GLENVIEW, ILL.—ITW Food Equipment Group has announced the launch of the Hobart SmartConnect app, the first in ITW Food Equipment Group’s SmartConnect365 suite of apps designed to connect end-users to various WiFi-enabled commercial kitchen equipment across ITW Food Equipment Group brands such as Hobart, Baxter, Traulsen, Vulcan, Foster, Bonnet and more. SmartConnect is the smart way to stay connected to the kitchen. Simply download the SmartConnect app and connect to any WiFi-enabled ITW Food Equipment Group devices using your existing WiFi network. The app gives power to the user to monitor kitchen equipment remotely, providing real-time access and analysis to machine data right from the palm of...

NATIONAL REPORT—The concept of sustainability has been around for decades, popularized by the First World Climate Conference in 1979, the inception of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993, and the publication of Vice President Al Gore’s book about climate change (An Inconvenient Truth) in 2006. While other building types were early to adopt this concept, hospitality seemed slow to embrace green building design. Today, hospitality design is making noticeable changes to catch up. Impact on the Environment The world’s environment is affected primarily by real estate, transportation, and manufacturing. Due to the influence that these industries have on...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Banyan Water, a leading provider of data-driven water conservation software for the built environment, announced it has saved 4 billion gallons of water for enterprises since its inception, with 530 million gallons conserved and $36 million in asset value created in 2020. Using IoT-enabled, SaaS-based water technologies—such as Banyan Water Central, a total water management platform—Banyan analyzes real-time data to monitor water usage and pinpoint hidden anomalies. Banyan released its water savings achievement as the southwestern United States faces a historic drought, with more states experiencing exceptional drought conditions than in the past two decades, according to the U.S....

MINNEAPOLIS—Pentair plc, a leading provider of water treatment and sustainable solutions, announces its Social Responsibility Strategic Targets. The new targets were launched with the release of Pentair’s 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report, which highlights the company’s initiatives to be a leading socially responsible company as it delivers smart, sustainable solutions that empower customers and employees to make the most of life’s essential resources. “As a leading provider of water treatment and sustainable solutions, we are proud of our efforts to further Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) stewardship that are highlighted in our 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report,” said John L. Stauch, Pentair President and CEO....

BALTIMORE, MD.—Baltimore Aircoil Company (BAC) announces enhancements to the Nexus Modular Hybrid Cooler, the world’s first intelligent, plug-and-play, modular hybrid fluid cooler for HVAC and light industrial applications. The Nexus Modular Hybrid Cooler, which already led the industry for lowest installation costs, lowest operating costs, lowest maintenance costs, and maximum uptime now provides best water quality resulting from enhanced water management. An optional water disinfecting system as well as a product redesign now meet even the most stringent local building codes regarding fire safety and noise reduction. The BAC Nexus Modular Hybrid Cooler was designed to minimize maintenance cost by reducing spray water volume...

LAS VEGAS—Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has signed into law a bill supported by the Southern Nevada Water Authority that requires the removal of “useless,” or purely decorative, grass throughout the Las Vegas Valley by the end of 2026. The Valley has been undergoing a severe drought as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The law does not apply to grass in homeowners’ yards, or to grass used for recreation at schools and parks. Useless grass, also known as nonfunctional turf, is found around Southern Nevada business complexes (including hotels and resorts), along streets in HOA communities, and in traffic circles and...

NATIONAL REPORT—Sustainability in hospitality is good for business. In Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel Report, 73 percent of global travelers indicated their intentions to stay at least once in a green accommodation within the coming year. Booking.com’s report also revealed that over half (55 percent) of travelers are more set on making sustainable travel choices this year and adopt sustainable travel habits, indicating the increasing call for the bed and breakfast owners to get on board. In response, the company has rolled out its sustainability program and reaffirmed its commitment to help properties make sustainable changes. For the bed and breakfast properties listed and...

If you could name the top five items on your property that are saving you on water consumption, what would they be? Please feel free to share them with me at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com. I will share them with my readers. I thought of that after a look at the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor. If you visit the Drought Monitor site, you will see how severe the drought is in the west. Take a look at a series of maps in The New York Times and you will see how conditions have worsened over the years and gotten especially bad...

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.—MGM Springfield recently hosted U.S. Green Building Council CEO & President Mahesh Ramanujam, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and other government and community leaders for an Earth Day ceremony celebrating the resort’s multiple certifications under the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. MGM Springfield is the first private sector hospitality development to earn LEED Neighborhood Development certification at the site level. This recognition was partly earned due to MGM’s decision to convert a brownfield site hit by a tornado in 2011 and create a human-scale, compact and walkable development with...

TROY, OHIO—Hobart announced the new AM16 Advansys Door Type Commercial Dishwasher, redesigned from the ground up. The new dish machine is loaded with technology and features designed to revolutionize dish room performance, efficiency, and productivity for moderate-sized operations with mid-range volumes. Engineered to deliver the legendary Hobart Clean with less labor and the industry’s best lifetime value, the AM16 dish machine is loaded with advanced technology that removes more tough food soil with less effort and lower cost of operation. “We have brought the best technologies and features from across our dish-machine portfolio into this machine to improve performance and simplify...