‘I will be Green’ ensures five Green Globe certifications for JKH Hotels

John Keells Hotels Group announced the certification of ‘Green Globe Awards’ to five of its resorts and hotels for sustainable tourism.

The certifications were received by Chaaya Village Habarana, Chaaya Blu Trincomalee and Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo – Maldives, properties which fall under Chaaya Hotels and Resorts, Cinnamon Lodge Habarana of the Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts as well as Bentota Beach Hotel, all part of the hospitality brands of John Keells Holdings.

The Green Globe certification requires conformity to 248 preset internationally-accepted standards and its members are encouraged to actively operate towards saving energy and water resources, reduce operational costs, positively contribute to local communities and their environment and meet the high expectations of green leisure.

“We are delighted to have received this recognition, especially since it is also a significant milestone for the Sri Lankan hospitality industry, as John Keells Hotels is the only hotelier to have achieved the Green Globe Certification. This recognition also highlights our sincere commitment to operating in an environmentally, socially, and culturally responsible manner,” said Janyantissa Kehelpannala – Sector Head, Sri Lankan Resorts.

Reducing its carbon footprint is a serious objective for the John Keells Hotels Group, evident by the company constantly striving to improve its sustainability performance. All Chaaya, Cinnamon and John Keells Hotel properties have waste management and water and energy management systems in place that monitor and optimise consumption of those resources. In addition, the resorts and hotels embrace cultural diversity and aim to always enhance the quality of its customer service.

Chaaya Village Habarana

Chaaya Village Habarana lies sprawled across 27 acres of luxuriant land bordering a stunning lake in the heart of Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle.

Roshan De Silva – General Manager, Chaaya Village received the award by Bradley Cox – Director of Communications for Green Globe, during his stay at Chaaya Village. The resort had a compliance rating of 73% achieved by efficient use of the management system to optimise energy usage, water and recycling waste.

Chaaya Village Habarana changed its daily practices and processes by using organic waste as fertiliser or farm animal feed, using biodegradable and non-euphoric cleaning and cosmetic products, towel and linen reuse programmes.

Elaidhoo Green Globe

In order to preserve the environment and promote green leisure, Chaaya Village refrains from confining wildlife on the hotel premises except for breeding, rescuing and reintroduction, all in compliance to the law and its best practices.

Specific actions are taken on environmental education and issues focusing on neighbouring communities, customers, employees and owners. Policies against sexual commercial exploitation, particularly of children and adolescents, are followed and deployed.

Chaaya Blu Trincomalee

With a compliance rating of 65%, the resort changed its daily practices and processes to meet the international requirements of Green Globe. Lankesha Ponnamperuma – Resident Manager for Chaaya Blu accepted the award on behalf of the resort during Cox’s visit to the resort.

Some of the best practices adopted by Chaaya Blu include reduction in power consumption of room lighting by 90% with the introduction of LEDs and recycling 95% of the water used. The resort drives efforts on educating the public, specifically youth on the importance of conserving the environment as part of their sustainability drive.

Located in Eastern Coast of the island, the resort was opened after refurbishment on the 15 May 2010, since then the resort has been a base for visiting the unexplored shores by the locals and foreign tourists alike. Designed by the master architect Channa Daswatte the resort represents a retro chic era, incorporating cut cement floors, denim trimmings, rattan furniture and bleached wooden decks.

Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo Maldives

The premier worldwide sustainability merit ‘Green Globe Certification’ was achieved by Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo based in the Maldives. A member of the John Keells Hotels Group, the Maldivian resort was the second resort in the Maldives to achieve the title out of 106 resorts located in the Archipelago.

The resort achieved 80% compliance of the 339 pre-set standards by Green Globe. The passion of being environmentally friendly and truly green was the motivating factor for the team at Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo. Sector Head of Maldivian Resorts Sunimal Senanayake accepted the award on behalf of Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo at John Keells Hotels Head Office recently.

Senanayake stated: “Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo is extremely proud to achieve a certification from one of the most recognised sustainability brands in the world today. Challenging the status quo to constantly improve and emphasise on our social and environmental responsibilities, we are currently striving to attain the same for the other Chaaya Resorts in the Maldives.”

Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo, a member of the Chaaya Hotels and Resorts stays true to its brand promise of ‘a holiday experience that reflects its native locality’. Located on the North Ari Atoll just 42 km from Male the island resort offers the best in diving and snorkelling. It is an ideal destination for a beach holiday secluded from mundane stresses. A reflection of its surroundings Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo is now an earth conscious resort.

In addition to the Green Globe Certification Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo was awarded the following accolades for their Food Safety Management System & Quality Management Certification (ISO 22000:2005), Environmental Management System Certification (ISO 14001:2004) and Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series Certification (OHSAS 18001:2007).

Cinnamon Lodge Habarana

Cinnamon Lodge Habarana received the certification with a compliance rate of 78%. Cox visited Cinnamon Lodge Habarana and presented the prestigious Green Globe award to the General Manager Ghazzali Mohideen recently.

The 5-star resort located in the heart of the cultural triangle was constructed keeping the idea of ‘going green’ in mind. The 27-acre property was an arid piece of land used for chena cultivation. Architects Ismeth Raheem and Pheroze Choksy transformed the landscape by planting over 100 trees root-balled from the Mahaveli project.

The resort reuses and recycles over 50% of their waste and has its own composting facility, which is used to maintain the soon to be certified organic garden at Cinnamon Lodge.

The resort also supports its community by purchasing a large portion of the produce from the farming communities that are situated around the property. Moreover 65% of the employees are also recruited from the community. Cinnamon Lodge Habarana constantly changes its processes and procedures to raise the bar and become green in its practices.

Bentota Beach Hotel

Located in the South West corner of Sri Lanka, Bentota Beach Hotel sits between stretches of unspoiled beach along the Indian Ocean and the calm waters of the Bentota River.

Bentota Beach Hotel had a compliance rating of 70% out of the 248 standards required by Green Globe. Sanjeeva Perera – General Manager, Bentota Beach accepted the award on behalf of the hotel from Cox, signifying yet another milestone in their endeavour to be a truly green hotel.

The hotel has implemented a number of key sustainability contributions resulting in the betterment of its own operations as well as that of the community in which it operates. The resort recently declared open an ‘Eco House’; a single storied building built on 150 square feet of office space using environmentally friendly building materials and methodology. This unique building is a model for an eco-friendly construction and is used to educate school children on environmentally friendly constructions.

Monitoring of energy and water usage is under way at the hotel, with measures implemented for reducing each. Renewable sources of energy are being used as much as possible with the use of solar power where necessary. The hotel minimises the use of water by using rain water for washing purposes and installing a proper storm water drainage system.

The garden staff of the hotel are actively working on an organic vegetable garden, once fully developed this will meet the hotel’s own requirements of organic herbs and vegetables.

The hotel has also taken significant measures in local community development and has been instrumental in developing the lives and livelihoods of local youth, ‘Beach Operators’ as they are known, who are now given priority in organising beach activities along with cultural and environmental tours for guests. The management is currently looking at creating an association to protect and conserve eco-systems that are part and parcel of the Bentota River.

Bentota Beach Hotel, designed by the master architect Geoffrey Bawa, portrays a Dutch Fort with its high granite walls and design, providing its discerning clientele with plush 4-star accommodation, dining and adventure options. The resort which celebrated its 40th year in operation has become a timeless landmark in the Southern Coast.

John Keells Hotels Group

The John Keells Hotels Group is the largest hotelier in Sri Lanka, and among the largest in the Maldives.

The certifications are a significant achievement for Group, as it is the only hotelier in Sri Lanka to have received the Green globe award and be recognised for its efforts in sustainability. ‘I will be Green’ is one of the pledges upheld by the John Keells Hotels Group. The Green Globe Certification is a step taken in this direction that will begin a journey of conversion that emphasises on sustainable tourism.   

Green Globe Certification

Green Globe is the global travel and tourism industries’ certification program for sustainable tourism providing certification, training and education and marketing services in 83 countries worldwide.

The Green Globe Certification is awarded after an audit by a team of Green Globe assessors and upholds the highest standards of credibility and transparency. The organisation follows an independent third party verification process and updates its criteria annually to ensure international compliance to the standards.

Green Globe Certification supports the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC). The GSTC is the agreed international standard for the sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. The Green Globe Standard meets and exceeds all the requirements of the GSTC.