SAN DIEGO—San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined the staff of the San Diego Convention Center at a public celebration last month to publicly celebrate the venue’s certification as a LEED Gold facility. Mayor Faulconer praised the venue’s efforts in achieving the standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED-certified buildings are resource efficient. They use less water and energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “San Diego is one...

Pellerin Milnor Corporation Equipment Ranging in Size and Purpose Pellerin Milnor Corp. is a leading commercial laundry equipment manufacturer that specializes in reducing water and energy consumption in the washroom. Featuring washer-extractors from 25-700 lb capacity, automated tunnel washing systems for processing 7,000 lb per hour or more, dryers, material handling systems, and laundry computer networks, Milnor machines have a proud legacy of durability and efficiency. For more information, please call (504) 467-9591, e-mail milnorinfo@milnor.com, or visit www.milnor.com. Pellerin Milnor Corporation » Email for Details »

NATIONAL REPORT—Standing out as a small business is all about setting yourself apart, highlighting the things that make you better than competitors. A great way to do that today is to be ecologically responsible. One of the best things about taking an eco-friendly approach to operating your hotel is that it can become a marketing tool for you. Travelers today, like consumers of all kinds, have expectations beyond simply the products and services they consume. They have particular issues that they care about, and they want to support companies that feel the same way. The environment is a major one. While...

How is your hotel’s laundry running? I love asking this question. There’s no grey area on the answer. It’s either “not so great,” which means something is leaking and the technician has been here a scary long time. Or, “pretty good,” which means nothing is leaking. My response for the latter is “how do you know?” As anybody in the lodging industry knows, being green isn’t a plug-and-play endeavor. It is a constant evolution. Why then is the laundry different? Why is it we buy a high G-force washer-extractor and a moisture-sensing tumble dryer and call our laundry “greened up?” One...

STAFFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND—Corporate Vision Magazine has awarded Ozone Water Technologies “Best Sustainable Laundries Company 2017” & “Most Green Energy Reduction Product: LaundrOzone” as part of its 2017 Technology Innovator Awards. Now celebrating its third year, the Technology Innovator Awards return in 2017 to showcase talented individuals, teams and firms. Ozone Water Technologies was born from many years of laundry operations experience by its founder, Jim Gross, who managed his family laundry for 17 years, operated all Marriott laundries for three years, and operated his own laundry consulting business for many years. As a consultant, he reviewed ozone washing possibilities and decided...

LAS VEGAS—HD Expo 2017 wrapped up in Las Vegas on May 5 after attracting more than 800 exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees. The reconfigured show floor allowed for 275,000 square feet of show floor space. The annual event was an opportunity for suppliers to display their latest innovations and that they did. Many of the new products and technologies on hand have a green story behind them—whether having to do with the material they are made of or the energy or water they conserve. It would be impossible in this space to include all of the green news...

BOULDER, COLO.—At the luxurious 201-room St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder, Colo., there are many success stories but perhaps the greatest is the property’s waste reduction initiative. According to James P. Farrell, Sustainability Coordinator, in 2007 the property disposed of almost 700,000 pounds of materials. Over the last decade that number has been axed to 400,000 pounds annually thanks to training, recycling, composting, careful purchasing and many different donation programs. A composting program alone has reduced compostable material to landfill from 33 tons a month to just 3.5 tons. The St. Julien Hotel & Spa employs a part-time waste...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—Hansgrohe launched several new hospitality solutions and programs at this year’s HD Expo. The event was held last week in Las Vegas. The introductions include new faucets and shower components from the AXOR Montreux collection, as well as stylish, high-performing and eco-conscious showerheads and shower pipes from the Hansgrohe brand. The show also marked the début of AXOR FINISHPLUS, a program that offers bespoke AXOR fittings in highly durable finishes. Brian Dunn, Director of Sales, Global Projects, Hansgrohe USA, commented, “Whether it’s catering to a certain end user, such as a millennial or aging baby boomer, delivering a specific...

NEW CASTLE, DEL.—Speakman has introduced the Kubos Collection, an assortment of hospitality exclusive bathroom fixtures inspired by pure, modern design. Each item in this collection features a crisp, square frame that is both clean and refined. “At Speakman, we’ve always had an obsession with simplicity,” says Jeff Harwanko, Lead Designer of Product & Packaging at Speakman. “And with Kubos, we stripped away every unnecessary detail to create a collection that is completely absent of clutter.” The Kubos Collection marks one of Speakman’s most substantial product launches to date. Featuring over 15 unique items, including shower heads, faucets, and a significant variety...

LONDON—The names of the winners of the 2017 Green Hotelier Awards have been released as part of Responsible Business Week. The annual Awards invite applications from hotels of any size anywhere in the world; judging them on their efforts to reduce energy and water consumption, their waste output, their roles as responsible businesses to their employees and in the local community, as well as looking at how they communicate their sustainable and responsible ethos to guests. This year brought the largest number of applications yet from a diverse range of properties from eco-lodges to five star luxury resorts, from city boutiques...