SAN FRANCISCO—Smith & Fong Co. announced the company has launched a new range of sugar-palm plywood, wall paneling and flooring products. Joining the company’s line of Durapalm coconut palm plywood, flooring, veneers and panels, Smith & Fong’s new Deco palm products feature an almost three-dimensional appearance. “The new Deco palm design is an assemblage of the full range of textures and rich colors inherent to this species of palm,” company founder and president Dan Smith said. “The Deco wall panel product is actually three-dimensional, as the surface is constructed of varying thicknesses of material. Our flooring and plywood sheet products...

WHITE SALMON, WASH.—Sustainable Travel International has launched Green.travel. Green.travel’s focus is to connect environmentally, socially, and economically responsible travelers with sustainable travel companies globally. Founded in 2002, STI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education and outreach services in the travel industry to support environmental conservation and to protect cultural heritage while promoting cross-cultural understanding and economic development. Green.travel has been years in the planning. Based on what Alexia Nestora, spokesperson, calls “meticulous research,” the new website anticipates surfacing quickly to the top of Google searches for people looking for eco-friendly travel options. Green.travel will help people learn about...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes USBedBugs.com as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The company offers a growing assortment of pesticide-free bed bug protection and prevention products. Solutions include the following: mattress encasements; monitors, traps and barriers; dissolvable laundry bags; the PackTite portable heating unit, used to heat treat non-washable items in an infested guestroom; mattress disposal bags; dry vapor steam cleaners; luggage encasements; bed bug spray; sofa/couch encasements; and bed bug books and information guides. For more information, e-mail info@usbedbugs.com, call (888) 587-2332, or go to www.usbedbugs.com.

ORLANDO, FLA.—Hobart’s new Energy Star qualified CLeR conveyor-type warewasher uses Advansys Energy Recovery technology and Hobart’s patented NSF-Certified Opti-Rinse system to save foodservice operations up to $11,000 annually in energy recovery and water efficiency. The Advansys Energy Recovery technology captures the warewasher’s exhaust heat and uses it to preheat the cold inlet water up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, reducing the energy needed to reach the required 180 degrees Fahrenheit rinse-water temperature. “Hobart’s new CLeR Warewasher adapts Hobart’s unique Advansys Energy Recovery technology, introduced so successfully in the Advansys Ventless door-type warewasher, to the rigorous productivity demands of the high-volume CLe conveyor-type...

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.—BASF announced the launch of its SELECT (Sustainability, Eco-Labeling and Environmental Certification Tracking) Eco-Label Manager, a database created to strategically manage the abundance of eco-labels, environmental claims, directories and ratings systems by allowing the user to search, analyze and compare these programs in a structured and consistent format. “The demand for environmentally preferable products is rapidly evolving and influencing purchasing decisions along entire supply chains,” said Pat Meyer, senior product steward and program leader at BASF. “These purchasing requirements have spawned hundreds of eco-labels and programs from the federal government, large retailers, trade associations and third-party organizations, leading...

WEST CHICAGO, ILL.—Tornado Industries, a leading manufacturer of professional cleaning equipment, has prepared a special bed bug newsletter and white paper to be distributed this month. The newsletter and white paper are designed to help clarify why the bed bug problem has resurfaced in the United States after being dormant for so many years.   More important, the white paper addresses ways cleaning professionals can help eradicate bed bugs, employing ways that have less impact on the environment. It was written by Michael Schaffer, a senior executive with Tacony’s commercial floor care division and president of Tornado Industries. “This is an...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—To address the challenges of green design in the hospitality industry, RTKL recently completed participation in a year-long working committee facilitated by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The committee, formally known as the Hospitality Adaptations Working Group, was charged with developing sustainable design guidelines specifically tailored for lodging, food and beverage, and conferencing facilities. RTKL principal Laura Galbreath AIA, LEED AP, the sole architect to serve on the committee, is optimistic that the new guidelines will encourage more hotel developers and operators to enhance their sustainability goals in accordance with USGBC standards. “While most clients are interested in sustainable...

PLYMOUTH, MINN.—Advance now offers battery and electric burnishers that meet requirements for sustainable cleaning equipment specified by the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance Rating System (LEED-EBOM). Advance burnishers that meet requirements for contributing points to LEED-EBOM certification include the Advance Advolution 20BT battery burnisher and the Advance Advolution 20XP electric burnisher. The Advolution 20BT and Advolution 20XP burnishers are both available with active dust control and operate at sound levels of less than 70 dBA, which are requirements under the LEED-EBOM program. Burnishers with active dust control include a shroud and vacuum system...

WOODRIDGE, ILL.—With its North Point Pint urinals, utilizing a pint (0.125 gallons) of water per flush (gpf), Gerber Plumbing Fixtures LLC has added its lowest water consuming high efficiency urinal (HEU) collection. Serving as the latest product addition to the North Point line, the new HEU features all of the performance and function of traditional urinals but with minimal water; thereby saving considerable amounts of resources with each flush. “By using only a pint of water, the North Point Pint urinals perform much better than waterless urinals due to the execution of the flush allowing the least amount of water...

LOS ANGELES—Diversey, Inc., a global provider of commercial cleaning, sanitation, and hygiene solutions, and Green Globe Certification, a worldwide certification label for sustainable management of the travel and tourism industry, announced a new global alliance to expand the availability of sustainability assessments and certifications under the Green Globe Certification seal. Under terms of the alliance, Diversey will assist its customers in the lodging industry to prepare for the Green Globe audit process and provide consulting on sustainable business operations to help them achieve the Green Globe seal. Green Globe Certification will promote use of Diversey’s sustainable products and provide consulting...