Abu Dhabi, UAE, -: Five-star award-winning Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas hotel announced its pioneering efforts towards sustainability. On 19th December visitors are encouraged to keep the sea plastic free and be part of the property’s beach clean-up event from 8 am till 10 am. The family-friendly event includes a snack break and an entertaining nurdle hunt competition.
General Manager, Fabrice Ducry commented: “We are extremely proud to host the beach clean-up day at Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas. Rotana has implemented a large number of sustainability initiatives across its hotels in the region over the years, through our corporate sustainability program, “Rotana Earth”. We are committed to continue pioneering new ways to contribute to preserving the environment and nature surrounding us on Saadiyat Island.”
The initiative is aligned with the resort’s commitment to the conservation of the wildlife at Saadiyat Island and the property’s conscious efforts to promote sustainability through innovative measures:
• The hotel is actively working on plastic reduction projects in different departments: plastic straws have been substituted with paper straws in all outlets and the hotel is at the stage of introducing filtration machines and glass bottles in its all day dining restaurant and banquet operations.
• In June 2019, the hotel implemented its winnow system, a food waste monitoring system in Sim-Sim restaurant. The kitchen managed to save AED 170,000 to date through analyzing food waste data. The amount of food waste has been reduced significantly at the Sim-Sim buffet – 21,000 meals, which is equivalent to 35,000kg of food.
• Throughout the year, Saadiyat Rotana Hotel Resort & Villas has sponsored six ENGH workshops related to different subjects about the environment. In addition, the hotel made a donation of AED 44,000 to community education initiatives focusing on establishing an eco-friendly and sustainable environment. The subjects featured sustainable tourism and natural desert habitats awareness.
• During the day, the property uses solar panels-320, and in 2019 managed to save AED 292,527.
• There are three electric car-charging stations located at the property.
• In November 2019, the engineering team changed SNG (saturated natural gas) to natural gas (NG) and this was a positive impact on the environment.
• Eco Shower Water For All: Beach shower reduced by 75% the water consumption by using recycled water to operate Showers. The water Recycling System functions like a small-scale water treatment plant which continuously captures, filters and recirculates 100% of the water used during the shower in real life. This system is the first of its kind in the UAE, that tackles the beach shower water recycling and reusage in terms of sustainability.