W.W. Grainger headquarters earns LEED Gold-certification

LAKE FOREST, IL — The corporate headquarters of JanSan distributor W.W. Grainger Inc. recently received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Gold level, according to the News-Sun.

The certification is the second-highest level of certification offered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the story stated.

Gail Edgar, Grainger's vice president of corporate facility services, said: "Our LEED project in Lake Forest uses natural resources wisely and will positively impact future generations in Lake County."

The certification, verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), was granted based on several sustainable design and construction features such as reduced energy, lighting and water use and the use of environmentally preferable materials, the story noted.

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Hyatt Hotel housekeepers lose jobs to outsourcing

BOSTON — When housekeepers at three Boston area Hyatt Hotels were asked to train new employees, none of them suspected that they would be training their replacements, according to The Boston Globe.

About 100 housekeeping employees at the Hyatt Regency Boston, Hyatt Regency Cambridge, and Hyatt Harborside at Logan International Airport were outsourced to Georgia-based Hospitality Staffing Solutions, the story stated.

Many of the laid-off employees had been with Hyatt for more than a decade and earned upwards of $15 per hour plus health, dental, and 401(k) benefits, the story noted.

According to the story, Hyatt officials confirmed the layoffs at the three hotels, but declined to say whether the chain was considering similar moves in other locations across the country.

The dismissed workers received two weeks of pay upon termination, plus one week of pay for every year they worked at the Hyatt up to five or 10 years, depending on the hotel, the story added.

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Feminine hygiene dispensers removed from campus

SACRAMENTO — Addressing budget constraints on every level, California State University at Sacramento has instructed their facilities services department to remove all feminine hygiene dispensers from all buildings across campus, according to the State Hornet.

The decision will save the school roughly $12,000 per year and will eliminate the need for custodians to stock, clean and fix the dispensers that were continually vandalized, the story stated.

Ron Richardson, associate vice president of facilities, said: "We have been providing them free of charge to the university community at a cost to us. But back then, there was no budget issue. I know several campuses have removed them and, in fact, it's always good to find out how other campuses are dealing with various situations. I try to do what's right for my campus."

Several female students have expressed reservations over possible health concerns, but many realize that the dispensers are a luxury, and in these tough economic times, only the bare necessities are budgeted for, the story noted.

Heather Diaz, assistant professor in the department of Kinesiology and Health Science, said: "I think the fact that we even offer them for free is an exception. With all the budget cuts we're experiencing, it's a very small resource to take out. And it's not like they're not available. If someone doesn't wear a tampon or pad for several days, that's a health issue. But if you're just waiting to get to the store and buy one, that's not a health issue."

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University of Massachusetts combats mold at Dartmouth campus

DARTMOUTH, MA — Mold growth, attributed to an unusually wet spring and summer, was discovered inside two residential complexes at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth two weeks before the start of the fall 2009 semester, according to the Herald News.

Mold discovered inside the Cedar Dell townhouses and the Woodlands Community apartments was "very aggressively" cleaned and most of the fungus was completely remediated by the time students moved in, the story stated.

According to the story, the majority of the mold growth was in first-floor units and only a handful of students were temporarily displaced.

Mold, which a university spokesperson said was "very superficial" and not found in areas where it would cause long-term or serious damage, was discovered on some floors, walls and ceilings, and in some units, carpets were replaced with tiles, the story noted.

David Ferguson, the university's facilities director, said: "The rooms were all extremely cold, but the hallways were considerably warmer. You could actually see water running down the metal door jambs. There was an incredible amount of moisture in some of those rooms, which is what caused the problem."

The situation has caused the university to take a hard look at their ventilation systems and consider changing practices, including opening windows over the summer, to avoid similar incidents in the future, the story added.

xpedx chosen as sole supplier for University of Washington

SEATTLE — JanSan distributor xpedx recently expanded its decade-long relationship with the University of Washington by becoming their exclusive supplier, according to a press release.

According to the release, before contracting with xpedx as its sole supplier, the University of Washington relied on multiple distributors to provide cleaning supplies for its 10 million-plus square feet of research laboratories, libraries, offices and lecture halls that total 180 buildings.

Following an intensive vendor selection process, xpedx was chosen because of its ability to provide the University of Washington with documentable cost savings, expertise on sustainable cleaning products, an online ordering platform and personalized support from an entire xpedx team dedicated to the university, the release stated.

After winning the contract, the first project xpedx tackled was getting the university custodial purchasing functions consolidated and online, which standardized ordering across 11 campus service areas, the release noted.

The xpedx team helped the University of Washington benchmark its use of environmentally responsible cleaning products and worked with them to expand green cleaning campus-wide, the release added.

Gene Woodard, director of facility services at University of Washington, said: "When we started our search for a single supplier of cleaning products, we knew we wanted to cut costs, expand green cleaning and have close, personalized support from our supplier. We made big leaps in efficiencies by ordering online and streamlining product selection and delivery dates. xpedx got the online platform up and running with very few hiccups. It’s a very successful system, a key 'nerve center' in our campus-wide cleaning operation. And it’s saving us increasing amounts of money each year."

USGBC wants environmental label on every building

WASHINGTON — The president of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) said at the Healthy Buildings 2009 Conference — a five-day international conference in Syracuse, New York — that every building in the United States should have a label disclosing its environmental impact, according to the Environmental Leader.

Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president and keynote speaker at the Healthy Buildings 2009 Conference, would like to see a label similar to food packaging nutrition labels on the side of every building, that discloses the indoor air quality (IAQ), water usage and other environmental factors of the structure, the story stated.

Many believe that buildings need to be smarter because they consume 70 percent of the world's electricity, 12 percent of its potable water and 40 percent of the raw materials used globally, the story noted.

Fedrizzi said that indoor environmental quality ranks near the bottom of the nation’s policy issues, and to change that, more research is needed to demonstrate the links between health and indoor air quality.

According to the story, having visible environmental labels on each building would encourage landlords and building occupants to increase sustainable efforts.

Environmental labels would serve as benchmarks for buildings and would make it easier for organizations such as the Association of Green Property Owners and Managers (AGPOM) to help building owners garner financial savings from green building practices, the story added.

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CityCenter receives three LEED Gold certifications

LAS VEGAS — CityCenter, a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and Infinity World Development Corporation, announced that it has received three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a press release.

The certifications are for: ARIA Resort's Hotel Tower; ARIA Resort's Convention Center and Theater; and the Vdara Hotel, the release stated.

According to the release, ARIA and Vdara, which will open in December on the Las Vegas Strip, are the first of CityCenter's developments to be LEED-certified.

Water conservation technology incorporated into the ARIA Resort and the Vdara Hotel will save between 30 percent and 43 percent of water within the buildings and 60 percent in outdoor landscaping, the release noted.

Bobby Baldwin, CityCenter's president and chief executive officer (CEO), said: "From the beginning, we believed that intelligent design and sustainable practices would reinforce a sense of permanence for CityCenter and create a healthier, more appealing environment for guests, residents and our workforce. The LEED Gold-certification for ARIA and Vdara is a great leap forward in our effort to redefine the destination resort experience and provide a true cultural center to the Las Vegas Strip."

Additional energy-efficiency initiatives in the hotels provide a savings equivalent to powering 8,800 households annually, the release added.

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