LAGRANGE, GA.—Milliken Hospitality announced Trees for Carpet, an education program offering customer incentives for acts of stewardship, during HD Expo in Miami Beach. “We are committed to spreading the principles of sustainability along the supply chain and using these opportunities to educate our industry about the value of green building,” says business manager for Milliken Hospitality, Steve Hillis. “Trees for Carpet provides a simple platform for our customers to make a difference.” Milliken & Company, an international carbon negative manufacturer, has demonstrated its passion for stewardship for more than a century. Trees for Carpet is a program under Milliken’s Trees for...

BOSTON—The Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston has just received official Energy Star status in recognition of its energy conservation and efficiency efforts. The hotel, built in 1963, has just completed a year-long effort to achieve this status. To that end, building automation systems were used to efficiently control the building’s energy consumption, coordinating HVAC, boilers, chillers and common area lighting. The guestroom energy management system manages heating and cooling when guests are not in their rooms and guestrooms are now lit by compact fluorescent lighting. “The overall guiding principle in decision making for all projects over the last year has...

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Next spring will be an exciting time here at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, located in idyllic Lake Placid, home of the 1980 Winter Olympics. Up on the roof of the 153-room property, just between the main lobby and the restaurant, a green roof will be installed. Similar to a garden, the roof will include a bed of soil and plants that will have both aesthetic and environmental benefits. The roof originally was going to be put in place this fall but it was determined that the plants that will rest in the roof modules need more time...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added its first case study to its new Vendor Case Studies section. The case study focuses on the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston and how it successfully implemented Excel Dryer’s XLERATOR hand dryer. After receiving a recommendation from the deputy director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, John Donahue, building superintendent, selected the Excel XLERATOR. It is designed with a high-velocity air stream that blows off excess water droplets and rapidly evaporates the remaining layer of moisture. XLERATOR dries hands in 10 to 15 seconds, three times faster than traditional...

TORONTO—Fairmont Hotels’ commitment to protecting the environment is nothing new. For more than 15 years, Fairmont’s participation in comprehensive recycling and environmental protection programs has demonstrated its goal to minimize its impact on the planet. And the results have been tangible. But the effort goes beyond the expected. Each of the hotels within the Fairmont collection is making a difference in often unique and unheard of ways. If there’s one thing a luxury hotel offers its guests, it’s fine wine and delectable cuisine. But what to do with all those pesky wine corks and leftover food looms large. Individual...

ROCKLAND, ME.—Quietly, yet tenaciously, the Historic Inns of Rockland, Maine are working hard to reduce their environmental impact. All three have been certified by the State of Maine as Hospitality Environmental Leaders, making them the first known B&B association in New England totally dedicated to sustainable eco-tourism. Beginning on October 3, in recognition of National Change a Lightbulb Day, the inns will offer an Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) to each guest. With each bulb, more than 400 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions will be saved from entering the atmosphere. “If just 100 guests change their lightbulbs with...

ATLANTA—IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) midscale extended-stay hotel brand, Candlewood Suites, diverted nearly 260 tons of material from landfills during bedding renovations at 55 hotels this summer. Candlewood Suites worked in partnership with the National Furniture Bank Assn. (NFBA) to repurpose the box springs and linens to benefit approximately 4,300 families across the U.S. An additional benefit of the reuse program was a cumulative savings of more than $100,000 in disposal fees. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, during the past 35 years the amount of waste each person creates has almost doubled from 2.7 to 4.4 pounds per...

BOULDER, COLO.—If you would like to learn about the Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites’ zero waste program, I suggest checking with the property’s Ambassador of Cool (owner Dan King)—or maybe its Green Goddess (environmental champion Diane Schevene). Believe it or not, those are the titles the two have given themselves. Both have worked hard to push the property toward zero waste. Is zero waste possible in a hotel that has a full-service restaurant, 3,800 square feet of meeting space and 162 guestrooms? It is if one considers only the waste generated by staff. Because the hotel cannot control what guests...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—As part of Neenah Paper’s expanded offering of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified papers, two colors in the mill’s flagship Classic brands are now available as FSC-certified: Recycled Bright White and Recycled Natural White. Neenah is the world’s first mill to watermark the FSC symbol and Chain of Custody into its papers, completing the chain of custody for anyone using them. Neenah has also introduced 100 percent post consumer whites in the four finishes of the Classic Brands (and in Environment Papers). The FSC is an international nonprofit organization that supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Retailers and electronics manufacturers voluntarily recycled more than 34 million pounds of electronics in 2006 as part of their commitment to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Plug-In To eCycling program. The program is a voluntary partnership between EPA and electronics manufacturers and retailers to offer consumers more opportunities to donate or recycle their used electronics. Since 2003, Plug-In partners have recycled more than 95 million pounds of electronics. “Our Plug-In partners have energized the industry to give consumers practical alternatives for recycling their used electronics,” says Scott Sherman, EPA’s associate assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and...