CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added a Continental Girbau Vendor Case Study to its website. The case study profiles the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, and its replacement of aging, inefficient washers with more efficient Continental Girbau models and a water reclamation system. The installation is saving the hotel from 300,000 to 350,000 gallons of water each month. As part of the washer purchase, the hotel’s owners took advantage of a $29,000 rebate from the San Antonio Water System.The Westin’s laundry now features two 130-pound capacity Continental E-Series soft-mount washers; a 55-pound capacity Continental E-Series soft-mount washer;...

DALLAS—Kimberly-Clark Corp. announced its Water for Life focus area as part of the company’s Sustainability 2015 strategy. The announcement came during Earth Week last month to draw attention to the global importance of fresh water and the sustainable management of fresh water resources. Kimberly-Clark’s Water for Life program provides a platform on which to collaborate with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to provide clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education to communities around the world. “Water was chosen as a sustainability focus area, as the availability of potable water is a serious global issue and also has a significant impact on our...

TRENTON, N.J.—The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in concert with several other state and federal agencies, is launching a program designed to help New Jersey hotel owners and operators increase energy efficiency and cost savings through the utilization of green practices. Participating hotels in the DEP’s Garden State Green Hotel Project will have the opportunity to learn of profiting through sustainability in several workshops and training sessions scheduled in the coming months. In addition, 120 hotels will receive no-cost and no-obligation environmental and energy reviews that could serve as a first step to green certification from various programs...

DES PLAINES, ILL.—Chicago Faucets, a manufacturer of commercial faucets, introduces its new 3500 Series water conserving metering faucets. Made of ECAST brass, the 3500 Series provides a modern look and water savings.The Chicago Faucets 3500 Series saves water with a 0.5 GPM (1.9 L/min) outlet. The self-closing MVP metering cartridge provides precise water flow and shuts off automatically for even greater water savings. The time-tested MVP mechanism is easy to adjust, and spare parts are readily available for quick change-outs, reducing downtime and lowering maintenance costs.A solid ECAST brass, chrome-plated body provides durability while meeting local requirements for the...

MINNEAPOLIS—Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, which is currently undergoing a $25 million renovation of the hotel’s guestrooms, suites, public areas, and restaurants, announced that the renovation will include a variety of environmentally sustainable initiatives to reduce its ecological footprint. The Hyatt Regency Minneapolis Green Team has also introduced a number of eco-friendly protocols and service projects including extensive energy and recycling conservation programs.Energy-saving initiatives from the renovation include converting all of the back of house lighting to LED, adding low flow plumbing fixtures for enhanced water savings (1.6 gal/flush), insulated drapery, closet light sensors, vending misers in all vending machines, new...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News announces the addition of Continental Girbau, Inc. as a Founding Sponsor. Continental Girbau, a manufacturer and supplier of commercial and industrial laundry equipment, offers a web of support services to its hospitality clients, including financing, laundry design, technologically-advanced laundry equipment, a parts facility, and a professional distributor network.Continental and Girbau Industrial washer-extractors, tunnel washers, drying tumblers, flatwork ironing systems, folders, stackers and feeders withstand the rigors of multiple cycles, offer highly programmable controls and are designed to reduce utility consumption. Continental E-Series Washer-Extractors, for example, feature up to 387-G-force extract to curb dry time and...

HOUSTON—In an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, Hilton Americas-Houston, the city’s largest hotel and first Green Seal certified hotel in Texas, is now even greener with the installation of the AquaRecycle water recycling system in the hotel’s laundry. The laundry facility, covering 27,000 square feet and rivaling most commercial laundry plants in both size and capacity, is by far the largest hotel laundry in the city, washing and finishing more than 675,000 pounds of linens per month.The two massive Lavatec tunnel washers wash 100 pounds of linens every two and half minutes, with a maximum working capacity of...

TOLEDO, OHIO—Betco Corp. introduces its Smart Restroom System. The Smart Restroom System provides a comprehensive solution to building owners, managers, and facility management to reduce building operating expenses while conserving natural resources while generating higher customer retention and satisfaction. Betco’s Smart Restroom System includes SmartValve and SmartScreen. These patent pending components turn most any urinal with a standard or automatic flush mechanism into a water conserving urinal avoiding costly tear-outs and installation of water free urinals as well as monthly cartridge maintenance costs. SmartValve and SmartScreen: •    Install quickly. The locking unit replaces handle or automated flusher in less than five...

W. CONSHOHOCKEN, PA.—All interested parties are invited to join in the development of a proposed new ASTM International standard that will identify and define sustainable best management practices that are used in commercial laundry facilities to reduce their impact on the environment.  ASTM WK35985, Practice for Sustainable Laundry Best Management Practices, is being developed by Subcommittee D13.40 on Sustainability of Textiles under the jurisdiction of ASTM International Committee D13 on Textiles.According to Gary D. Gramp, Textile Rental Services Association, and chairman of the task group developing ASTM WK35985, the commercial laundry industry has made a commitment to sustainability. “We...

DELAVAN, WIS.—When the husband-and-wife team of Fritz Kreiss and Catherine McQueen learned that a two-lane highway adjacent to their five-acre property in Delavan, Wis. would be expanded to four lanes they could have tried to sell the land with their cottage on it. Instead, they decided to build perhaps North America’s greenest lodging establishment—the 19-suite Green Leaf Inn that will be a net zero energy property. Net zero energy properties generate more energy than they consume. The Green Leaf Inn is scheduled to open in the spring of next year.It is the owners’ intention for the inn to serve...