ALPHARETTA, GA.—Hansgrohe USA is rolling out new shower collections to its already comprehensive lineup. In addition to introducing two showerpipes to the Croma collection, Hansgrohe is integrating its popular and intuitive Select technology into the new Croma Select E and Croma Select S showerheads/handshowers. The company is also launching the Crometta collection, a sister collection to Croma.“As the result of customer feedback, we have integrated Select into the next generation of Croma showerheads and handshowers,” says Erik Christensen, President of Hansgrohe USA. “The advantages are quite literally in the user’s hands. Thanks to the Select technology, spray modes can...

KOHLER, WIS.—As part of its goal to educate building professionals and consumers in California on reducing water use, Kohler Co. has joined Connect the Drops, a California advocacy campaign highlighting water stewardship efforts. The campaign brings together companies operating in California to initiate collaborative public-private solutions because of the state’s severe water shortage and unprecedented water reduction regulations implemented this year.Kohler, a leading brand of kitchen and bath plumbing products, sells its products in California through numerous leading independent distributors and retail outlets. The company is working closely with its sales partners to promote upgrades of bathroom fixtures and...

SARASOTA, FLA.—The Aqua Mizer Solution is a patented, retrofit toilet tank flush system that prevents water waste from flapper and other tank leaks, and protects a property from catastrophic toilet floods. This innovative system detects most toilet leaks and prevents the tank from refilling when they are present. It’s a simple, green, turnkey solution that can generate a significant ROI in a short period of time.For most hotels, a toilet flood in a guestroom can cost tens of thousands of dollars in damage to the property, in addition to the lost revenue of one or more vacant rooms. A...

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.—Porous Pave, Inc. has added three new distributors in the United States and Canada for Porous Pave, the company’s highly porous, flexible and durable pour-in-place pavement material. The new distributors are Napa Valley Materials (California), Brico Services (British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan), and J&J Porous Pave (Ontario).“Our distributors are committed to training and certifying installation contractors,” said Dave Ouwinga, President and CEO, Porous Pave, Inc. “To help ensure excellent results, they also provide expert technical support during project planning and installation.”An eco-friendly green building product, Porous Pave infiltrates stormwater on-site, reduces the volume and slows the velocity...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International employee volunteers build a house from the ground up, and hand over the keys to an elated single mother and her children. Tens of millions of dollars are spent conducting business with minority- and women-owned enterprises, supporting the company's strategic objectives and commitment to diversity. MGM Resorts and NRG Renew partner to install one of the nation’s largest rooftop solar arrays at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, stretching a massive 20 acres.These are just a few of the powerful displays of corporate citizenship chronicled in MGM Resorts’ 2014 Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Themed “Inspiration...

NATIONAL REPORT—In hotels, utility costs consist of four major components.  According to the 2015 edition of Trends in the Hotel Industry, electricity is the largest utility expense comprising 60 percent of total expenditures. Water/service is the next largest utility cost (23.8 percent) followed by gas/fuel (10.6 percent), and steam (2.3 percent). Trends in the Hotel Industry is the annual survey of U.S. hotel operating statements conducted by PKF Hospitality Research (PKF-HR), a CBRE Company. Over the years, the energy component of the consumer price index (CPI) has been a good indicator of the direction of the change in total utility...

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Xeros, maker of an ultra-low water laundry system, announced that it has expanded its market presence into the Canadian commercial laundry and dry cleaning market with a channel partnership agreement for its polymer bead cleaning systems with Michael St. Clair Fine Cleaners in Vancouver. Under the agreement Michael St. Clair Fine Cleaners will sell and service Xeros’ polymer bead cleaning laundry systems which are proven to dramatically reduce water, energy and detergent usage.Canada’s thousands of lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands represent 20 percent of the world’s fresh water. Nationwide initiatives have accelerated water conservation efforts as demand for...

ST. PAUL, MINN.—The Water Risk Monetizer, a publicly available financial modeling tool that enables businesses to factor current and future water risks into decision making, now provides users with insights into how water scarcity impacts revenue. The tool’s new assessment helps water-dependent businesses better understand the full value of water to their operations and identify revenue at risk based on current and projected water scarcity.  The Water Risk Monetizer, first introduced in November 2014, was developed by Ecolab Inc., a global leader in water technologies and services, and Trucost, a global leader in valuing natural capital. Ecolab and Trucost...

VISTA, CALIF.—California regulators have been speeding up water-efficiency standards for faucets, toilets, and urinals in response to the state’s fourth year of drought. The new regulations which have been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown go into effect January 2016. According to Klaus Reichardt, Founder and CEO of Waterless No-Flush Urinals, Vista, Calif., it is no wonder the emphasis has been on restrooms, for instance in offices or schools. “Invariably more water is consumed in restrooms than any other part of a facility,” he says.  The following is a review of the new rules: •    Urinals can flush no more...

LONDON—In the Silver Jubilee year of World Water Week (August 23 to 28), multiple global hotel companies are meeting the challenge “to think innovatively—together—about new development pathways” and are developing a methodology and calculation tool to enable hotel companies and individual properties to measure and report on water consumption in a consistent way.Following the success of the Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative, now used by over 21,500 hotels around the world, the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) is developing the equivalent tool for water consumption. As World Water Week demonstrates, water scarcity is a recognized global problem, with demand for water...