Here are some sustainable approaches towards resort operations followed by Six Senses Holistic Environmental Responsibility.
Energy Efficiency
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Housekeeping and laundry are areas where a large amount of water and energy are used: energy to heat the water, run the machines, dry and iron the clothes. We use sunlight to heat and dry towels, reducing electricity consumption from using a dryer. There are guidelines for all hosts to follow to help better the environment.
- Switch off all equipment when leaving offices (air condition, computer screen, etc.).
- Turn off air conditioning and lights during lunch.
- Replace efficient light bulbs under coconut trees around resort by using 20 watt light bulb instead of 120 watt. Old 60 watt bed side lamps were replaced by 40 watt.
- Using recycled paper, use of envelopes is not encouraged
- Increase recycling - we can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of household waste.
- Closing the walk-in freezer door properly in main kitchen. Walk into the freezer room less to take food out where possible.
- Adjust thermostat - adjusting the thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer, can save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
- In guest's room, if the door is not closed properly after 5 minute the air conditioner will be turned off automatically by an energy efficiency thermostat.
- Reduce the use of air-conditioning at staff canteen and library.
- Always close and switch of lights and air conditioning when not in use.
- Turn off electronic devices - simply turning off television, DVD player, stereo and computer when not in use will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
- It takes a great deal of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by using a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year).
- Re-used cooking oil for the purpose of flambeau and fixing mud walls.
- Each room, villa, and outlet provides natural ventilation.
- Avoid leaving water taps running, especially hot-water taps. Heating water causes a great deal of pollution because it requires much energy.
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Chemical Control
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In housekeeping and laundry, a certain amount of detergents are required. We try to minimise energy and chemicals use through implementation of eco-friendly procedures and products. Biodegradable washing detergents and cleaning substances are used in laundry and housekeeping operations. The cleaning product company provides environmental solutions or components, and offers non-toxic chemicals, biodegradable and biological based formulations, and consulting services on eco-friendly cleaning program. Therefore, the chemical products used in laundry must have a minimum impact on the environment. Laundry staff are educated on more efficient working habits and are not allowed to come into direct contact with any chemical. |
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Waste Management and Waste Minimization
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A waste management practice is implemented to minimize the impacts of waste on the environment. The procedure includes reducing, re-using, re-cycling and disposing of waste appropriately. Waste is systematically disposed by the appropriate channels. Paper, glass, aluminum, plastic and metal is recycled. We reuse old bed sheets for wrapping cloth and laundry bags. However, there are some things which we cannot dispose of safely in this area, for example batteries and any electronic waste. These are often mixed with other rubbish, where they either end up being incinerated or buried. In either case, they release very toxic chemicals into the air and water. We have switched to rechargeable batteries to reduce electronic waste.
Only wet garbage from the kitchen is used in animal husbandry purposes such as the pig raising farm. Organic waste from garden goes through recycling process by allowing it to decompose, after a couple months it turns into natural soil conditioner and fertilizer in the resort's garden and vegetation projects. Only small amounts of waste is delivered to the municipal landfill.
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Water Management
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Freshwater supply in the resort mainly comes from tap water and ground water. Water efficient techniques are installed in showers and toilets. Implementing a float adjusting technique decreases the water level of storage tanks in guest restrooms. The result is water is saved through flushing. In addition, we encourage our hosts and guests to reduce water consumption. No threads from water pollution discharge into ocean and no treated water is released into natural streams. Treated water from the water treatment plant is re-injected into man-made ponds and streams around the resort. Plants, vegetation and the garden are watered using treated water. Water is slowly absorbed into the ground and stored in a natural aquifer.
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Organic Vegetable Garden
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The resorts are also taking policy in a new direction by combining organic gardening using permaculture principals and an on-site recycling program. An organic raised bed garden is being built using a combination of recycled materials. The results may surprise you. The idea is to use the area as an educational tool for the local community to demonstrate that the concept of waste is essentially a question of perception. We are experimenting building beds using old beer bottles, wine bottles, mud bricks and aluminum cans to grow a range of different organic vegetables (yard long beans, chillis, buttercrunch, lolla rossa, oak leaf and cos lettuces as well as rocket and a range of herbs). So rest assured if you feel like having another bottle of wine or a few more beers you will be contributing to a good cause. Another interesting aspect to the garden is the direct comparisons we can draw between conventional organic garden beds drawing its goodness from our home made compost and mulches and our state of the art hydroponic raft system fed by a nutrient solution.
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Mushroom Hut
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At the edge of the main walkway through the garden there is a wooden door leading into the fungal kingdom - a mushroom cultivation hut where we grow oyster and woodear mushrooms on sawdust for use in the kitchens and the staff canteen. Once the mushrooms have extracted the cellulose and lignin from the wood the resulting rich compost is then used in the garden as mulch.
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The resorts are also taking policy in a new direction by combining organic gardening using permaculture principals and an on-site recycling program. An organic raised bed garden is being built using a combination of recycled materials. The results may surprise you. The idea is to use the area as an educational tool for the local community to demonstrate that the concept of waste is essentially a question of perception. We are experimenting building beds using old beer bottles, wine bottles, mud bricks and aluminum cans to grow a range of different organic vegetables (yard long beans, chillis, buttercrunch, lolla rossa, oak leaf and cos lettuces as well as rocket and a range of herbs). So rest assured if you feel like having another bottle of wine or a few more beers you will be contributing to a good cause. Another interesting aspect to the garden is the direct comparisons we can draw between conventional organic garden beds drawing its goodness from our home made compost and mulches and our state of the art hydroponic raft system fed by a nutrient solution.
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