition effortlessly through gentle rain, full-flood and therapeutic, pulsating massage sprays.Like many of its predecessors the Anystream Massage products use precision-engineered Speakman components and materials that resist sediment buildup and are self-cleaning. The five adjustable stream nozzles and 12 center pulsating massage jets combine to produce 50 invigorating full-body sprays under any water pressure. Each Speakman showerhead is equipped with...

NEW YORK—Humanscale’s groundbreaking Element LED Task Light received a 2010 Green GOOD DESIGN Award. Among thousands of submissions from more than 46 countries, Element was selected as an outstanding example of green design. The Green GOOD DESIGN Awards are organized by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Green GOOD DESIGN’s goal is “to emphasize the importance of sustainable design and to develop a public awareness program for the international general public about which companies are doing the best job in sustainable design for our environments,” said Ioannis...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Consumers searching for the latest hybrid can soon look beyond their local car dealership. Beginning in 2011, GE Lighting will bring hybrid technology to the lighting aisle in the form of a unique, new incandescent-shaped light bulb that combines the instant brightness of halogen technology with the energy efficiency and longer rated life of compact fluorescent (CFL) technology. The initial product launch will bring U.S. and Canadian consumers GE Reveal and GE Energy Smart Soft White varieties that offer significantly greater instant brightness than current covered CFLs, while preserving the energy efficiency and long life attributes that have elevated...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Energy Cinch as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Energy Cinch is a highly effective energy saving Roman Shade style window treatment. It has an R-value of 7.69 and is designed to close off the convective loop, significantly lowering energy consumption and costs. Energy Cinch reduces winter heat loss by as much as 80 percent and summer heat gain by as much as 70 percent, making it a highly effective thermal barrier. The Energy Cinch shade installs behind existing drapes or by itself. Numerous fabrics and...

DALLAS—Widely known for its eco-friendly practices and amenities, Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Dallas is the first hotel in Dallas to achieve Green Seal certification at the Silver Level. Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and other leaders and community partners gathered at the property recently for a special “Green” Breakfast Reception and event to celebrate the announcement and learn about the hotel’s efforts to lessen its environmental footprint. This honor brings Kimpton closer to its aggressive goal of becoming the first lifestyle boutique hotel company in the Unites States to attain 100 percent Silver Green Seal certification.    During the event, Andrew Wright,...

MIAMI—Premier Hospitality Management, a Durant, Okla.-based owner and operator of 17 hotels in the central United States, has partnered with MTech to implement its PMWorks preventive maintenance solution across all its properties. MTech is a developer of Software as a Service (SaaS) products aimed at improving service and efficiency for the hospitality industry. With PMWorks now in place, Premier Hospitality Management has made an investment in the future by better maintaining and extending the effective life of each physical asset and the furnishings, fixtures and equipment within. “When I joined Premier almost a year ago, I immediately began looking for...

NORTH OLMSTED, OHIO—Moen Incorporated’s Commercial Division introduces a new way to prevent vandalism and save water in the shower with its Vandal-Resistant Eco-Performance wall-mounted showerhead. The new model is certified to meet WaterSense criteria, offering a significant water savings without sacrificing performance. It features a flow rate of 1.5 gallons per minute—a 40 percent water savings from the industry standard of 2.5 gallons per minute. In addition to its water-saving features, the new Vandal-Resistant Eco-Performance showerhead offers protection against damage. Made from solid cast brass, the heavy-duty showerhead cannot be adjusted by users and is angled so objects cannot be...

NOVATO, CALIF.—SPG Solar, a leading U.S. solar installer and recently ranked as the second largest in California, announced that it will offer access to a full array of financial resources and expertise on public funding and tax credit opportunities for commercial solar projects. SPG Solar’s Structured Finance Group will be headed by Michael Johnson, the former managing director of the Renewable Energy Investment Program for the National Development Council, who joined SPG Solar in June, 2010 as vice president of project finance. With the formation of its Structured Finance Group, SPG Solar becomes one of the few companies able to...