HONOLULU—The Waikiki Parc Hotel has installed the Hospitality Battery Holder in its 297 guestrooms, helping the environment and saving money at the same time. The hotel is expected to save more than $5,000 within the next five years by replacing the conventional battery packs with the Hospitality Battery Holder.“The Waikiki Parc Hotel will be discontinuing the wrap-around battery packs and instead will use our environmentally friendly battery holders,” says Charlie Rodriguez, account manager for the Hospitality Battery Holder. “That will allow the hotel to use rechargeable batteries instead of the yearly disposable battery packs.”  Go to Hospitality Battery Holder.

BURLINGTON, VERMONT—Increasing recycling, implementing a food waste collection program for composting, and increasing green purchasing have allowed the 309-room  in Burlington, Vermont to reduce its environmental footprint, save money on disposal, and to be recognized as a Green Hotel through the Green Hotels in the Green Mountain State Program (also known as the Vermont Green Hotels Program).In April 2009, the Sheraton Hotel agreed to work with the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), the Vermont Green Hotels Program, and EPA New England to increase its overall recycling, initiate a food waste diversion program, and to increase and document its green purchasing...

PARIS—Accor recently decided to assess its environmental impact 15 years after it took a stand and started taking concrete action to embrace sustainable development. The company began working on gauging its environmental footprint at the end of 2010. The study stretches beyond measuring greenhouse-gas emissions to encompass energy and water consumption, water pollution and waste generation throughout lifecycles in the Group. “Four thousand and two hundred hotels in 90 countries, 145,000 employees, 56 million breakfasts a year and almost 545 million liters of water a year all add up to the environmental impact that we are now in a position...

JOHNSTON, S.C.—Riegel div. Mount Vernon Mills, Inc. is turning plastic bottles into durable table linen. RieNu by Riegel is a 100 percent recycled polyester linen produced from Eco-Sure, a 100 percent post-consumer recycled PET as confirmed by Scientific Certification Systems. One 20x20 napkin made from RieNu recycled polyester fabric eliminates three 16 ounce plastic bottles from landfills.RieNu by Riegel promises to feel like Premier, a 100 percent spun polyester product. Quality tested and proven to perform equally as well, RieNu by Riegel is proven to maintain Premier’s high quality standards that are expected in the marketplace today. Each product...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, has added a Protect-A-Bed case study to its website. The case study focuses on the Mansion at Judges’ Hill in Austin, Texas and how it is benefiting from Protect-A-Bed’s mattress encasements. The 48-room property is using the encasements to meet the needs of allergy-sensitive guests, as a preventive measure against bed bugs, and to extend the life of mattresses that otherwise might be destroyed once soiled. The encasements are protecting the property’s mattresses so that they can be recycled at the end of their life.To read the case...

DALTON, GA.—Universal Textile Technologies (UTT) announced a new initiative to incorporate bottles collected from Grand Teton National Park into its manufacturing process. UTT converts the plastic bottles into a non-woven fleece material used to manufacture high-performance environmentally friendly backing for carpet and synthetic turf products. Now termed the PET Park Project, UTT is working in partnership with The Grand Teton National Park, Teton County Solid Waste and Recycling, CPE, Inc., and the United Soybean Board (USB). Americans generate an enormous amount of waste material every day. In the Grand Teton park millions of annual visitors are educated on the positive...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Clean the World, an Orlando-based social enterprise dedicated to collecting, recycling and distributing hotel soap to battle preventable diseases and protect the planet, is teaming with a high-technology incubator to fuel a series of socially responsible innovations and sustainable energy projects in the hospitality industry and beyond.Looking to expand its recycling and upcycling opportunities worldwide, Clean the World has formed a joint venture with Eco Convergence Group Inc. (ECG), an Orlando-based engineering and technology development company focusing on the sustainability market. The partners are developing several forward-thinking initiatives including advanced mobile waste processors, geopolymer green construction materials, hydroponic...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Pineapple Hospitality, a distributor of “green” hotel products and marketing programs to the hospitality industry, has donated more than 90,000 bottles of eco-friendly body washes, lotions and conditioners to improve comfort and dignity for children and families in distressed situations throughout the United States. The donations will be received by Clean the World, an Orlando, Fla.-based organization that recycles and distributes hygiene products to people in need.“We’re all aware of the economic and social distress so many families are experiencing in our own country and around the world,” says Ray Burger, CEO and president at Pineapple Hospitality....

PORTLAND, ORE.—Viridian Wood Products announced the introduction of a new line of 4’x 8’ architectural-grade veneered panels milled from reclaimed North American wood, according to Viridian co-owner Joe Mitchoff. Viridian’s sliced veneers—derived from old-growth redwood previously used in wine tanks, Oregon black walnut reclaimed from urban salvage, and old-growth Douglas fir from warehouse deconstruction—are produced domestically and laid-up on urea formaldehyde-free, FSC-certified medium density fiberboard (MDF) in a variety of thicknesses, including fire-rated cores. Mitchoff said more species are being sourced for launch in the future. “These are distinctive, beautiful and rich in history, a befitting use of some amazing wood,”...

NEW YORK—Raw, an InterfaceFLOR modular carpet tile product created from yarns derived from a combination of salvaged fishing nets, post-industrial waste, and fibers from the company’s own processing of reclaimed carpet products, is among 100 products named “Best of What’s New” for 2011 by Popular Science magazine. In naming Raw to this noteworthy list, Mark Jannot, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, said, “For 24 years, Popular Science has honored the innovations that surprise and amaze us—those that make a positive impact on our world today and challenge our views of what’s possible in the future. The ‘Best of What’s New’ Award is...