SAN FRANCISCO—Toward the end of the movie “E.T.: The Extraterrestial,” E.T. tells the young boy Elliott to “be good.” Guests waking up at the Good Hotel in San Francisco’s SoMa (South of Market) district are getting the same message just about everywhere they turn at the recently opened 117-room boutique property. On one of the walls in each guestroom, the words “begood” are painted in white and yellow. On the ceiling, in glowing letters, the words “good night” are visible. The Good Hotel is one of the latest unique innovations of Joie de Vivre, which operates California’s largest collection...

STANDISH, MAINE—PRC Technologies, a division of Print Recovery Concepts Inc., announced that it is offering the first laser printer cartridges that use toner powder derived from soybeans. PRC reports they will supply cartridges for the most popular laser printers under the SoyPrint brand at prices comparable to brand name versions currently available. Soy ink has been available for some time but this is the first soy toner cartridge for laser printers. Debe Overhaug, president of Print Recovery Concepts, reports a printer cartridge contains one pound of toner powder and that U.S. businesses, schools, institutions and governments consume more than 100...

YOUNTVILLE, CALIF.—The Napa Valley community of Yountville, Calif., with a population of a little more than 3,000 people, is now home to one of the greenest lodging establishments in the United States—the 62-room luxury Bardessono hotel, restaurant and spa. Set to open the first week of February, the development should earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification later in 2009. If it does reach that goal, it will be only the second hotel in the United States to do so. The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., is the other. The owner and developer of the property is...

INDIANAPOLIS—Gilchrist & Soames has unveiled its BeeKind Collection. BeeKind is the first Gilchrist & Soames collection to employ an environmental alternative to plastic bottles. The BeeKind paper bottle is a 59 percent reduction in packaging material by weight, as well as a 92 percent reduction in waste space after use compared to rigid plastic bottles. “We are very excited about this new collection,” says Kathie De Voe, president of Gilchrist & Soames. “It is perfect for today’s market with our new environmentally friendly packaging, unequalled skin-friendly formulations and modern, yet natural design.” The BeeKind Collection will feature Gilchrist & Soames’...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International has found the “key” to a greener planet. Effective immediately, the company will begin replacing the 24 million plastic key cards that it purchases annually in the United States with those made of 50 percent recycled material, thereby saving 66 tons of plastic from being dumped in a landfill. The new key card is just one of many advances the company has made to “green” its $10 billion supply chain and reduce its global environmental footprint. As hotels deplete their inventory of existing supplies, they’ll be replaced with new, greener products, preferably developed by the company’s current...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Cascades Tissue Group as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. For more than 40 years, Cascades Tissue Group has provided paper solutions designed with environmental preservation in mind. North River 100 percent recycled tissue paper products have more third party certifications (Green Seal, EcoLogo, and Processed Chlorine Free) than any competitive brand and are now made with Green-e certified wind energy. See www.northriverwind.com. For additional information, e-mail info@northriverwind.com, or go to Cascades Tissue Group.

CHICAGO—The Talbott Hotel, a luxury boutique in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast, has been bestowed the distinction of being one of the first Green Seal Certified hotels in the United States. Striving to meet the city of Chicago’s Green Hotels Initiative, the hotel worked diligently for months and at great expense to meet the environmental lodging standard, which brings with it requirements in waste management, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste water management and green procurement. The Talbott operates on a platform of “Sustainability without Compromise” as staff there insist that green initiatives only enhance the already high standards for...

LAGRANGE, GA.—Milliken Hospitality announced that all of its carpet collections—broadloom and modular—are now certified to the NSF/ANSI 140-2007 Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard. All collections also achieved carbon neutral certification from the Leonardo Academy without purchased credits. “Milliken Hospitality has made a commitment to certify all carpet products without exception and meet the highest environmental standards for this industry,” said Bill Gregory, Milliken’s director of sustainability. Milliken carpet collections attain carbon neutral certification from the Leonardo Academy with credits earned internally from reduced emissions and forest sequestration. Customers for modular products have the option of ES backing with NSF-140 Gold...

MONTVALE, N.J.—BioHitech’s high-volume organic waste decomposition technology, launched earlier this year, received the award for Innovation in Green Technology at this year’s International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show. The company’s GOHBio 1001 Series was recognized. The decomposition unit, which is energy efficient and made of stainless steel, breaks down food waste into a liquid within 24 hours; enabling it to be safely disposed of down the drain. Resultantly, greenhouse gases are reduced, landfill space and fuel are preserved, and ultimately, dependency on fossil fuels and other foreign oil sources declines. Additionally, overall costs associated with work flow efficiencies, janitorial supplies and...

LOS ANGELES—The California Integrated Waste Management Board has chosen carpet manufacturer Bentley Prince Street, Inc. as the recipient of the 2008 CalRecycle Sustainable Business Award. The award is the highest honor from the Board’s annual Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP), and honors a business that has taken extraordinary measures to reduce waste by cutting the amount of trash it produces, conserving resources and reducing waste disposal in landfills. “As California’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer, we believe we have a responsibility to help move our state toward a zero-waste future as we work toward our Mission Zero goal of eliminating our...