Name: Claire Cutting Title: Director, Sustainability Company: Marriott International, Inc. Years in Position: One Primary Responsibilities: “My whole focus is on integrating Marriott’s and Starwood’s sustainability programs. We are trying to make one and one equal three. For example, we both had housekeeping and seafood programs but putting them together can be a real challenge. We are combining the best of both worlds. Each company had its own set of goals. It is like matching apples to oranges.” Organization’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “Launching Serve 360: Doing Good in Every Direction, Marriott’s new Sustainability and Social Impact Platform. Our goals are huge. It was...

DALTON, GA.—Go Green Synthetic Lawn Solutions announces a major initiative to shift its manufacturing focus to more sustainable and environmentally friendly products. This change began with the inception of including a soy-based backing system on their artificial grass landscape and golf products. Universal Textile Technologies, innovators of BioCel and pioneers using recycled and bio-based materials to produce state of the art technologies in the textile industry for over 20 years, provides Go Green products with an exceptional backing system that adds more value and a better choice for the consumer. The BioCel system utilizes plant-based polyols derived from renewable natural oils...

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.—Mission Linen Supply, a leading provider of linens, uniforms, laundry services and select supplies, received a silver 2017 Best in Biz Award in the Most Environmentally Responsible Company of the Year category. Judged by an objective panel of prominent editors and reporters from some of North America’s most respected media outlets, this year’s Best in Biz Awards drew more than 650 entries across various categories. Mission was recognized for its efforts to put environmental sustainability at the forefront of its daily operations and long-term business initiatives. As early as 1973, Mission installed one of the industry’s first wastewater...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Glass Recycled Surfaces as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Glass Recycled Surfaces turns post-consumer glass bottles, industrial glass and recycled porcelain fixtures into counter tops. By mixing crushed glass with an epoxy resin, the company has created thousands of custom designs for residential, hotel and multifamily clients. With the Beach Collection, one can bring coastal elegance into a project by adding locally sourced sea shells and oyster shells to countertops. Glass Recycled Surfaces also produces Glass Mulch. It retains moisture and reduces evaporation rather than...

LAS VEGAS—Caesars Entertainment, in collaboration with Clean the World, the largest global recycler of hotel amenities, and The Service Companies, the premier one-stop-shop for services to the gaming and hospitality industry, announced the successful distribution of soap to hundreds of families in Guadalajara, Mexico, which took place last month. “Our relationship with Clean the World is an example of our People Planet Play corporate social responsibility platform brought to life,” said Jan Jones Blackhurst, Executive Vice President, Public Policy & Corporate Responsibility. “Not only are we engaging our team members to help to reduce the spread of bacterial diseases by...

Consumers in all industries continue to make the world’s pile of trash a little taller every year. As globalization is on the rise, goods are being produced—and thrown away—at alarming rates. With all this trash, the waste industry is at a crossroads: the amount of waste ending up in a landfill is at a steady increase, but we have more information and technology than ever before to guide us in a better direction. According to the LA Times, the United States “produced about 228 million tons of waste in 2006, a figure that climbed to 254 million tons by...

TUSCALOOSA, ALA.—Hotel Indigo Tuscaloosa Downtown announced it recently received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. This is the second hotel in Alabama to receive this certification. “We are honored to receive the LEED Silver certification for Hotel Indigo Tuscaloosa, and thankful that the U.S. Green Building Council recognizes our efforts in environmental protection, energy saving and the improvement of overall environmental quality,” said Judd Bobilin, of Chance Partners, LLC, the developer. “One of the key tenets of our company is to ‘Partner with the Community’ and we are excited to...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Clean the World Foundation, a leader in global health, continues its commitment to hygiene education by launching a worldwide Global Handwashing Day initiative aimed at building awareness for the importance of proper hygiene and announcing plans to build a permanent interactive exhibit dedicated to health and hygiene education in the spring of 2018. “Improving health and saving lives requires not only access to soap, but also a holistic approach that focuses on ongoing education that leads to long-term behavior change,” says Sam Stephens, Executive Director of Clean the World Foundation. “With a commitment to global hygiene education, Clean the...

HOUSTON—The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, known as an ideal property for fitness enthusiasts, has now added a .8-mile, state-of-the-art jogging trail to its list of amenities for hotel guests. The Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star, urban retreat is located minutes from downtown Houston, the Galleria and Memorial Park. Its 175,000 square-foot, private Houstonian Club is available with no resort fee for hotel guests and offers fitness-forward equipment, over 180 weekly fitness classes, aquatic programs, an indoor tennis facility, and three resort pools. The jogging path was resurfaced as a high-tech Rubberway training track comprised of recycled rubber tires on top...

I recently chatted with Kurt Bjorkman, General Manager at California’s Ranch at Laguna Beach. A good portion of the results of that conversation appear in my article about the property posted this past week. Be sure to check it out. There were several things that really caught my eye as being unique about the resort. First is the use of a GL Sand Machine that turns wine and beer bottles to sand. The resort is the first lodging establishment in the continental United States to use the machine that pulverizes the glass. That sand can then be used to...