NEW ORLEANS—The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) has made sustainability a top priority and is taking steps to reduce environmental impacts. While the coronavirus pandemic impacted hosting events in 2020, NOENMCC took advantage of the downtime and made critical facility upgrades that will reduce their environmental footprint, and in turn, help make the facility a leader in sustainable events. “As one of the top convention center facilities in the nation, it is crucial that we meet and exceed national standards when it comes to sustainability and environmental impact,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Convention Center President. “Nowadays, sustainability...

SAUSALITO, CALIF.—CREO, a green tech company on a mission to make buildings healthier and more resilient, unveiled the BioBulb technology platform, a smart, green living system that offers a sustainable solution for growing nature indoors and in environments with scarce resources. The system uses artificial intelligence (AI) to learn the optimal growth for a plant within its surroundings and autonomously infuses it with the precise amount of water and nutrients it needs. BioBulb is a virtually zero-waste system and uses up to 80 percent less water than existing high-tech hydroponic solutions with the potential to save thousands of gallons...

SARASOTA, FLA.—Pürlin, LLC has hired Eric Eisenberg to serve as Vice President of Hospitality. In collaboration with their University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) partners, the entire team will be working with Eisenberg to introduce Pürlin’s unique closed-loop bedlinen system to the Las Vegas hotel market. “With his extensive background in hotel operations and his professional ties to the business community, we have every confidence in Eric’s abilities to lead Pürlin’s Las Vegas commercialization initiative and to build our South West Regional Sales Operation,” says Pürlin Founder and President, Richard Ferrell. In response to the devastating impact that COVID-19 continues to...

LAS VEGAS—Sands’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report summarizes its commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen through key performance metrics in the report’s namesake areas. Measuring and reporting ESG performance has helped drive results, supporting the management of the company’s utility consumption, ensuring the disciplined execution of efficiency projects and compelling it to explore innovations to its resort operations. Along with the key metrics covered in the ESG Report, Sands is currently in the process of broadening its company disclosures to incorporate an even wider range of metrics. The areas of emphasis in environmental performance, all reflected in the report, include...

CINCINNATI, OHIO—If you were to look at all of the companies servicing the hospitality industry, there are few that have reached the level of sustainability as Cincinnati-based Melink Corp. The list of its accomplishments is long and so too are its future goals—from the headquarters it operates from to the products and services it offers. The company has been around a while. “I started the company in 1987,” says Steve Melink, Chairman & CEO. “We started as an HVAC company doing commissioning for restaurant chains.” It was not long before Melink saw that many restaurant ventilation systems were running constantly,...

MIAMI—SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group led by Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht, announced that it will open its award-winning Treehouse Hotel in Miami, the brand’s first U.S. location, in 2025. Treehouse Hotels debuted in London in 2019. Treehouse Hotels are about freedom and fun—the wondrous, childhood feeling of climbing into a treehouse and making up your own rules. Designed to appeal to the child in all of us, Treehouse Brickell will be imaginative and nostalgic—inspired by simple joys. Urban yet earthy. Responsible and caring. Dreamed as a space where travelers can converge...

BEND, ORE.—Outdoor enthusiasts can now check into a new hotel in Downtown Bend that is perfectly designed for adventure. Element Bend, the first Element Hotel by Westin to open in Oregon, is now welcoming guests to its spacious, airy studios and one-bedroom suites. Inspired by the natural beauty around us, wellbeing and environmental sustainability are a key focus of the hotel. Guests can take advantage of the abundance of local outdoor recreational opportunities. Hike in the high desert, raft down the Deschutes River, or take a complimentary bike out to discover the beauty of Bend, Ore., then rejuvenate back...

COLOGNE, GERMANY—HRS, a leading global corporate lodging platform, introduced a first-of-its-kind solution that gives corporations and employees a way to organize travel more sustainably. HRS’ Green Stay Initiative, in pilot this quarter, leverages proprietary technology to give procurement leaders and everyday business travelers an intuitive system to identify, compare and prioritize hotels that contribute to reducing the ecological footprint of the lodging portion of the typical business trip. HRS is assimilating data from thousands of hotel groups and independent properties as part of a groundbreaking framework, including details on energy consumption, water use, and waste disposal. Through the unprecedented normalization...

PALMA, SPAIN—Iberostar Hotels & Resorts is a hotel chain with more than 120 four- and five-star hotels, located in the most popular holiday destinations in Europe, Africa, and America. The Iberostar hotel portfolio offers customers beachfront hotels, city hotels and heritage hotels. In addition, there is the Grand category, the highest level of luxury and excellence. Iberostar’s Wave of Change movement is an initiative based on three complementary but different action lines: eliminating the consumption of single-use plastics, promoting responsible seafood consumption and the improvement of coastal health. Leading Iberostar’s work under the Wave of Change movement is Dr....

FAROE ISLANDS—For those of you not familiar with their location, the Faroe Islands are a North Atlantic archipelago located 200 miles north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway and Iceland. Like Greenland, it is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Last October, the 130-room Hilton Garden Inn Faroe Islands opened on the islands in Torshavn with a bundle of unique green features. Green Lodging News recently corresponded with Kate Mikesell, VP Corporate Responsibility, Hilton, and Martin Restorff, General Manager of the hotel, to learn about those green gems. For Kate Mikesell, VP Corporate Responsibility, Hilton: Q: Explain how...