BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International’s eco-conscious longer-stay brand Element Hotels and S’well, the fashionable, reusable hydration accessory company, are launching a national partnership, which will be activated at all 26 Element Hotels in the United States. Together, Element Hotels and S’well will be inspiring guests to make a positive impact and mindful choices for the environment and for themselves. As a stylish, reusable product that helps consumers stay hydrated and consume less plastic while on the go, S’well bottles will be available for purchase at Element Hotels’ RESTORE pantry and in each room. Guests will be able to conveniently fill their S’wells...

CORAL GABLES, FLA.—Greener alternatives to paper, plastic or polystyrene plates, cups, bowls, utensils and other items have been available to the hospitality market for years, but none may be as unique as those developed by Poland-based Biotrem. “We make innovative products from wheat bran,” the company’s website says. And yes, it is edible. Biotrem’s wheat bran tableware production process was invented by Jerzy Wysocki, whose family’s milling traditions date back to the beginning of the twentieth century. Biotrem’s modern production facility offers a wide range of fully biodegradable tableware and cutlery produced from natural wheat bran. Made in Poland, the items...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association released the 2018 edition of The State of Restaurant Sustainability to highlight sustainability efforts by restaurant operators. The report provides the latest trends in environmental practices in the restaurant industry, along with consumer insights. It aims to help restaurant operations of all types and sizes understand what other restaurateurs are doing to begin or continue their own sustainability journey. The Association surveyed more than 500 restaurant owners and operators about their sustainability efforts, opportunities and challenges. More than 1,000 consumers also were surveyed about the best ways restaurants can communicate their sustainability initiatives to their...

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC), owned by the City of Los Angeles and managed by AEG Facilities, recently received California’s highest environmental honor, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA), for its waste reduction efforts in a ceremony at the California Environmental Protection Agency. The LACC sustainability initiatives recognized include the installation of a “cool roof” and light defusing windows to reflect sunlight and direct heat away from the building, new water-efficient kitchen dishwashers and the replacement of 30,000 square feet of turf with drought-tolerant landscaping. As a result, the LACC is now 36 percent more energy...

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Hotel101 Resort-Boracay will soon rise on the beachfront of Boracay Newcoast featuring 1,001 rooms and is expected to become the biggest hotel in the Philippines in terms of room count. The project will sit on a two-hectare property on the beachfront cove and support environmentally friendly operations and sustainable tourism. Hotel101 Resort-Boracay is a joint venture project of Hotel of Asia Inc., a subsidiary of DoubleDragon Properties Corp., a property company led by Mang Inasal, Founder, and DoubleDragon Chairman Edgar Injap Sia II and Jollibee Founder and DoubleDragon Co-Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, and Newcoast South Beach, Inc. led by...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, has added a Global Sustainability Solutions (GSS) case study to its website. The case study details how GSS was able to coordinate the recycling of nearly 400 older flat-panel hotel TVs at the Hilton Newark Airport. GSS worked with LG Electronics to replace each set with a new 43-inch Energy Star certified LG flat screen TV. GSS also installed 49-inch LG hotel TVs in the Hilton’s suites. The project was completed in just four days’ time—two days earlier than anticipated, minimizing impact on guests. Due to the pilot’s...

It takes a lot for me to call a new product or process a game changer in our industry but the new recyclable—yes recyclable—sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers being produced by Pürlin, LLC are just that. Can you imagine reducing your laundry load and related costs by about 50 percent? Offering your guests linens that are high quality, hypoallergenic and that have never been used by any other guest—every single time a guest stays in that room? My article posted this past week explains these new products. I had a chance to sit down and chat with the lodging...

LONDON—World leaders are being asked to put recycling at the top of their 2018 New Year’s resolution list, by committing to seven changes to help save the planet. The first ever Global Recycling Day, to be held on March 18, is an international initiative, designed by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) to raise awareness of the need to shift the global perception of what we consider as waste into one of the earth’s most valuable resources. The Earth has six primary natural resources—water, air, oil, natural gas, coal and minerals—but they are rapidly running out. The Seventh Resource—the goods and materials...

SARASOTA, FLA.—Hotel industry veteran Richard Ferrell, President of Pürlin, LLC, is aiming to revolutionize how sheets and pillow cases are managed in hotels across the United States. His company’s linens are not laundered; instead, after being used by a guest they are picked up to be 100 percent recycled. Made of high-quality microfibers designed to simulate cotton—the same as those used in products such as baby diapers and athletic wear—the sheets and pillowcases are produced and recycled by companies based in Florida and North Carolina. Once heated to 500+ degrees Fahrenheit, the linens are liquefied and become the ingredients...

HOUSTON—Waste Management, Inc. announced that, in light of the meaningful contributions of its employees and the new U.S. corporate tax structure, the company will distribute $2,000 in 2018 to every North American employee not on a bonus or sales incentive plan; that includes hourly and other employees. “We are about to get a tax benefit as our U.S. corporate tax rate goes from 35 percent to 21 percent,” said Jim Fish, President and CEO, Waste Management. “In considering how to best spend that, we wanted to find a way to help grow our economy, which in turn, will help grow...