This hotel purchasing agent is a tree-hugging LEED AP

We are all bedazzled by great design in the hospitality industry, particularly when buildings are LEED certified and energy use is curtailed. But the things that guests and diners touch – furniture, fixtures and equipment, or FF&E as it's known in the industry – should be free of offgassing and sourced in sustainable ways.

This story is about a purchasing agent whose company (PMI, Purchasing Management International) annually procures $250 million worth of carpets, furniture, operating equipment and other materials for hotels. The story subject, Bill Langmade, jokes about always being a tree-hugger but was serious enough about buying better, healthier and more sustainable products for clients such that he became a LEED AP. He told me that sourcing green often means sourcing in closer proximity (i.e., not China), helping keep companies and jobs in the U.S.

Russ Klettke is a contract business writer with experience in sustainable design, infrastructure and construction, as well as law, finance, fitness and nutrition. Contact him to discuss your organization's digital or print communications needs.

Despite all impressions to the contrary, modern hotels in Las Vegas and elsewhere have become meaningfully green with energy- and water-saving measures due to scarcity and cost. The furniture, fixtures and equipment in hotels are what guests come in contact with directly and therefore play an important role in guest comfort and health.