LOUISVILLE, KY.—LSI Wallcovering announced it will pick up freight costs to bring used vinyl wallcovering back to its Second-Look Recycling Center in New Castle, Ind. The Louisville, Ky.-based wallcovering manufacturer made the move to ensure that rising fuel costs don’t discourage specifiers from recycling wallcovering. Second-Look accepts all makes of vinyl wallcovering and covers freight from any location in the continental United States and Canada. Second-Look is the first program to recycle post-consumer vinyl wallcovering and has diverted hundreds of thousands of pounds from the landfill since it began operations in 2005. Effective immediately, the free freight program is available...

CAMBRIDGE, MD.—Cambridge Architectural, a full-service provider of sustainable architectural mesh systems, introduces Solucent, an energy-saving and daylighting mesh shading system for building exteriors and interiors. Solucent, “Where the Sun and Shade Mesh,” has been developed to meet the ever-increasing sustainability needs facing architects today, but without sacrificing beauty in design. The system combines the unique and striking aesthetic of architectural mesh with its shading and daylighting capabilities to create a one-of-a-kind energy and light management solution. Cambridge has also unveiled a new website, www.cambridgesolucent.com, which serves as the online home for Solucent. Solucent mesh shading systems reduce solar heat gain...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes MTS Seating as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. MTS Seating’s company-wide commitment to sustainability is reflected in its SynerGreen philosophy. MTS strives to make continuous environmental improvements in its processes and products while practicing sound business principals that focus on satisfying customer needs. MTS employs aggressive recycling programs and pollution-prevention initiatives, and it partners with suppliers who share its vision of environmental responsibility. The company’s goal is to have a positive impact on the planet and its customers. According to MTS, it is the first and...

ATLANTA—Kimberly-Clark Filtration has introduced a new filtration media that delivers MERV 13 performance for LEED Certified buildings. The media was developed in response to the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) standards for ASHRAE 52.2, MERV 13 filtration performance in LEED new construction and major renovation projects. The new media, Intrepid 513H, can be used in 2-inch and 4-inch pleated filters that are suited for virtually any commercial HVAC system. Before this new media was introduced, most 2-inch and 4-inch pleated filters were limited to MERV 8 or MERV 11 performance, which provides less efficient capture of airborne particles than MERV...

ATLANTA—Softscribe Inc., an Internet public relations firm that drives sales for companies targeting green tourism and hospitality, green government and related markets, announced it will provide marketing and Internet public relations services to Hawaiian Mahogany Inc., a U.S.-based, 12-year-old certified provider of verifiable carbon offset credits for environmentally responsible Fortune 1000 firms and companies in hospitality, travel and other industries. “Carbon credits are a growing channel for businesses that want to go on record for effectively helping to stop global warming,” said Michael Squires, president of Softscribe Inc. “Carbon offset credits are mandated by many countries today; I expect to...

ATLANTA—Amtico International introduces its Tropical Woods luxury resilient flooring that provides an aesthetic alternative to endangered woods that have been logged almost to extinction. Four patterns—Brazilian Rosewood, Merbau, Tigerwood and Caramel Bamboo—mimic the rare rainforest species in a flooring that’s low-VOC and low-maintenance but high-performance. The products are certified by GreenGuard and FloorScore and are manufactured in a 14001 and 9001 certified U.S. facility. Tropical Woods projects the distinctive style of its endangered namesakes. While export of Rosewood from the wild is now banned, Amtico’s Brazilian Rosewood captures its chocolately good looks in deep purples, reds...

STANDISH, MAINE—PRC Technologies, a division of Print Recovery Concepts Inc., announced that it is offering the first laser printer cartridges that use toner powder derived from soybeans. PRC reports they will supply cartridges for the most popular laser printers under the SoyPrint brand at prices comparable to brand name versions currently available. Soy ink has been available for some time but this is the first soy toner cartridge for laser printers. Debe Overhaug, president of Print Recovery Concepts, reports a printer cartridge contains one pound of toner powder and that U.S. businesses, schools, institutions and governments consume more than 100...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Green Hotel Expert Atlantis Hospitality Group announced that Richard “Rick” C. Henrikson has joined its network of hospitality consultants. Henrikson is an award-winning hotel management executive with experience in every facet of hotel operations. He has developed broad-based skills in P&L management, multi-site operations, sales, marketing and development. “We are proud and excited to have Rick join our team here at Atlantis Hospitality Group,” says Ray Hobbs, president of Atlantis Hospitality Group, and a senior vice president for Kelco Management & Development in Jacksonville, Fla. “Rick is a proven ‘hands-on’ team leader with an astute ability to...

INDIANAPOLIS—Gilchrist & Soames has unveiled its BeeKind Collection. BeeKind is the first Gilchrist & Soames collection to employ an environmental alternative to plastic bottles. The BeeKind paper bottle is a 59 percent reduction in packaging material by weight, as well as a 92 percent reduction in waste space after use compared to rigid plastic bottles. “We are very excited about this new collection,” says Kathie De Voe, president of Gilchrist & Soames. “It is perfect for today’s market with our new environmentally friendly packaging, unequalled skin-friendly formulations and modern, yet natural design.” The BeeKind Collection will feature Gilchrist & Soames’...

LA MIRADA, CALIF.—Architectural Area Lighting (AAL), North America’s first carbon neutral lighting manufacturer and a leading provider of efficient, effective and environmentally sound outdoor fixtures for the commercial, municipal and institutional building markets, unveils its Carbon Neutral for Life lighting sustainability program. The program provides end users, such as building owners, site operators and municipal officials, the opportunity to neutralize the carbon footprint created by fixtures when in operation. “As a company we are committed to lessening our impact on the environment, evident through the eco-friendly luminaries we produce and our effort to eliminate the carbon impact of our manufacturing...