BOULDER, COLO.—Sustainable Cards, producer of the United States’ first wood hotel key card, announced that its eco-friendly cards will debut in Denver hotels during the Democratic National Convention. Sustainable Cards has partnered with its manufacturer, CPI Card Group, to donate more than 70,000 biodegradable cards in a ground-breaking effort to reduce the waste and negative environmental impact created by traditional plastic key cards. The Sustainable Cards are emblazoned with the Denver 2008 Host Committee logo and made from sustainably harvested wood, making them a coveted souvenir of the historic event. The cards will serve to reinforce efforts to make this...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Moran Architects, P.C. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Moran Architects is an international, multi-disciplinary design firm specializing in sustainable design for the wellness and hospitality industries. With each new project, the company strives to reduce or, when possible, eliminate its carbon footprint. The firm incorporates regenerative design solutions that work within the existing ecosystem to create more energy, clean water and habitat than previously existed. For additional information, call (480) 990-8448, e-mail gmoran@moranarchitects.com, or go to www.moranarchitects.com.

VISTA, CALIF.—Waterless Co. LLC is reporting a surge in both sales orders and requests for sales information after the company introduced a new line of soybean urinals approximately four weeks ago. According to Niki Bradley, marketing manager for the company, she did expect some excitement with the introduction, “but nothing like what has happened in the past few weeks.” She attributes much of the interest to the fact that more and more manufacturers—even the manufacturers of urinals—are looking for more sustainable ways to produce products. Waterless Co. is one of the largest manufacturers of no-water urinal systems in the...

SAGINAW, MICH.—The Duro-Last roofing system has been installed on the Bardessono Inn & Spa in Yountville, Calif. The spa is scheduled to open in February 2009, and will be submitted to the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED Platinum certification. The spa consists of five separate buildings that are protected by almost 80,000 square feet of Duro-Last’s single-ply PVC roofing system. The spa’s prefabricated roofing system was manufactured at Duro-Last’s Grants Pass, Ore., facility and installed by authorized contractor Fidelity Roof Co. of Oakland, Calif. Fidelity is also an approved installer for SunPower, the manufacturer of the PowerGuard solar electrical...

GRESHAM, ORE.—BioGreen Products has introduced a line of biodegradable garbage bags in 8-, 13-, 30-, 33- and 45-gallon size. The bags, which are not made of corn starch-based plastic, utilize a new technology. The bags have sizes that will work for in-room waste baskets all the way up to containers in back-of-the-house areas. The bags, when put into landfill, begin the degradation process when exposed to bacteria and oxygen. The first process is the breakdown in the structure of the bags, followed by the dissolving of the material as the bacteria consume it. This process is called oxo-biodegradable plastics. Plastics...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added its tenth case study to its Vendor Case Studies section. The case study focuses on the 480-room Hilton Palacio del Rio hotel and how it was able to reduce its water consumption by 6 million gallons in the first eight months after Caroma’s Sydney dual flush high efficiency toilets were installed. The hotel worked with the San Antonio Water System as part of a trial program. Caroma’s efficient dual flush toilets, which use 1.6 gallons of water for solid waste and 0.8 gallons for liquid and paper, replaced models that were using 5 gallons...

LAGRANGE, OHIO—West Development Group (WDG), a leader in sustainable roofing products and practices, introduces the Z-Guard Pedestrian Traffic System for use on sprayed-in-place polyurethane foam roofs. Z-Guard is a one-component, moisture curing, silicone/quartz liquid composite slurry designed for use around all equipment requiring servicing, as well as areas of heavy foot traffic. The Z-Guard reinforced, silicone walkway is a dispersion of silicone rubber, organic hardeners, and quartz aggregates. It is a one-part, ready-to-use material that can easily be applied to a dry, frost-free surface, and cures at normal temperature in 12 to 18 hours by reacting with moisture in...

VISTA, CALIF.—Living Earth Crafts (LEC), an industry leader in creating spa treatment tables from Earth-friendly materials and processes, announced its recent Manufacture of FSC-certified portable and stationary massage table certification (FSC Certification Registration Number: SCS-COC-001574) by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council A.C (FSC). Certification means wood used in Living Earth Crafts’ designated FSC portable and stationary massage tables has been harvested from forests that meet stringent environmental, social and economic standards. “We are honored to secure FSC certification for our production facility as well as for our designated line of portable...

ROGERS, ARK.—BioBased 1701s Insulation is the first spray polyurethane foam insulation to meet the stringent GREENGUARD Certification guidelines for indoor air quality. The GREENGUARD Certification Program is an industry-independent, third-party testing program for low-emitting products and materials. The first GREENGUARD Certification was awarded in the fall of 2002. BioBased Insulation’s soy-based, water-blown, closed cell insulation product earned both the GREENGUARD Certification and the GREENGUARD Certification for Children & Schools. “Our company is focused on developing insulation products that are more sustainable than traditional products,” said Mike Muccio, chief operating officer of BioBased Insulation. “We believe that sustainability means more than just...

WESTFORD, MASS.—Spinwave Systems, Inc. and AscentIQ, Inc. announced that they have teamed up to produce a complete energy management solution that will make it faster and easier to reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings. Combining second-generation wireless technology with a flexible software platform, the new energy management solution will make energy usage data available to company management in a clear format, tied directly to business goals. The system allows users to integrate their energy management systems with software used to run their businesses, such as financial reporting programs, making it easier to analyze, share, and apply energy usage information throughout...