FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.— TOPS’L Beach & Racquet Resort in Destin, Fla., owned and managed by ResortQuest Northwest Florida, has been awarded the EcoGreen Award following their “Go Green” initiative. The resort wanted to rethink the way it did business and look at ways to help the environment, while saving money in the process. They discovered a large portion of energy consumption is related to lighting and discovered that it made sense, on a cost-saving level, to commit to the EcoGreen Award online program, pioneered by Tropical Lights, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale. The 52-acre property is comprised of gulf-front and...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes The Natural Mattress Store as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The Natural Mattress Store offers a large selection of organic mattresses and manufactures the Eco-Cloud brand of healthy, durable and comfortable mattresses using organic cotton, organic wool and 100 percent natural latex. The Natural Mattress Store also carries 100 percent natural latex pillows, organic wool pillows and wool mattress toppers from Holy Lamb Organics, and organic millet pillows and organic buckwheat pillows from Serenity Pillows. For additional information, call (877) 628-6288, e-mail sales@thenaturalmattressstore.com, or go to...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.— Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. has been honored by Sustainable Florida with a Best Practice award in the Large Company Category. The winners were announced June 9 at an awards ceremony in Tallahassee. Sustainable Florida is an alliance of business, government, and civic leaders and organizations committed to defining excellence for Florida’s economic, environmental and social future. Winners of the Best Practice award were selected by an independent panel of nine representatives from private and public sectors involved in the sustainability movement. Valley Forge, in business for 30 years, recently took a FRESH look at its business model....

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Recognizing that the status of the environment has become a top business and public policy priority, with major implications for travel, the Travel Industry Assn. and American Express announced they have joined forces in the name of travel sustainability. The two organizations are working together to develop the Travel Sustainability Initiative, a comprehensive plan designed to make crucial information available and to guide the travel industry in its response to assuring sustainability in travel and tourism. “Our initiative with American Express is a comprehensive review of domestic and international efforts related to travel and climate change, and the...

BERKELEY, CALIF.—VASKA, Inc., a Berkeley, Calif.-based manufacturer of botanically-based commercial laundry care products, is pleased to announce it has been awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment (DfE) certification for four of VASKA’s laundry care products. This certification allows the business community to identify and choose products that protect the environment and are safer for workers. VASKA submitted its product formulas to the EPA which reviewed the chemical background of each ingredient for its effects not just on the environment, but also on workers’ health and safety. Julia Fry, founder of VASKA, has worked to create a trustworthy...

GERMANTOWN, MD.—Telkonet, Inc., a leading provider of innovative, centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation and proactive support services, announced that it has won an energy management contract with Cornerstone Hotel Management as part of Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy incentive program. Cornerstone Hotel Management will initially install the in-room, occupancy-driven Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE) energy management system at three of its properties to lower utility bills by eliminating unnecessary heating and cooling of unoccupied guest rooms. Launched in March 2008, Telkonet and Focus on Energy provide eligible hospitality customers in Wisconsin with discounted energy management products and installation...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Control4 Corp., a leader in IP-based control and entertainment systems, announced the release of Control4 Suite Systems, a customized version of the company’s home automation and entertainment control technology. Control4 Suite Systems provides a platform of innovative convenience and automation for the in-room environment by enabling hotel guests to control lighting, room temperature, television/video systems, music, draperies and requests for services through a single remote. “We’ve worked closely with the industry to develop a fully customized room automation platform that is incredibly easy to use, install and maintain,” said Will West, CEO at Control4. “Control4 Suite...

ALSIP, ILL.—Litetronics International, Inc. has introduced Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs into its product line. Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs come in a variety of familiar shapes to combine the energy savings of compact fluorescent lamps with the attractive look and feel of an incandescent. Available in 9-watt and 14-watt A19, 11-watt G25, 15-watt R30, 23-watt R40, and 23-watt PAR38, Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs provide up to 80 percent energy savings in a wide range of applications. These energy savings help lower utility bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs are Energy Star qualified and have an average life of 8,000 to...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Healthier Choice as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Healthier Choice is a leading producer of carpet cushion and underlayment. Its products incorporate the soy-based BiOH system from Cargill for enhanced sustainability. Ensuring superior indoor air quality, Healthier Choice’s products are Greenguard certified. The company’s products offer Ultra-Fresh antimicrobial protection against allergens from mold, mildew, bacteria, and dust mites. “No other cushion can contribute more to LEED,” says Mike Norton, vice president, Commercial Products for Dalton, Ga.-based Healthier Choice. For additional information, call (800) 872-8426, e-mail info@healthierchoice.com, or...

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Ethisphere Magazine named Milliken & Company to its second annual World’s Most Ethical Companies list for the second year. The Ethisphere Institute, a think-tank dedicated to the research and promotion of profitable best practices in global governance, business ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility, revealed the award at the Ethisphere and Forbes joint-conference, Driving Profit through Ethical Leadership, held on June 3. The list of the World’s Most Ethical companies will also be featured in the Q2 issue of Ethisphere Magazine. “This recognition highlights one of the core philosophies of Milliken—a belief that doing the right things for the...