SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF.—As of July 20, the owners of the Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe Hotel & Ski Resort had spent $250,000 less than they had expected to spend on energy this year. According to David Hansen, director of engineering at the 400-suite property, the hotel could come close to a total of $500,000 in energy savings by the end of 2009. When comparing the first six months of this year against the first six months of last year, electricity consumption dropped by 575,000 kilowatt hours ($98,902 savings) and natural gas consumption by 9,314 dekatherms ($67,709 savings). The hotel...

TORONTO—As part of the brand’s focus and commitment to sustainability, more than 22 Fairmont locations worldwide are reducing their waste disposal costs and supporting the switch to a cleaner economy by manufacturing used kitchen oils into biodiesel, a domestic and renewable fuel derived from natural oils. No one method or solution is universal and biodiesel initiatives vary by property. At The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, the hotel gets the job done by partnering with Yokayo Bio-Fuels, a local biodiesel firm, to gather approximately 150 gallons of kitchen grease each quarter, turning it into tallow or feed. The Fairmont...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Looking down on the roof of Wyndham Worldwide’s new headquarters on a sunny day could be hazardous to your eyes. The 83,000 square feet of white roofing on the top of the company’s new corporate headquarters building in Parsippany just might reflect the sun back at you. The white roof, which helps keep the building cool during the summer, is just one of the many green features found at Wyndham’s three-level corporate office. According to Faith Taylor, vice president, sustainability and innovation for Wyndham Worldwide, the complex opened earlier this year in February and more than 800 employees...

YORKVILLE, N.Y.—Expanding its Green Sustainable Lighting Program while introducing a classic brand in lighting, Meyda Lighting unveils the new Coca-Cola licensed Bottle Mini Pendants, which features recycled Coca- Cola glass bottles and the Coca-Cola licensed design. Meyda Lighting is a leading designer and manufacturer of custom and decorative lighting. The Coca-Cola Bottle Mini Pendant (109314) integrates a nostalgic design and craftsmanship with an authentic, recycled Coca-Cola bottle. This Coca-Cola Bottle Mini Pendant is handcrafted of Classic Green tinted glass featuring the authentic colors and contours of the original Coca-Cola bottle. The hardware features a canopy that replicates a Coca-Cola...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes PestWest LLC as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. PestWest is currently offering its Vapor Vacuum Lamp Compacter for the disposal of fluorescent lighting. The Compacter contains used lamps in a secure container, while at the same time removing the hazardous mercury via a specially designed filter system. PestWest also offers professional insect light trap systems and other flying insect management products. For more information, call (941) 358-1983, e-mail info@pestwest.com, or go to www.pestwest.com.

NEW ORLEANS—More than 200 non-biodegradable fiberglass trash cans, once destined for a landfill, have found a new life as bright yellow-green recycling bins at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. In an effort to be more environmentally-friendly, the Convention Center sought to replace their existing trash cans with 210 new recycling bins for paper, plastic, and waste. As the trash cans were about to be put out to pasture, enterprising Convention Center employees stepped in with an innovative idea for repurposing the 25-year-old trash cans. During a brainstorming session, operations staff members suggested that the Convention Center’s existing...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—When The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte opens in October, it will be the first LEED hotel to open in the greater Charlotte, N.C. area and the first Ritz-Carlton property anywhere to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED designation (the company is also pursuing LEED for its new Lake Tahoe property expected to open later this year). The 146-room hotel has been designed to earn LEED Gold certification once it opens, to be followed by LEED Gold for Existing Buildings certification a year later. The luxury hotel, which is managed by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., will minimize its environmental impact...

RIPON, WIS.—Who says efficiency isn’t fun? Probably somebody who’s never turned their old dryer into a soda cooler. UniMac, a leader in manufacturing energy- and water-efficient commercial laundry equipment, believes thinking “green” can be loads of fun and has launched its “Tumbler Re-use Project” to prove it. Located at www.unimac.com/promotions/tumbler/, the site takes an amusing turn in offering laundry managers and general managers of hotels and other properties ways to “re-purpose” their old, inefficient drying tumblers. From a soda cooler to a backyard fire pit, the Tumbler Re-Use Project will explore a variety of creative ideas to keep that old...

LAKE ELMO, MINN.—PTAC MAGIC, which specializes in the installation and recycling of Packaged Terminal Air-Conditioning (PTAC) units for hotels and resort properties, announced that it is now offering free pickup of working PTACs to hoteliers across the United States. According to David Triemert, president of the Lake Elmo, Minn.-based company, the majority of PTAC air conditioners that are replaced with new units during hotel renovation projects may still have a useful life. Triemert says he receives a number of phone calls each day, about half from motel operators, who are interested in inexpensive, used PTACs. Triemert tries to source local...

SUNNYVALE, CALIF.—UL Environment Inc. announced it has validated environmental claims for Serious Materials’ new drywall product, EcoRock. This represents the first validation of claims by UL Environment since its launch in January 2009, and the first product in the 115-year history of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to receive an Environmental Claims Validation. UL Environment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UL, a world leader in product safety testing services. UL Environment validated Serious Materials’ environmental claims for EcoRock by performing assessments and laboratory tests. An audit was conducted for recycled content, environmental chamber tests were performed to determine volatile organic compound (VOC)...