NEWPORT NEWS, VA.—Ferguson, the country’s largest wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies, launches “National Green Month,” which will run the entire month of January, nationwide. The program highlights Ferguson’s extensive offering of green products, as well as Ferguson’s showroom consultants’ in-depth product knowledge.

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Water Energy Laundry Consulting as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. Water Energy Laundry Consulting offers numerous turn-key laundry solutions for the hospitality industry.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that its flagship Element hotel—Element Lexington—is the first Starwood hotel to earn Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and the first hotel in Massachusetts to achieve this prestigious rating.

YOUNTVILLE, CALIF.—The Napa Valley community of Yountville, Calif., with a population of a little more than 3,000 people, is now home to one of the greenest lodging establishments in the United States—the 62-room luxury Bardessono hotel, restaurant and spa. Set to open the first week of February, the development should earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification later in 2009. If it does reach that goal, it will be only the second hotel in the United States to do so. The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., is the other. The owner and developer of the property is Seattle-based Phil Sherburne. His previous lodging developments include the 86-room Willows Lodge located just outside Seattle in Woodinville, Wash., and the 23-room luxury Inn of the Spanish Garden in Santa Barbara, Calif.

SHEFFIELD, MASS.—Cypress Hotel & Spa, a leading designer and manufacturer of luxury bathrobes, towels, slippers, and sheets for the hospitality and spa industry for more than 25 years, introduced its exclusive new MicroCotton Green EarthTM towels to the spa market during the 2008 ISPA Conference & Expo.

LARKSPUR, CALIF.—Advanced Telemetry, LLC, a company committed to resource conservation, has recently introduced EcoView Commercial, a proprietary, next generation climate control and resource management solution for commercial applications.

SHOREWOOD, ILL.— MJSI, Inc. announced that it will be conducting on-going demonstrations of its water-saving line of HydroWorks toilet improvement products at booth 1028 at the 2008 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York City.

ADELPHI, MD.—More than three years after earning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification—it was the first hotel in the United States to do so—Marriott’s University of Maryland University College Inn and Conference Center (UMUC ICC) is continuing its efforts to reduce its impact on the environment.

HILLSBORO, ORE.—Caroma, a leader in dual flush toilets, urinals, and bathroom sinks, announces the newest high efficiency waterless urinal (HEU): H2Zero. The H2Zero urinal utilizes breakthrough technology to use zero water for optimum performance and water conservation.

KOHLER, WIS.—Kohler Co., a leader in kitchen and bath design and technology, was chosen by the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program as the Manufacturing Partner of the Year.