SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.—Environmentally-conscious furniture design company Maria Yee, Inc. marked its first shipment of select products made with 100 percent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified hardwood last month. “Five years ago our China factories started looking into using hardwood that was FSC-certified,” said Maria Yee, president. “To finally have our efforts validated by such a well-respected organization is incredibly gratifying.” The FSC is an international organization that promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. Maria Yee began researching FSC certification in 2003 while the FSC was working with Chinese authorities on certification matters. During that time, Maria Yee continued to enforce...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes American Window Film as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. American Window Film, Inc., a 3M Authorized Window Film Dealer serving 50 states, offers window films that meet Energy Star and LEED energy efficiency and sustainability guidelines. 3M™ Window Films reduce environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use by reducing heat loss, heat gain and energy consumption. Call (508) 549-0300. For additional information, call (508) 549-0300, e-mail pjd@americanwindowfilm.com, or go to www.americanwindowfilm.com.

WINCHESTER, VA.—Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), a leader in innovative, durable facility maintenance solutions, introduces its new line of Metal Housekeeping Carts that offer expanded capacity in a compact footprint. “Rubbermaid’s Metal Housekeeping Carts deliver immediate benefits: they save time, money and help ensure worker well-being,” said Bob Lauer, product manager for Rubbermaid Commercial Products. “With this new line, hospitality professionals have the option to customize carts with accessories that allow for maximum productivity and efficiency while reducing worker fatigue.” The Metal Housekeeping Carts allow for increased productivity with their expanded capacity. Cart accessories include the patent-pending removable, mobile 34-gallon fabric...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Caroma as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Caroma is a leading producer of high efficiency dual flush toilets. Averaging 0.9 gallons per flush (gpf), Caroma’s WaterSense-approved Smart Technology toilets provide water savings up to 44 percent compared to 1.6 gpf and 74 percent compared to 3.5 gpf toilets. The toilets are also available in Elongated and Easy Height (ADA height). With large trapways, Caroma toilets are virtually unblockable. Caroma is also a producer of bathroom sinks, urinals and toilet seats. For additional information, call (800) 605-4218,...

LOS ANGELES—The Finer Designer Wastebasket Liner is now available in a recyclable form. The Finer Liner currently sells a recyclable plastic designer wastebasket liner in seven styles. Owner Annette Savio decided to offer the recyclable, biodegradable liners to hotels that typically use plastic wastebasket liners. “Hotels and cruise lines use huge amounts of resources that can be potentially recycled,” Savio says. “My first liners produced are recyclable and highly reusable which will cut down on using thin plastic bags that are difficult to recycle and usually end up in the landfills. But our biodegradable liners will break down in landfills...

MALVERN, PA.—USA Technologies announced that sales of its EnergyMiser product line were trending at about 39 percent higher over last fiscal year, at the same time as the number of U.S. energy utilities participating in the company’s EnergyMiser Rebate and Turnkey Programs had doubled to nearly 50. “With the world reeling from record energy prices, there is a growing focus on the need to conserve and implement energy conservation technology to lower energy consumption,” said Stephen P. Herbert, president and COO, USA Technologies Inc. “We estimate that our EnergyMiser product line can lower energy consumption up to 46 percent in...

GERMANTOWN, MD.—Telkonet, Inc., a leading provider of centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation and proactive support services, has won the contract to supply Main Street Developers with Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE), with the first systems being installed in four new properties during 2008 and early 2009. The hotel development company selected Telkonet after extensive evaluation of competitive energy management solutions, singling out Telkonet’s patented Recovery Time™ technology as a major factor in the contract award. With six to 10 franchised hotel projects underway each year, Main Street Developers plans to implement TSE universally as a core element...

BOSTON—Bartech, a leader in automatic minibar systems for the hospitality industry, is teaming with Ember, a leader in ZigBee technology, to provide hotels worldwide with real-time status and charges from in-room minibars. The ZigBee-enabled system helps hotels provide a better guest experience while improving staff efficiency by wirelessly monitoring in-room refreshment centers remotely. Typically, attendants in hotels have to “blindly” visit every room to check on inventory and replenish minibars, resulting in staff inefficiencies and inconvenience to guests. But Bartech’s Web-based dot.net software can now report which products need to be replenished in a specific room. Additionally, minibar doors can...

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—NSF International announced that Mannington is the first floor covering company to be independently certified to NSF Draft Standard 332-2007 Gold Certification for commercial inlaid resilient flooring. The new NSF Draft Standard provides an effective means to evaluate the sustainability of floor coverings. As products with sustainability claims continue to inundate the market, NSF 332 provides end users with the most credible sustainability or “green” claim available in the marketplace—independent certification. This certification also allows consumers to make informed decisions when it comes to understanding and purchasing such products. Certification recognizes the Mannington brand as an environmentally preferable product...

BOSTON—With the launch of its free energy and carbon assessment software tool, Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) has made a global commitment to the sustainable building design movement. IES’s VE-Ware, which is available to download for free online, gives limited but valuable access to its world leading Virtual Environment Apache thermal analysis software. New and existing buildings can now have their energy and carbon emissions easily assessed for free. VE-Ware will help increase the energy efficiency of the world’s buildings, both domestic and commercial, by giving instant feedback on a building’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions based on real geometry,...