NOSARA, COSTA RICA—Olas Verdes, a Costa Rican boutique hotel in Playa Guiones, Nosara, has been awarded the highest designation for the international sustainable design and construction standard, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)—LEED Platinum. This makes Olas Verdes the first LEED Platinum hotel in Costa Rica and first LEED certified surf hotel in the world. Olas Verdes was born out of the owners’ love for Costa Rica, its people and culture, as well as their passion for the local community of Nosara and their dedication to preserving the fragile ecosystems that make this rural beach town so unique. Integrating...

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—1 Hotels, the mission-driven luxury lifestyle hotel brand announced that the newest addition to its portfolio, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, is set to make its debut in February 2017. Located at Pier 1, just south of the iconic bridge in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood and minutes from downtown Manhattan, the 10-story sustainable ground-up development is designed by New York-based architecture studio Incorporated and will feature 194 guestrooms with sliding floor-to-ceiling windows—many offering views of the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge and New York skyline—including 29 two to six bedroom suites and The Riverhouse, its Presidential Suite. Guests of the...

MADISON, WIS.—OMNI Solutions, a Wisconsin-based energy-saving laundry and cleaning solutions company, has been named Trade Ally of the Year by Southern California Gas Co., (SoCalGas), their highest honor achievable, for helping businesses throughout Southern California save energy and operating costs. OMNI Solutions championed a new ozone measure this year through rebates, saving businesses in the SoCalGas’ service territory in greater Los Angeles thousands of dollars in operating expenses. OMNI Solutions offers energy-saving and environmentally safe effective laundry and cleaning solutions primarily to resorts, hotels and healthcare facilities and other businesses with mass laundry and cleaning chemical needs. Three energy solution companies...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Ozomax, Inc. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. In 2013 Ozomax developed and patented the Insitu AOP Ozopen (a low voltage electrochemical process that creates a mix of powerful oxidants—in your water from your water). This product was developed specifically for cooling towers, swimming pools and water features. The Insitu AOP Ozopen achieves large amounts of water, chemical and energy savings in each of these applications. A recent study shows that Legionella can readily be controlled in cooling towers and water features by using the...

DAHLONEGA, GA.—Breakthrough technology designed to completely eliminate water bourne bacteria legionella, tested by a research chemist at the Centre Des Technologies De L’Eau (CTE) in Montreal, is a proven strategy to save lives and possibly prevent future disease outbreaks. In July 2015, a deadly outbreak of Legionella in New York City claimed 12 lives. Legionella outbreaks have also been recently reported in Illinois, Detroit, Orlando, San Francisco, Maryland, Georgia, Spain, England and Australia. The lifesaving technology manufactured by Ozomax, Inc., Canada was tested by a research chemist at the CTE in accordance with EPA general standards. Dr. Abdelaziz Gherrou Ph.D.,...

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Xeros, the innovator of an ultra-low water laundry system, announced that it has agreed with Jamsan Hotel Management (JHM) Group that its award-winning polymer bead cleaning laundry system is to be installed in each of its hotels. The program will see the replacement of conventional washers in more than 50 properties with Xeros laundry systems which reduce water and energy costs without sacrificing the quality of service to hotel customers. Jamsan Hotel Management is a national hospitality management company based in Lexington, Mass., with 50 hotels, and totaling over 3,500 rooms across New England. “After our initial installation of a...

TETIAROA, FRENCH POLYNESIA—The Brando announced its LEED Platinum certification. The luxury property earned the prestigious designation based on its commitment to conservation and sustainability efforts in the development and overall operation of the pristine island resort. This certification is the culmination of more than six years of work carried out by the resort’s owners, designers and architects, and establishes The Brando as the first project to earn LEED certification in French Polynesia. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that...

DES PLAINES, ILL.—Chicago Faucets announces the release of a new white paper, “Cheap Water No More.” The white paper discusses the continually escalating cost of water businesses will experience due to replacement of the country’s aging water and sewer systems, specifically the thousands of miles of pipes and the tens of thousands of treatment plants, storage tanks and water distribution systems in need of repair or replacement, according to a Black and Veatch report. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the total national cost of updating these systems to be around $384 billion over the next 20 years. The white...

SAN FRANCISCO—Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the North American green roof and wall industry association, is congratulating San Francisco on its policy leadership. Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced legislation on September 6, which was unanimously approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission last week, that builds on their existing solar roof mandate. This makes San Francisco the first city in the United States to require green roofs and/or solar panels on new construction projects. “Rooftops are one of the last untapped environmental resources in our growing city, and we need to be strategic about how we activate these spaces,”...

PLAYA GUIONES, COSTA RICA—In a country so well known for its ecotourism and renewable energy leadership positions, it should come as no surprise that one of its hotels has earned the rare LEED Platinum certification. That is what happened this summer at the Olas Verdes Hotel in Playa Guiones, Costa Rica. Luis Pardo, General Manager of the boutique hotel with five casitas, said the property is the first surf hotel in the world and the first hotel in Costa Rica to reach the LEED Platinum level. The Olas Verdes Hotel opened last December, Pardo says. “The owners wanted to have...