LAGRANGE, GA.—The Commonwealth of Massachusetts presented Milliken Contract and its Framingham, Mass.-based service provider State Contract Carpet with a 2006 Business Environmental Purchasing and Sustainability Award for exceptional sustainable practices. The business awards recognize leadership and creativity in promoting sustainable products and practices beyond the contract obligations for statewide contractors. Nominees were reviewed on criteria extending beyond recycled content, including background on initiatives for greenhouse gas emission reduction, waste minimization, Design for the Environment, Life Cycle Assessment and other sustainable practices. “Milliken’s rich eco heritage and leadership in sustainable practices across the board were quite impressive,” says...

ATLANTA—The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released the ASHRAE GreenGuide: The Design, Construction and Operation of Sustainable Buildings. The organization says it will help teach designers how to participate effectively on design teams charged with producing green buildings. “This is a design guide for mechanical engineers who are interested in advancing integrated, high performance/green concepts and applications on building design projects,” says Malcolm Lewis, Ph.D., a member of ASHRAE’s technical committee on building environmental impacts and sustainability, which wrote the book. “The guidance will help building professionals analyze system design options and point...

NORCO, CALIF.—Quick Crete Products Corp. has introduced a virtually smokeless ash receptacle for the disposal of cigarette and other tobacco-related litter in public areas. Through a patent-pending process, the new Halo product virtually eliminates tobacco smoke and odors, keeping the surrounding air cleaner and easier to breathe. The Halo’s covered design also eliminates the unsightly appearance caused by partially smoked or spent cigarette and cigar butts. “Because cigarette litter is becoming such a major environmental issue in communities, customers have been asking us for a better solution to the problems associated with it, especially in public areas frequented...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—Mario Insenga, principal of The Refinishing Touch, has been selected to join the General Service Administration’s National Furniture Center’s Quality Partnership Council (QPC) board of directors. The QPC is an open forum held quarterly, with the goal of exchanging ideas and information regarding the furniture and furnishings industry within the vast federal government marketplace. “We are pleased to be part of this organization and look forward to working closely with the QPC board in the future,” Insenga says. The Refinishing Touch prevents tons of furniture from going to landfills each year by refinishing it. The...

BENTON HARBOR, MICH.—Maytag Commercial Laundry introduces its Energy Advantage On-Premises Drying Tumblers. They benefit operators by lowering energy costs and benefit employees with simple one-touch controls. Available in 30-, 50- and 75-lb. capacities, Energy Advantage On-Premises Drying Tumblers efficiently dry bulky loads to ensure a constant supply of clean linens. The tempered glass door combined with a dryer drum designed with air holes in the back only, forces heated air through clothes to reduce drying time. This results in a reduction of energy costs and less employee downtime. Energy Advantage On-Premises Drying Tumblers come standard with microprocessor controls,...

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIF.—Bentley Prince Street announced that all of its standard broadloom and carpet tile products have achieved Scientific Certification Systems’ (SCS) Sustainable Choice Gold/Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification under the new Sustainable Carpet Assessment Draft Standard, NSF-140. This new draft standard for sustainable carpet replaces the previous EPP standard, to which all of Bentley Prince Street’s standard products were certified. In addition, all of the company’s standard broadloom products are certified to the stringent “California Gold” standard required for State of California carpet purchases. Also achieving California Gold certification are broadloom products using the optional Prestige...

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS—Royal Philips Electronics has been rated the top climber among the "Leading 50" companies in the latest biannual survey of leading practice in corporate sustainability reporting. Philips now ranks number 12 in the survey, up from 39 in 2004. Philips earned top scores in reporting on governance and strategy, illustrating that its efforts to embed sustainability throughout the organization are taking hold. In what it calls “The Corporate DNA test,” Tomorrow’s Value explains that “Philips describes how its business strategy links to work it is doing in different markets, and how it is innovating to improve...

NASHVILLE, TENN.—Universal Lighting Technologies introduces the latest addition to the Basic-12 family of ballasts with the B260IUNVHP for use with F96T12 and energy-saving F96T12ES lamps. This new Basic-12 ballast is designed to replace traditional magnetic T12 ballasts in existing or new fixtures while reducing energy consumption by more than 15 percent. Basic-12 ballasts provide the same amount of light as magnetic T12 ballasts with reduced operating costs and improved lamp performance. Plus, electronic ballasts are significantly quieter than their magnetic counterparts. Basic-12 ballasts fully comply with today’s new federal ballast efficiency requirements for installation into new fixtures as...

VANCOUVER—Florida’s Fairmont Turnberry Hotel has chosen Energex Inc. to design and build its proprietary guestroom energy management solution. “Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a leader in hotel management,” says Rami Y. Belson, president and c.e.o. of Energex Inc. “It is another solid vote of confidence in favor of our technology.” The Energex SentryWatt system is based on advanced passive infrared occupancy sensors which are installed in each guestroom and adjusts the temperature according to the room occupancy status. If guests leave the rooms with the HVAC running, the sensors automatically reset the room temperature to a more...

DENVER—Osram Sylvania announced that it has developed a business association with Veolia Environmental Services, the largest lamp and ballast recycler in North America, to provide environmentally responsible recycling alternatives. As a leader in environmentally preferable, energy-efficient lighting solutions, Osram is now expanding its range of lighting and recycling solutions by offering the sale of Recyclepak, Veolia’s proprietary recycling kit, through www.sylvania.com/recycle. Using the Recyclepak makes recycling easy for large or small quantities of spent lamps and ballasts. Prepaid packaging allows for a convenient way to manage lighting waste. One price includes everything needed for complete lamp and ballast...