Seven billion of us humans share this planet. And millennials—widely categorise as people born between 1980 and 2000—are more concerned about climate change than anything else. But being millennial is a state of mind. And whether you're a hotel lover or a hotelier, if you care about the world we live in and you strive for sustainability, then you have a millennial mind-set. So, this Saturday 22 April 2017, for Earth Day, let's stand side by side and shout for what we believe in and stop and think about how we can be a force for positive change.
This year’s Earth Day campaign is all about environmental and climate literacy, which in an age of political uncertainty (and especially with the likes of Trump on the scene) is more important than ever. Bouteco believes that hotels can be purveyors of environmental and social learning without being preachy or limiting the guest experience — through inspiring architecture, outreach programmes and even just instilling a positive sense of place.
Here are five quotes from Bouteco hotel founders to inspire you to think the same:
1. José Koechlin from Inkaterra on why sustainable travel is so important.
“Sustainable travel is not only a source of inspiration – it is the most effective way to raise awareness of our planet’s conservation. Only when travelling do we get to know local cultures and natural environments. We learn about their uniqueness as well as their fragility, and then we are contributing to their preservation for future generations to come.”
Read the full interview here.
2. Zita Cobb from Fogo Island Inn on designing and making everything on the island.
“When we started the interiors for the project we realised we needed objects that simply did not exist in our culture before, like chandeliers for the inn. One of the smartest things we did was to get help from interior designer Ilse Crawford. The advice she gave us was to have everything for the inn designed and made on the island. So, we invited designers to come in for a residency and paired them up with local craftspeople, whether they be textile people or boat-building people, and asked them to come up with the objects that were needed.”
Read the full interview here
Kids club, The Den, at Soneva Resorts has a strong focus on environmental education
3. Sonu Shivdassani from Soneva Resorts, on the outcome of a simple 2% environmental levy from their two resorts.
“In 2008 we started to add a mandatory 2% environmental levy to our guests’ bills to offset their travel carbon emissions. In just eight years we raised about US$6 million: with this we have planted around half a million trees, mitigating around 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide; financed wind power generators in South India; and distributed energy efficient cooking stoves to over 185,000 people in Myanmar and Darfur.”
Read the full interview here.
4. Rory and Melita Hunter from Song Saa Private Island, on offering a chance to get involved.
“We also offer guests the ability to engage with our community programmes on the Journeys of Change tours — guests can get involved with the work of our Foundation: at a grass-roots level with our resident conservationists; by monitoring the health of coral reefs and local turtle populations; visiting pilot aquaculture partnerships with local communities; and through some of our health and education initiatives. Behind this aspiration is a wish that the people who venture on these trips will leave and carry a legacy, through the connections that they make.”
Read the full interview here
Celebrating local life at Song Saa
5. Barry Sternlicht from 1Hotels, on embedding environmental awareness into his hotels’ DNA.
“I think what we are talking about is improving the world one bed, one towel, one plastic bottle that isn’t in the hotel at a time. I was involved with David de Rothschild when he did his project, Plastiki. He tied together a whole bunch of plastic bottles in San Francisco and then floated in the ocean down to that place in the Pacific Ocean where all these plastic bottles are, and it’s like a small island. It’s so gigantic. I think these are the kinds of things that will bring awareness to our guests. Then, if we create that awareness, then we’re going to make a little difference one guest at a time. I like having that DNA”
Read the full interview here