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Tuesday, 4 March 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Cinnamon Lodge Habarana was honoured with the overall top award in the service category by the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) recently. Recording easily above the required score in order to win the award, the luxury property of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts further proved its commitment in reducing the environmental impact within the industry. Cinnamon Lodge also won two more awards of excellence for Material Efficiency and Water Efficiency at the same ceremony where the awards were given away by the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiyudeen, together with the Norwegian Ambassador Grete Lochen. Cinnamon Citadel Kandy too won a bronze award in the service category – further reiterating Cinnamon Hotels & Resort’ pledge to have sustainable practices in place across its entire chain.
The NCPC is a member of global network with centres in 52 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa, a concept developed at the time of the Rio Summit by UNIDO and UNEP to reduce the environmental impact of industry. A stringent onsite audit was done by NCPC prior to selecting the winners for this year with specific criteria being looked in to, and deducing which hotel establishments have conformed to these requirements.
Cinnamon Lodge Habarana is a unique blend of Sri Lankan culture in a verdant landscape. But if one digs into the origins of this property maybe 50 years ago, what actually stood barren and dry, stripped of any green vegetation, was an abandoned piece of land used for slash and burn Chena cultivation. With the advent of the hotel, the transformation and the green journey began. With a beginning of merely five trees, planting was started and today the hotel is surrounded by over 2000 trees, with rich bio-diversity returned; and 138 species of birds and other fauna have made the Cinnamon Lodge their home.
“This was the launch pad for continuing on our sustainable journey, with efficient energy and water management to reduce consumption, effective waste management practices, a sewerage treatment plant, an organic composting facility, our own paper recycling facility, the commencement of an organic farm, educating staff on sustainable practices amongst many other initiatives, to make us truly deserving of this award,” said Cinnamon Lodge Habarana General Manager Ghazzali Mohideen.
He also added, “Having embarked on this journey and on having obtained many certifications, awards and accolades for our sustainable practices, the message of preserving the environment was taken to the local communities and made an integral part of the hotel’s ongoing CSR programs.”
Cinnamon Lodge Habarana was also the recipient of the Best Green Hotel in Sri Lanka award recently which was awarded by Switch Asia as well as best 5-star resort, thus portraying its commitment to preserving the environment with responsible green practices.
