The Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro has just become the first and only hotel to receive a Platinum LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. Opened in 2007 with an immediate Gold LEED rating, the Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro were literally built on green principles. More than 70 environmentally friendly practices are in place at the hotel including recycling 87% of construction debris—more than 1,500 tons, sourcing over 40% of the building materials and 90% of furnishings locally (reducing transport pollution) and  putting 100 solar panels on the roof. The hotel also installed regenerative drive elevators that actually generate their own electricity during descent—the first such elevators in use in North America. The passionate...