May 7th, 2013 by TRT Blog

When it comes to the implementation of sustainable initiatives, the most productivity is seen when a community, establishment or organization receives support from the government. When an entity has certain standards to uphold and regulations to adhere to, the environmental movement is propelled forward in a more efficient manner. However, environmental policies vary from state to state, town to town, and countrywide.

As a company dedicated to delivering eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable furniture asset management services, we have completed renovations within various US courthouses, The White House, military bases, naval barracks and many other government edifices. Because of this, we uphold an avid interest in governmental initiatives and regulations relating to green practices and sustainable development.

In lieu of our thoughts on this issue, we took to our blog page to ask our valued readers, ‘In your opinion, which level of government has been the most responsible in lowering its costs through sustainable initiatives?’ Here’s what we found:

• 40% of readers believed that the most effective initiatives lie in the hands of the state government, with the most effective eco-friendly solutions being set forth by politicians and parties on the state level
• The majority of the vote was split, with another 40% of respondents claiming the federal government has done the best work in terms of achieving  and reinforcing sustainable cost efficiency
• In a close second place, 20% of readers accredited local government, citing that their own towns and cities have made the most sustainable and cost-saving strides within the past years

Overall, The Refinishing Touch is pleased by progress made in all governmental sectors – local, state and federal – on the road to universal sustainability. Due in large part to the rise of regulations and the increase in environmental awareness, the idea of a green future has become far more feasible than ever before.

For more information on The Refinishing Touch’s services within the government sector, please read a case study documenting our renovation work in The White House. To learn more about what The Refinishing Touch can do for your business, visit our website and request a free quote today.

environmental, Federal Government, furniture asset management, Government, green, local government, military, military barracks, military housing, refinishing, reupholstery, state government, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, the White House

April 9th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Here at The Refinishing Touch, we have worked diligently over the past 35 years to showcase our commitment to reducing harmful landfill waste. Because of this, we are always pleased to see initiatives by others come to fruition and make an impact.

Recently, the Pathway to Zero Waste project captured our attention, with aspirations to reduce the amount of trash in local Massachusetts landfills by nearly a third by the end of the decade, and a full 80 percent by 2050. Pathway to Zero Waste is an initiative led by Massachusetts state environmental leaders that is projected to kick off later this spring – although anticipation has already hit nationwide.

The project’s overall goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from trash disposal, and ease the amount of waste making its way into Massachusetts landfills. As part of the plan, businesses and residents are required to improve recycling habits, to ensure fewer toxic materials and other banned substances end up in the state’s waste stream. Commercial food waste from restaurants, hotels and other businesses in hospitality would also be forced to adapt to new waste methods and mandates.

While some claim the plan is controversial, we couldn’t help but support a project that strives towards the same cause as our company – environmental preservation. By refinishing, re-upholstering and remanufacturing existing furniture assets, The Refinishing Touch has prevented approximately 2,250,000 pounds of wood from making its way into the nation’s landfill, since our inception in 1977. Recently, we completed an armoire conversion renovation at the Best Western Fort Walton Beach Hotel, in Florida, that produced zero landfill waste – an aspiration more hotels should strive towards.

Not only does our restoration work in the hospitality, government and higher education housing industries reduce a business’s carbon footprint, it also helps property managers save on budget costs. By avoiding the pricy need to buy brand new furniture, our furniture asset management services lower renovation budgets by nearly 90 percent.

To learn more about Massachusetts’ Pathway to Zero Waste, read the full article here. For more information on The Refinishing Touch’s cost-efficient, sustainable furniture asset management services, please visit our website or request a free quote today.

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March 19th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Over the past 35 years in business, The Refinishing Touch has been proud to provide sustainable and fiscally-responsible furniture asset management services to some of the largest, most well-known hotel corporations, including the Hilton, Hyatt, Best Western, IHG and more.

From our work, we’ve witnessed firsthand the tremendous progress in sustainability and environmental leadership throughout the hospitality industry – from the smallest gestures, like adding more easily-accessible recycling bins, to larger-scale initiatives like the construction of green roofs and solar panels.

Recently, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council hosted a conference where individuals and businesses alike shared this one common goal – making the world a better, greener place. Held in New Jersey, the conference highlighted the major trends and achievements in sustainability both in the city and worldwide.

Some of the key takeaways from the event included:

- 41% of leisure travelers today expect some progress in energy efficiency, waste recycling and water conservation in hotels

- Nearly two-thirds of business travelers cite an establishment’s eco-friendly initiatives when booking a room

- Wyndham is the greenest hotel company, according to Newsweek, while Fortune rates it as ‘the most admired company in the industry’

With these figures in mind, it’s important that property managers think outside of the recycling box, when attempting to further sustainable practices. For example, when undergoing renovations, one should think twice before buying new furniture in an effort to help prevent wood from making its way into landfills. Not only will The Refinishing Touch’s refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing help reduce the amount of waste, but it will also lessen a property’s carbon footprint and prevent deforestation.

Operating a sustainable hotel is not only beneficial to the environment; it is also a low-cost way to capitalize on short- and long-term ROI. By up-cycling furniture assets, one can save up to 80 percent in renovation costs – a critical factor when faced with the increasing number of budget cuts. While some may view ‘green tourism’ as a pricey goal, it is now more cost-effective and attainable than ever before.

For more information on The Refinishing Touch and its refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing in the hospitality, government and higher education housing sectors, please visit our website or listen to an audio overview here.

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February 12th, 2013 by TRT Blog

The ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mantra has gained significant momentum over the last decade or so, not only amongst individuals but organizations as well. However, as we begin to adopt that mantra as the norm, we must also begin exploring how we can repower ‘reduce, reuse, recycle.’

With that notion in mind, a group now looking to minimize its contribution to landfills is the business community of the Las Vegas Valley, which is making determined efforts toward zero-landfill waste — or reducing the trash they contribute to landfills to as close to zero percent as possible.

Sound impossible? Businesses elsewhere in the country are doing it too, or coming close to 90 percent less waste, according to a recent Las Vegas Business Press article.

DuPont, for example, maker of Corian countertops, has had zero waste since last year, saving 81 million pounds of waste per year from ending up in landfills – the company grinds shipping pallets into animal bedding; it sells scrap Corian materials, which are then used to build roads; and cafeteria waste gets used as compost for landscaping at its facility.

Similarly, General Motors has made half of its factories waste free so far. Leftover sound insulation, for instance, doesn’t get pitched but is sold to garment makers for winter coats, and employees are asked to take home coffee grounds for yard compost.

Toyota is also working toward a goal of keeping all its waste out of landfills. Up to this point, nine of its 14 U.S. factories don’t contribute to the waste stream.

As you can see, it’s a combination of big and small methods that get this goal accomplished. Here at The Refinishing Touch, we applaud businesses that jump on board to save our planet with innovative ideas that also make good, sound business sense. We are a partner in this overall effort to keep landfills from getting overburdened — and have been since 1977 — helping government, universities and hospitality industries refinish, re-upholster, and remanufacture furniture assets as opposed to buying new.

And in the process of completing our environmentally-friendly furniture asset management services, we save our clients up to 80 percent in costs and 90 percent in carbon emissions. And like the efforts of our friends in Las Vegas — we are working to save the environment, one percent of waste at a time.

Corian, DuPont, furniture asset management, General Motors, landfill waste, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Business Press, refinishing, remanufacturing, reupholstery, The Refinishing Touch

February 8th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Each year, Corporate Knights, a global media and research company, publishes a list of the world’s most sustainable businesses. Known as the Global 100 list, the research highlights 100 of the greenest corporate leaders, with rankings based on multiple factors including energy and water consumption, carbon emissions and waste production.

With clients based in the US, Canada and around the world, and as providers of environmentally-safe furniture asset management solutions, The Refinishing Touch team was eager to scan the list and gain insight into the companies that were mentioned. While it was great to see organizations all around the world committing to sustainability, we were especially pleased that the US and Canada were tied with the most representation on the Global 100 – with 10 companies from each country making their mark on the list.

Canada noticed a significant increase in the number of businesses on the list, with four more companies appearing this year than in 2012. This, along with other factors frequently discussed in the news and on our blog, proves a recent surge in sustainability stemming from the country.

Any organization looking to mirror the efforts of companies featured on the Global 100 can start by investing in smart and sustainable initiatives like cost-efficient furniture asset management. By deciding to refinish, re-upholster and remanufacture existing furniture during renovations, companies avoid the financial and environmental burden of sending assets to landfills and having to buy brand new.

This tactic has been implemented by The Refinishing Touch in countless hospitality, higher education and government agencies throughout the US and Canada. Through our work, our studies indicate that we’ve prevented approximately 2,250,000 pounds of wood from making its way into landfills since our inception in 1977 – a great way to save on waste, carbon emissions and one’s bottom line.

To read the complete list of the most sustainable companies on the Global 100, please go here. For more information on our furniture asset management solutions or to implement them in your US-based or Canadian business, request a free quote today.

Business, Canada, Corporate Knights, furniture asset management, Global 100, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, US

February 5th, 2013 by TRT Blog

With administrative offices located throughout the US and Canada, we are always keen to hear about looking trends in innovation and sustainability all across the globe. The latest news brings us to Lévis, Quebec, a bustling Canadian city working to improve its sustainable ranking.

Last week, the city of Lévis was granted $71,000 in Federal funding to reduce local pollution and improve overall air quality. The plan, known as the EcoAction Community Funding Program, seeks to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by nearly 10,000 tons – an initiative that starts and ends with environmental education.

According to Solid Waste & Recycling, the program aims to bring an environmental preservation curriculum into 70 school classes and an estimated 2,500 businesses.  Local schools and businesses will then ‘rival’ each other to reduce carbon emissions created from transportation, packaging materials and more.

Competing buildings in each category (schools and businesses) must also demonstrate a significant increase in recycling efforts, and the winners walk away with a different type of ‘green’ – a greater commitment to sustainability.

At The Refinishing Touch, as providers of furniture asset management solutions that are cost-efficient and reduce the amount of carbon released during renovations, we keenly support strategies such as the EcoAction Program, which make sustainability achievable and intriguing for all age groups.

To really get a leg-up on the competition, companies should look towards furniture refinishing and re-upholstery – a highly-effective way to reduce one’s carbon footprint. The next time your business considers renovating its interior, look to re-purpose existing furniture instead of buying brand new. The process is also time- and cost-efficient, making a carbon-neutral goal even more attainable.

For more information on The Refinishing Touch’s award-winning furniture asset management implemented in hotels, government agencies and higher education housing throughout the US and Canada, please click here.

Read more about Lévis’s environmental efforts and the EcoAction Community Funding Program, which is set to add an additional 100 new projects in 2013, by visiting Solid Waste & Recycling.

Canada, EcoAction Community Funding Program, furniture asset management, Levis, re-upholstery, refinishing, remanufacturing, Sold Waste & Recycling, The Refinishing Touch

January 29th, 2013 by TRT Blog

The Refinishing Touch’s award-winning re-upholstery services not only provide a quick, cost-efficient and environmentally-safe method of repurposing existing furniture, but our top-of-the-line fabrics, sourced through our Touch Textiles division, also provide a sense of style and durability.

The Touch Textiles entity provides elegant and practical upholstery solutions for the hospitality, government and higher education industries. By selecting from our Touch Textiles fabric line and implementing our on-site re-upholstery services, clients can significantly reduce down time while avoiding expensive shipping costs, attic stock and excess fabric orders – allowing project managers to recover more of their original furniture investment.

Today, we are proud to introduce a new addition to the Touch Textiles division – the state-of-the-art, eco-friendly recycled leather material, Embrace™. Embrace recycled leather gives our clients the same benefits and aesthetics of traditional leather, at a fraction of the cost. The material is available in high-quality colors and hand-rubbed layered tones. Not only does Embrace meet ISO and ASTM standards, it is also stain- and scratch-resistance making cleaning simple and time-efficient – a highly sought-after feature among the sectors we work with.

Candlewood Suites in Killeen, Texas, is the site of our first re-upholstery project utilizing the recycled leather material. With the renovations currently underway, The Refinishing Touch production crew is re-upholstering various lounge, dining and desk chairs with sustainable and cost-efficient Embrace leather.

For more information on Embrace recycled leather, please browse the company’s whitepaper or read our press release here. To inquire on how to implement Touch Textiles and The Refinishing Touch’s re-upholstery services at your own establishment, please email sales@therefinishingtouch.com for a free quote. The entire selection of coverings offered by The Refinishing Touch can be found in our nationwide company fabric division, Touch Textiles.

Embrace is a registered trademark of Culp, Inc.

ASTM, Candlewood Suites, cost efficiency, Embrace recycled leather, fabrics, furniture asset management, ISO, Killeen, re-upholstery, Sustainability, Texas, The Refinishing Touch, Touch Textiles

January 22nd, 2013 by TRT Blog

Here at The Refinishing Touch, not only do we pride ourselves on our award-winning furniture asset management services implemented by hotels, college campuses and government agencies around the country, but we also place great importance on keeping our clients, suppliers, employees and supporters informed of our latest happenings.

One of the best ways to stay up-to-date on all of The Refinishing Touch’s corporate news is by subscribing to the InTouch quarterly newsletter or by reading our past issues, updated on our website here.

For all of our subscribers, the latest edition of InTouch for Q4 2012, lands in email inboxes today! As outlined in the latest newsletter, The Refinishing Touch looks forward to 2013 and reviews our company’s successes of 2012. Here’s just some of what you can expect to find in this issue:

- Government: In a recent blog poll, we asked our readers to choose the most effective cost-saving initiative implemented by the government. Find out what the survey revealed – the answer may surprise you!

- Higher education: Read up on how college management teams are alleviating pressures from tight budgets while simultaneously going green

- Hospitality: Our production team takes a closer look at the recent Hampton Inn Batesville project, and breaks down the estimated 92.5 percent in budget savings

- Company updates: See what 2013 has to offer for The Refinishing Touch, including an expansion to our Touch Textiles re-upholstery line

To sign up for your copy of InTouch, please subscribe here. And if you missed the newest edition of InTouch, visit our website archives in the coming days, when we will post the issue for all of our supporters to read. Finally, to learn more about The Refinishing Touch and our services, visit our website or send us an email at info@therefinishingtouch.com.

As always, we look forward to staying InTouch!

company updates, cost efficiency, Government, higher education, hospitality, intouch, newsletter, re-upholstery, refinishing, remanufacturing, renovations, The Refinishing Touch

January 15th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Debt ceiling, default, budgets – any way you slice it, how the US government plans to spend money is major news. And while the US news cycles may have Obama’s administration dominating the headlines in the upcoming weeks, how any government spends money is always a matter of debate and discussion.

In that vein, one story – and image – that caught our eye was recently published by the Government Executive’s research division, known as the Government Business Council (GBC).

The GBC created an eye-opening infographic, depicting the results of a recent survey asking respondents to evaluate the best (and worst) cost efficiency measures implemented by the government. The research team surveyed over 500 government employees, and covered areas such as contract resource management, workforce, external third-party payments, compliance and – the topic that grabbed our attention – property management.

The study shined some light onto the sustainable initiatives implemented by the US Department of the Interior, a federal agency with over 3,000 locations throughout the country. This division is not only responsible for the management of assets like real estate, buildings and cars, but is also in charge of managing national landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument. Over the past few years, some of its sustainable, more creative management strategies include:

-        The completed construction of several net-zero buildings, in an effort to conserve energy

-        The implementation of over 1,600 on-site, renewable energy installations during the fiscal year 2011

-        An increase in alternative fuel vehicles by 500 percent since 2005

-        The purchasing of renewable energy through utility providers – in turn, providing up to six percent of today’s overall electricity in federally-owned facilities

In an effort to reduce energy consumption and municipal buildings’ overall carbon footprint, administrative agencies are under more and more pressure to invest in creative, environmentally-conscious and fiscally-responsible alternatives.

In the past few years alone, we’ve witnessed an immense amount of progress. Along with the examples provided by the Department of the Interior, we’ve also seen many other government agencies turning towards furniture asset management during renovations – a strategy that can save the US government 40-80 percent of its current expenditure on furniture. The White House, US Superior Court, naval barracks and military houses are just some of the clients making the move towards refinishing and re-purposing existing furniture. This in turn can generate additional funding to help the government, without needing to increase taxation or make spending cuts elsewhere.

For more information on the better management of the government’s furniture assets, please read our whitepaper here. To view the full infographic on government expenditure and efficient practices, please visit the Government Executive site.

budget, cost efficiency, debt ceiling, furniture asset management, Government Executive, Obama, property management, refinishing, remanufacturing, reupholstery, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, the White House, US Department of the Interior, US Federal Government

January 4th, 2013 by TRT Blog

We see this problem time and time again – government administrations struggling to complete renovations while meeting tighter and tighter budget constraints.

The latest example of the battle between building and furniture asset upkeep and cost management comes out of Washington, DC, where the eight-phase, $750 million renovation of the 80-year-old Herbert Hoover Building has been indefinitely delayed.

According to the Federal Times, the restoration project originally scheduled to be completed in 2021 has been postponed until an additional $454 million is collected to cover costs. The project, which began in 2008, was intended to fix up crumbling interior and exterior fixtures, while updating the building’s IT structure.

The recent and all-to-common dilemma emphasizes the need for government bodies to begin searching for and investing in cost-efficient, yet effective, refinishing and renovation alternatives. Fortunately, in the past few years, we’ve certainly seen a rising trend in such methods – with government administrators at buildings like The White House, Federal courthouses and military bases calling on The Refinishing Touch to refinish, remanufacture and re-upholster existing furniture assets, eliminating the costly need to buy new.

With the New Year underway, we hope to see more government agencies wisely investing in cost-effective restoration strategies throughout 2013 – a solution that delivers like-new, modern results. For more information on better management of government furniture assets as a means to improve quality of life, reduce pollution and cut expenditure by up to 80 percent, please read our whitepaper here.

Also, keep an eye on this space for updates on the renovations at the historical Herbert Hoover Building, as the General Services Administration (GSA) will continue its fundraising efforts to restart the project.

budget constraints, cost efficiency, Federal Times, General Services Administration, Government, GSA, Herbert Hoover Building, restorations, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, the White House, Washington D.C., whitepaper