DALLAS—More than 40 Marriott hotels throughout Texas are doing their part to help the Texas environment. TXU Energy recently conducted energy audits at several large Marriott properties in the state. The recommendations, if fully implemented, would reduce electricity consumption by more than 2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year—enough to power 115 homes—for a savings of $250 thousand per year. “Our goal was to do things that make sense from an environmental and financial perspective,” said Rob Bahl, regional vice president of engineering for Marriott. “TXU Energy helped identify the green steps we can take to achieve that goal.” The audits were...

ATLANTA—The Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia recently announced its certification by Green Globe, a leading international brand for sustainable travel, tourism and related green businesses. Green Globe traces its roots back to the United Nations Earth Summit of 1992, and uniquely looks at a hotel’s effects on the environment as well as its impact on the community. Green Globe Certification CEO Guido Bauer said he welcomes Crowne Plaza Perimeter at Ravinia into the select group of certified hotels that have chosen to have their green achievements verified against international sustainability standards. “Green Globe recognizes that true...

MADISON HEIGHTS, MICH.—Two long-time hospitality industry stalwarts—SAFLOK and INNCOM International Inc.—recently announced a strategic alliance. The collaboration has yielded a new radio-frequency (RF) interface for energy management. Hyatt Regency Chicago, a four-diamond, 2,019-room hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago, just off the Magnificent Mile, is the first property to adopt this new interface. An existing SAFLOK customer, Hyatt Regency Chicago is updating from the SAFLOK MT (multi-technology) locks to SAFLOK’s Quantum ädese locks and installing energy management thermostats with an RF interface. The new RF interface provides a cost-effective energy management solution by allowing the lock and thermostat to...

NEW YORK—Perkins+Will, a global integrated design firm, announced the creation of its Perkins+Will Precautionary List. It was unveiled at GreenBuild 2009. The goal of the list is to highlight chemicals, which are listed by government agencies as having negative health issues and the classes of building materials where they might be commonly found, while offering available alternatives in an effort to push the building industry to embrace healthier buildings. “There is an ever increasing focus in the green building movement on the relationship between humans and the built environment,” said Peter Syrett, AIA, LEED AP and associate principal at Perkins+Will...

LOS ANGELES—Bentley Prince Street has just moved a few steps closer to “closing the loop” entirely on its products through the introduction of new backing technologies for both its broadloom and carpet tile products. Both High PerformancePC, the company’s new standard broadloom backing, and SelectRC, its new standard hard-back carpet tile backing, incorporate recycled and reprocessed carpet backing into new carpet backing. All manufacturing processes for both backings are performed in the company’s California headquarters, eliminating the need for, and associated environmental impacts of, additional transportation. “Through these new backings, as well as the introduction of our first product using...

NEW YORK—LG Electronics USA, Inc., a leading provider of flat-panel HDTVs to the lodging industry, and the leading recycler, Waste Management, Inc., announced a recycling program for hotel operators to responsibly dispose of outdated television sets and computer monitors. In 2010 alone, hundreds of hotels are expected to upgrade thousands of rooms with energy-efficient LG flat-panel digital TVs, which will displace older analog picture tube TVs. To support this growing trend, LG Electronics will now offer environmentally conscious hotel, motel and resort operators a cost-effective opportunity for recycling the obsolete hotel TVs. Under this new program planned for launch in 2010,...

WASHINGTON—Consumer product manufacturers will now be able to prove their sustainability claims to customers and stockholders with a new certification program that rewards the highest levels of environmental performance and leadership. Green Seal, the 20-year-old nonprofit certifier of green products and services, is launching a pilot Company Certification Program that provides a holistic assessment of a company’s product line and its business operations. The new program builds on Green Seal’s development of 30 environmental standards and certification of more than 3,500 “green” products and services. This pilot program will certify companies as a whole based on their commitment to environmentally-sound business...

GERMANTOWN, MD.—Telkonet, Inc., a company that develops and manufactures proprietary energy management and Smart Grid networking technology, announced that it has been ranked number 64 in the latest Technology Fast 500 list, Deloitte LLP’s ranking of 500 of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America. Rankings are based on percentage of fiscal year revenue growth during the five-year period from 2004 to 2008. Telkonet grew 2,841 percent during this period. In addition, Telkonet has been named fifth on the Washington Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies list, based upon three-year revenue-growth...

CHICAGO—Protect-A-Bed, a provider of mattress and pillow protectors and AllerZip mattress and box spring encasements for the hospitality industry, has added Betsy Evenson as a national account manager in the Hospitality Division. Evenson joined Protect-A-Bed in August 2009 to help manage and further advance the company’s growth in the hospitality industry. Evenson works with hotel and motel properties seeking solutions for the growing problem of bed bug infestations. Protect-A-Bed encasements are for hotels and motels interested in mitigating risks associated with potential bed bug infestation. In her role, Evenson also educates hotel and motel owners and operators on how...

LORIS, S.C.—Integra Fabrics, a leading supplier in the hospitality, GSA and healthcare markets, has committed to donating proceeds from the sale of fabric from the Integra Environment Collection to The Arbor Day Foundation. The Integra Environments Collection is an assortment of fabrics that are produced using only recycled materials. In this case the goods are made from 100 percent recycled polyester yarns that consist of recycled sustainable content; the yarns are created from consumer products such as water bottles. By taking a percentage of sales from the Integra Environment Collection and contributing to The Arbor Day Foundation, Integra Fabrics hopes...