Green Pearls goes green for Earth Day!
It’s Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22nd.
A special day, reminding the world to act more sustainably and take responsibility in protecting our environment. The Earth Day movement has launched a new campaign this year in honor of its 45th anniversary, called the „1 Billion Green Initiatives“: more than one billion eco-friendly initiatives have been registered on EarthDay.org, all activities that protect our environment and call for a more sustainable future.
Earth Day is an important day for Green Pearls and for our member hotels. We do small and big things to honor this special day and here are some examples of how three of our member hotels spend Earth Day. This is all in the spirit of motivating guests and staff to act more sustainably.
Sol Beach House Benoa, Bali
This is a new hotel in the Green Pearls family. It is situated on a naturally formed bay in Nusa Dua on Bali. The resort belongs to the well-known Melià hotel group and is passionately committed to sustainability.
For Earth Day, Sol Beach House Benoa has drafted an „Earth Pledge“, in which guests and staff are informed about small initiatives to reduce water consumption on vacation and at home.
Here is the Sol Beach House Benoa Earth Pledge:
- Stop running water taps. When you let the tap run, up to five liters of water can flow through per minute. In many cases, much of this running water isn’t doing anything and is wasted.
- Wash vegetables and fruit in a bowl, not under the running tap, then use the leftover water to water house plants.
- Do not leave the water tap running when brushing your teeth, shaving or lathering your hands.
- Wait until you have a full load before using the washing machine or dishwasher.
In addition to the „Earth Pledge“, the Sol Beach House Benoa invites guests to declare their commitment to sustainability by signing the pledge and putting down their hand prints in watercolor.
The Tongsai Bay, Thailand
We are continuously impressed with the tireless sustainability efforts of our member hotel The Tongsai Bay on Ko Samui. Here is their schedule for Earth Day:
Each guest receives a special Earth Day cookie at breakfast at the Chef Chom restaurant to make them aware of this day.
There will be a booth set up in the reception hall with information about Earth Day and The Tongsai Bay’s sustainability policy as well as the many initiatives they support. This booth remains there all week in honor of Earth Day.
As part of the daily „Turn Down“ service, a card with information about sustainable initiatives around Earth Day will be delivered to each room, again to raise awareness on this special day.
A group of staff will go on educational field trip to visit a Blue Crab bank at Baan Sake, to learn about how local fisherman work and how we can help preserve it. The Blue Crab population has significantly reduced in numbers in recent years, caused by overfishing as Blue Crab demand has increased. The purpose of the Blue Crab bank is to preserve the species and restore marine resources for the community, making it a source of nutrition as well as income for the community.
Inkaterra, Peru
This eco-tourism pioneer has Earth Day down to a tee. Inkaterra have been promoting sustainable tourism in Peru for over 30 years. They host more than 65,000 travelers each year in their hotels as well as on their authentic nature tours while preserving and investing in Peru’s nature and culture.
For Earth Day, guests at Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica and Inkaterra Hacienda Concepcion have the opportunity to watch a video on global warming at the Eco-Center. They are also invited to join Inkaterra staff in picking up waste on the nearby hiking trails as well as cleaning up the river bank in an effort to preserve the environment.
At Inkaterra El Mapi Hotel and Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, guests are informed at check-in about Inkaterra’s sustainable efforts, such as their reforestation program. Staff are invited to watch an educational video on eco-tourism and are offered an organic lunch. Local 4th and 5th year students at Inka Pachacuteq High School will attend a lecture held by Inkaterra on Earth Day, its message and responsibilities.
Inspired, I am going to help clean up our local park with my family this Saturday. Every little helps!
Tell us what you are doing for Earth Day in the comments section!
