MINNEAPOLIS—Restaurant Technologies showcased its award-winning Total Oil Management solution, an automated oil management system, and recently launched AutoMist, an automated hood, flue and fan cleaner, at NAFEM in Orlando earlier this month. AutoMist was featured in the WHAT’S HOT! WHAT’S COOL! product gallery for the first time. “Technology is changing the way kitchens operate, and that is why we’ve forecasted 2017 the year of the smarter kitchen,” said Jeff Kiesel, CEO of Restaurant Technologies. “We believe food service operators will realize that being smart in the kitchen is no longer an option, but an obligation to address the evolving...

LAGRANGE, GA.—It was more than 20 years ago that Interface, the maker of carpet tile, set a very ambitious goal: to have no negative impact on the planet by the year 2020. It called its decades-long project “Mission Zero.” With less than three years to go until 2020, Green Lodging News spoke with Interface’s Mikhail Davis to learn how close the company is to reaching its goal. Davis, based in San Francisco, is Director of Restorative Enterprise and a Certified Biomimicry Specialist. Davis says two of Interface’s key metrics are energy use per unit of production and how much of...

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO—Frontline International is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of cooking oil management services, and the M3 System—winner of the National Restaurant Association’s 2013 prestigious Kitchen Innovations Award—is their state-of-the-art solution that offers 24/7 online tracking of waste oil. And now, M3 has been adapted to help manage fresh oil dispensing with an exclusive Smart Fresh Oil Top Off function. When the M3 data management system is combined with Frontline International’s EZ Oil fresh oil dispensing system, Smart Fresh Oil Top Off is ready to be engaged. Say the cashier takes an order for a 6-piece chicken dinner....

ORLANDO, FLA.—More than 500 exhibitors were on hand at last week’s NAFEM Show, many of whom offered products to help foodservice operators reduce energy and water consumption and waste. The show, held every two years, was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. It would be impossible to give every company a mention but here are some highlights of the products featured at the show that impact sustainability in one way or another: Carter-Hoffmann featured its microgreen and herb growing cabinets that allow one to grow herbs, microgreens and vegetables 365 days a year—in an environment free of...

ANAHEIM, CALIF.—Hilton Anaheim, the largest hotel in the Anaheim Resort District and one of the largest in the region with 1,574 guestrooms and 100,000 square feet of meeting space, announced that it has launched a mattress recycling initiative that calls for the removal, deconstruction and recycling of 2,589 used Serta Perfect Sleeper Mattresses, made expressly for Hilton properties worldwide. The project began on January 4 and is slated to conclude on February 16, 2017. It’s Hilton’s largest hotel mattress recycling initiative in the United States to date. To complete the project, Hilton Anaheim partnered with Manassas, Va.-based Global Sustainability Solutions—one...

WEYBRIDGE, ENGLAND—The Procter & Gamble Company announced that Head & Shoulders (H&S), the world’s #1 shampoo brand, will produce the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottle made from up to 25 percent recycled beach plastic. In partnership with recycling experts TerraCycle and SUEZ, this innovation will come to France this summer as a limited-edition H&S bottle available to consumers in Carrefour, one of the world’s leading retailers. This will be the world’s largest production run of recyclable bottles made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) beach plastic, and a first major step in establishing a unique supply chain that involves the support of...

RALEIGH, N.C.—Thirty-two years after its founding in 1985, Concord Hospitality has staked its claim as one of the lodging industry’s leading proponents of green building and design. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company manages 41 of its owned hotels and also manages 47 additional properties. Fourteen of its hotels are LEED certified and there are 15 more in the pipeline that will also obtain LEED certification. All new construction projects are designed, constructed, operated and maintained to meet LEED guidelines. Concord Hospitality’s commitment to LEED makes good business and environmental sense. According to Carl Hren, Vice President of Architecture & Construction for...

FORT WASHINGTON, PENN.—Sofidel, a leading global provider of paper for hygienic and domestic use, introduced Papernet Heavenly Soft Superior which includes a range of high-quality laminated tissue and towels. Heavenly Soft Superior utilizes a unique construction that allows plies of paper to be bonded and embossed together with glue, creating a softer “at home” look and feel with laminated designs such as Micro, Circle & Leaf, Acorn and Wave. “The Heavenly Soft Superior line exceeds customer expectations by providing an extra level of softness, unique designs, and increased reliability and reduced cost thanks to greater absorbency,” said Fabio Vitali, Vice...

Name: Pranav Jampani Title: Director of Sustainability Company: Las Vegas Sands Corp. Years with company: Three years Primary responsibilities: “I oversee the sustainability program for our Las Vegas operations. We have some of the world’s largest green buildings with over 9,000 employees. I manage development, management and implementation of policies and programs.” Company’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “It’s difficult to pick one. Last year Las Vegas Sands was ranked as one of the greenest large companies in the world in the 2016 Newsweek Green Rankings. Las Vegas Sands was the highest ranked hospitality company in the world. In addition, in Las Vegas, we have...

CINCINNATI—P&G announced additional investments in recycling and beneficial reuse that will eliminate all manufacturing waste from its global network of more than 100 production sites by 2020. Since P&G began qualifying sites as zero manufacturing waste to landfill, 56 percent of its global production sites have achieved this milestone. Plans are now in place to complete the remaining facilities over the next four years. This means eliminating or beneficially reusing about 650,000 metric tons of waste, equivalent to the weight of nearly 350,000 mid-sized cars that would typically go to landfills. “We are accelerating progress toward our long term vision and...