ORLANDO, FLA.—The Hilton Inn at Penn has installed Intelity ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) Touch on iPad in each one of its 238 guestrooms. This in-room guest feature, part of a $10 million renovation project designed to make this savvy, new hotel more eco-friendly, will allow guests to order up to 30 guest services from the convenience of an iPad. The benefit? The Hilton Inn at Penn provides guests with luxury service while reducing its printing costs by up to 90 percent. During their stay, guests at The Hilton Inn at Penn will be able to use Intelity’s ICE Touch on...

AURORA, ONT.—CleanRiver Recycling Solutions, a division of Midpoint International, has introduced a waste and recycling station that is easily configured—and reconfigured—to meet current and future requirements. CleanSort Transition Series Recycling Stations use stream-specific, interchangeable openings and internal dividers to accept multiple types of waste and recyclables in a single unit. Ideal for offices, these modular and configurable units easily adapt to waste stream changes thereby extending their life cycle and contributing to the ROI of the recycling program. The units may first go into service as single-stream trash receptacles. As recycling programs are implemented, the trash opening in each unit...

DALLAS—The Omni Dallas Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Dallas, has outlined its sustainability plan which will lead to the property’s LEED Silver New Construction (NC) certification upon opening. The plan includes use of recycled and regionally-sourced materials, reduced construction pollution and water conservation initiatives. “Earning the LEED Silver New Construction status will be a tremendous accomplishment—one made possible by the tremendous efforts of the City, Matthews Southwest, Balfour/Russell/Pegasus, 5Gstudio_collaborative, BOKA Powell, Vivian-Nichols Associates and every team member who has a hand in keeping the project focused on sustainability,” said Nils Stolzlechner, general manager of the Omni Dallas Hotel....

CHICAGO—In order to help hotels further reduce their environmental footprint, Cintas Corp. has introduced its first eco-friendly garment options for bellmen, doormen and other front door professionals in hotels. The new apparel, made of recycled polyester, wool and Lycra, further enhances Cintas’ already extensive EcoGeneration collection and enables hotels to go “green” without compromising fashion or comfort. “Staff members who greet guests when they enter a property really set the tone for their overall perception of the brand,” said Todd McKeown, vice president of Hospitality at Cintas. “With our new sustainable apparel for bellmen and doormen, hotels can leave an...

MILWAUKEE—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform and a leading provider of Internet services for the hospitality industry, announced that it has established an e-waste Take-Back Recycling program for all of its legacy products to assist its customers with the responsible disposal of used electronics equipment. According to Telkonet, it is committed to promoting sustainability and actively pursues and implements policies, programs and practices designed to minimize and mitigate corporate environmental impact by producing products that are designed and manufactured to meet or exceed the world’s most stringent environmental requirements. Telkonet extends that core value, and attempts to...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Clean the World, a social enterprise committed to saving lives and protecting the planet, today announced a corporate agreement to collect and recycle hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and gels to help fight the global spread of preventable diseases. An estimated 1.6 million pounds of hotel soap may be recycled each year through this partnership. The agreement, potentially involving 500 Starwood hotels in North America, is the first corporate agreement for Clean the World, which now has hospitality partnerships in place with more than 1,000 hotel properties around the globe. Starwood brands...

BARRIE, ONT.—Paper coffee cups are a huge part of our waste stream. In an effort to divert coffee cup waste, Busch Systems is launching its Coffee Cup Recycler to combat this issue. The Coffee Cup Recycler will be making its debut at the 23rd Annual Specialty Coffee Event of the Year Exposition hosted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) from April 28 to May 1, 2011. Billions of coffee cups make their way into landfills daily. It is clear that if a solution isn’t found to divert coffee cup waste, the negative impact on the environment will be...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—For the third year in a row, Broward County has selected Valley Forge Fabrics to receive one of the County’s 2010 Emerald Awards in the Recycling category for environmental excellence. The Emerald Award is given annually by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and Environmental Protection Department to honor businesses for exceptional commitment to protecting the environment. Valley Forge Fabrics, a leader in sustainable textiles and decorative fabrics for hospitality, launched its FRESH initiative more than five years ago. FRESH is an acronym for Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards for Hospitality. The company’s Tencel+Plus Lyocell products are the...

BOSTON—When the 424-room InterContinental Boston opened in November 2006, its recycling rate was just 8 percent. Tim Kirwan, general manager, admits recycling was not a top priority at first. In October 2007, with the assistance of Charlestown, Mass.-based Save That Stuff, everyone at the hotel finally got serious about recycling. By 2008, the rate had increased to 32 percent. In 2009 the rate reached 38 percent. From January through March of this year, the rate, according to Fabienne Eliacin, the hotel’s engineering coordinator, reached 61 percent. The InterContinental Boston’s focus on waste reduction, in addition to its other green initiatives,...

TORONTO—The Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) announced the installation of an innovative new carpet system technology that will help to reduce its environmental footprint. It is North America’s first large installation of a system that features firm plastic floor plates with hooks that lock in place, and uses a mechanical hook-and-loop bond that attaches the carpet. With frequent loading and unloading of show equipment, the occasional spill and high visitor traffic, there are certain areas where carpet needs to be replaced. “This initiative is one of many in our green strategy that emphasizes continuous improvement,” said Vince Quattrociocchi, vice president...