that GREEN blog

Attention readers and all GREEN thinkers,

Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your skills and gain recognition for your talents! The deadline to submit an entry for the Green Dot Awards is Monday November, 16th 2009!

The Green Dot Awards strive to reward and promote forward-thinking individuals and businesses that create environmentally friendly products or services as well as revolutionary green business plans and proposals. Although the Green Dot Awards are worthy onto themselves, they also serve as a consumer guide to excellence in environmentally sustainable practices. Recognition from the Green Dot Awards allows businesses to promote their products and services as items that are manufactured and delivered in an environmentally friendly manner.

Visit http://www.greendotawards.com for more information and to enter this year’s competition!

Sustained Excellence
Marriott International Inc.
Bethesda, Maryland

Marriott International Inc. is a leading lodging company with about 3,000 properties located in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. In 2007, Marriott continued to lead the hospitality industry in the energy management efforts that are the core of its environmental initiatives. The company significantly reduced its environmental footprint and again achieved impressive cost savings. This is the second time Marriott has received ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence recognition. Key accomplishments include:

• Saving nearly $7.8 million in 2007 on energy bills-equivalent to a cost reduction of $0.13 per occupied room night, or an increase in the company’s average daily room rate of $0.15.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3 percent per available room since 2004-putting Marriott well on track to meet its goal under EPA’s Climate Leaders program of achieving a 6 percent reduction per available room by 2010. Benchmarking the energy performance of more than 95 percent of its properties using EPA’s energy performance rating system.
• Earning the ENERGY STAR for more than 200 hotel properties to date in more than 20 states.
• Expanding on initiatives that have resulted in superior achievements in energy efficiency, such as the Marriott Retro-Commissioning program, the appointment of an Energy Champion for each property, the installation of alternative laundry systems, and procurement policies requiring ENERGY STAR qualified products and more efficient building equipment.

In 2007, Marriott increased efforts to promote employee awareness of energy efficiency by organizing its first “Green Fair” to present Marriott associates with ideas on how to “go green” at home and at work and by continuing outreach well beyond this single event. Marriott emphasized employee involvement in energy efficiency through daily meetings, its Intranet, electronic communications, online training, and rewards for energy efficiency solutions.

Marriott continues to publicly promote its successful participation in the ENERGY STAR program and has made energy efficiency a cornerstone of its expanding sustainability and climate efforts. Never resting on previous accomplishments, Marriott has set a new goal to increase the number of properties earning the ENERGY STAR by 33 percent in 2008.

I am proud to share this with you all! Scott Boboltz HBInnovations International, LLC 517-347-2224

LANSING, MICHIGAN – KTM Industries announces the launch of the world’s first biodegradable insulated shipping container for perishable products, the Green Cell Foam^TM shipping cooler.The Green Cell Foam shipping cooler is the choice for discerning companies to protect perishable products during shipping and demonstrate environmental stewardship. This cornstarch-based shipping cooler provides a true ecological alternative to synthetic foams such as polystyrene without sacrificing performance.

“We are very excited about the market potential of this new product line”, says Tim Colonnese, President and CEO of KTM. “Millions of non-degradable foam insulated shippers are used one time to protect perishable products – especially for food and drug shipments – and discarded every year. We believe this is a terrible waste and unnecessary expense that can be avoided by using the Green Cell Foam shipping cooler.” Colonnese adds, “Traditional foams have been developed to last for hundreds – if not thousands – of years. They’re not biodegradable or sustainable. And there’s the mismatch: the material is used for a brief time – sometimes for only days – and then thrown away, where it will last for centuries. It doesn’t make any sense.”

KTM decided to do something about it and asked a local engineering firm, HBInnovations International, LLC (Okemos, Michigan) to help them design and develop a competitive and cost effective insulated shipping container to be used for single use shipping applications. “This is an amazing material” states Scott Boboltz, President of HBInnovations. “The physical properties of Green Cell are similar to that of expanded polystyrene, but with the important environmental benefits. The insulation values, cushioning properties, and ease of manufacturing make this material very competitive.It offers exceptional insulation for dry ice, gel ice, and wet ice perishable shipping.Upon disposal, rather than sending synthetic foam coolers to the landfill, Green Cell Foam coolers can be composted, where it fully biodegrades in less than 60 days. I would place Green Cell Foam at the top of the list when designing for sustainability.”

Colonnese believes the new product line will attract a wide industry segment, from gourmet foods to biotechnology. “That’s why we encourage companies to use, and consumers to ask for, Green Cell Foam, especially in single-use packaging applications. Green Cell Foam provides the necessary protection during shipping, and can be easily and safely discarded in a wide range of modes: composted, recycled with corrugate, dissolved and even burned. Short-term use and short-term life – that’s a match we can all live with.”

ABOUT KTM INDUSTRIES – KTM Industries is the exclusive producer of Green Cell Foam products in North America. Green Cell Foam is environmentally-friendly packaging foam, manufactured from US-grown, non-genetically modified cornstarch. It is 98% biobased and 100% recyclable as per ASTM D-6400 – a distinctly “green” alternative to more traditional packaging foams. To learn more about KTM and Green Cell Foam, please contact:

Tim Colonnes President and CEO
5597 West Grand River Ave. Lansing, MI 48906
Toll Free: 1-877-938-6738
Phone: 1-517-703-9140 Fax: 1-517-703-9150
Website: www.greencellfoam.com