LOS ANGELES—The Green Garmento marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a new partnership with Green Wish. Green Wish is a grassroots, nonprofit charitable organization focused on helping local green organizations fund projects for their communities through small donations at local retailers and online in “pay what you can” denominations. Currently Green Wish, whose board of directors includes actress Sharon Lawrence, actor and noted environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. and his wife Rachelle, funds organizations such as Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots (www.rootsandshoots.org), Organic Farming Research Foundation (www.ofrf.org), Friends of the Los Angeles River (www.folar.org), Santa Monica Baykeeper (www.smbaykeeper.org)...

ATLANTA—Simmons Hospitality Bedding, a division of Simmons Contract Sales LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Simmons Bedding Company, is making public its findings from a November 2007 survey aimed at gauging the interest of hotel guests in eco-oriented hotel elements and programs. The survey, which Simmons originally conducted for internal research purposes only, involved more than 300 respondents who are members of different hotels’ frequent guest programs. The results show that hotel environmental responsibility gained traction among guests, with 93 percent of respondents aware of hotel programs geared toward conserving water or energy. Simmons’ research also illustrates how hotel eco-elements potentially...

MCLEAN, VA.—Following two years of testing, Hilton Worldwide has unveiled LightStay, a proprietary system developed to calculate and analyze environmental impact. In the first full year of findings, the 2009 LightStay results show that the 1,300 Hilton Worldwide properties using the system conserved enough energy to power 5,700 homes for a year, saved enough water to fill more than 650 Olympic-size pools and reduced carbon output equivalent to taking 34,865 cars off the road. Reductions in water and energy use also translated into dollars saved for hotel owners, with estimated savings of more than $29 million in utility costs...

MINNEAPOLIS—When Governor Chris Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5543 on March 19, Washington became the first state to address the dangers of unsafe packaging and transportation of used fluorescent lamps and mercury containing devices. This new legislation is set to be the precursor of future state and federal legislation as awareness of mercury vapor dangers increases. Due to deficiencies of most current packaging configurations utilized for shipping used fluorescent lamps, the new law requires that lights and other mercury-containing devices are packaged and shipped in material that will minimize the release of mercury into the environment. The law also states...

Waste management programs can be more challenging for hotels than other green initiatives because there are many kinds of waste to address, and it takes ongoing attention to achieve good results. Yet, successful programs are financially rewarding, and they are noticed by hotel customers more than any other green initiative. This article is intended to help hotels reduce waste and reap the associated benefits. Hotels reduce their operating costs when they manage their waste stream well. Waste management programs cut costs by making some purchases unnecessary, save staff time and reduce trash disposal bills. However, disposal costs vary markedly by region,...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Sonoma Soap Company has added something to its all-natural line of Sonoma Soap Products. Beginning this month, the Sonoma brand began carrying the Clean the World logo on its packaging. The co-branded natural bar soaps are part of a unique marketing effort with the nonprofit, Clean the World. In addition to the awareness generated by the new packaging, Sonoma will donate a portion of the proceeds of each co-branded bar purchased to help in its mission of saving lives and recycling soap. “We are proud of this alliance with Clean the World to generate funds and awareness to help...

WINCHESTER, VA.—Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), a leader in innovative, solutions-based products, announces the newest addition to its line of indoor recycling receptacles. New Element Indoor Recycling Stations provide stylish, centralized collection for multi-stream waste and recycling sortation. “Faced with increasing sustainability regulations and the rise of green building, facility managers and building owners need products that not only satisfy corporate and government requirements, but are also an aesthetically pleasing solution to their recycling program needs,” said Victoria Ciupak, senior product manager—Decorative Receptacles at Rubbermaid Commercial Products. “The attractive design of Element Recycling Stations makes them especially suitable for end-users...

CLEARWATER, FLA.—Save Your World L.L.C., the first company in the United States to launch a personal care product line infused with organic yerba maté and organic aloe vera, has announced two new amenity lines of products—“Oasis Fruit,” a citrus delight, and “Rainforest,” a warm berry and spice—both of which are scented with pure essential oils and packaged in recyclable PET bottles with aluminum caps. These are being added to the company’s hotel partnership program, which launched in late 2008 with a line of paper-bottled products designed to reduce after-use waste by more than 92 percent, in response to demand for...

VALLEY CENTER, CALIF.—The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians announced the completion of a 1 Megawatt solar plant that provides enough power to run approximately 90 percent of the Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort’s heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). The plant reduces grid consumption, curtailing enough energy to power about 2,200 homes. The 3,936-panel solar field, which was manufactured and installed by Suntech, will produce enough energy to offset almost a quarter of the casino’s total power consumption. Bo Mazzetti, chairman of the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, said he is grateful for the leadership that the Harrah’s Rincon team...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality are tapping into a new program, “Water on the Rocks,” to eliminate nearly all plastic water bottles in guest operations. RockResorts properties from Vail to St. Lucia and Vail Resorts Hospitality properties in all four Colorado mountain resorts—Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge, and Beaver Creek—are expecting to save an estimated 640,000 plastic water bottles from the waste stream thanks to the “Water on the Rocks” program. It eliminates plastic water bottles from guestrooms and offers hotel guests reusable water bottles with refilling stations. Started at The Pines Lodge, A RockResort luxury property located in Beaver Creek,...