Cinnamon Grand promotes energy efficiency and sustainable development, all year long

As Sri Lanka reels from a 30 year conflict and post-war development starts shining over its beautiful tropical shores, ‘World Tourism Day’ has more meaning than ever before. Celebrated on 27 September, World Tourism Day has its roots in the adoption of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) statuses in 1970, which is considered to be a momentous event in global tourism. Since then, the red letter day has been used to raise awareness of the potential impact tourism has in changing the world.

This year’s theme ‘Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development’ is one which holds a warm place in the heart of Cinnamon Grand. Having made sustainable development a significant part of its corporate policy, Cinnamon Grand has repeatedly emphasised the issue of energy conservation and the serious threats that loom in this regard. It is an effort which is prioritised all year long with ‘sustainable development’ being a core aspect the hotel’s ethos.

Cinnamon Grand’s sustainability commitments for 2012 included reducing the hotel’s electricity consumption by 5% compared with the previous year, which was impressively achieved. This was done through the dedicated awareness programs on energy conservation for the staff, organised by the Grand’s Sustainability division and efficient planning by the hotel’s engineering department. The most recent awareness session was addressed by Ceylon Electricity Board, Chief Engineering Officer Kamal Elleperuma who spoke of energy, the environment and development. Notably, the hotel aims to further reduce another 5% in the next six months.

Cinnamon Grand General Manager Rohan Karr said, “We are committed to reducing our carbon foot print and energy conservation is a key focus, given the size of our operation. We will do our best to find alternate ways of educating and inculcating an eco-friendly mindset in our employees, so as to make a real difference.”

The Cinnamon Grand recently installed energy efficient equipment around the hotel so as to ensure minimum energy consumption. Specifically, power saving installations during last year included VFD’s ( cold water pumps in premium wing, main kitchen exhaust fans and chilled water booster pump), LED lamp fixtures in certain areas, high efficient filtration pump for the swimming pool and on/off timer for lights and air conditioning in some areas.  

The hotel has further installed a sensor operated light system for basement and corridor spaces and are in the process of fitting a detailed sub metering system to monitor departmental energy usage.  Cinnamon Grand is proud to say they reuse cooking oil from the kitchens on the boilers, thereby reducing the hotel’s carbon foot print. Reducing the hotel’s carbon foot print is a vital part of its corporate tenet and one which all staff take seriously.

As a popular hotel destination for tourists, Cinnamon Grand embraces this year’s Word tourism day theme and pledges to do all it can to power sustainable development and support initiatives that look at alternate energy sources.

Cinnamon Grand recently was the recipient of the National Energy Savings award by the National Energy Savings authority, making it the only city hotel in Sri Lanka to ever receive an accolade of that nature. It also is the first Sri Lankan hotel with uninterrupted ISO implementation since March 2006, while also boasting an ISO 14001 for environmental management systems.