Former U.S. President Barack Obama keynotes, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resortâs CEO presents
WTTC represents the global private sector of Travel & Tourism. Its Global Summit is the most important event in the sector worldwide each year. The annual gathering includes heads-of-state, CEOs across industries and hospitality and tourism professionals. This yearâs keynote speaker was former U.S. President Barack Obama.
Winner of first-ever Tourism for Tomorrow Climate Action Award
Bucuti & Tara is the winner of the first-ever Climate Action Award. Resort owner and CEO Ewald Biemans addressed the Summitâs prestigious crowd of influential global government leaders and executives. While a key focus on this award was Bucutiâs years of sustainability initiatives and August 2018 achievement of carbon neutrality/net zero, Biemans vowed in his acceptance speech that Bucutiâs âenvironmental journey just started, and we will continue working towards a better world.â
Biemans presented âThe Path to Carbon Neutrality/Net Zeroâ at the Tourism for Tomorrow day on April 2 as part of the WTTC Global Summit. The materials shared the vision, initiatives and outcomes of achieving net zero. With easy to replicate, proven actions, Bucuti is focused on showing others and encouraging them to do the same. Biemans emphasized, âThere is no excuse for hotels not to work towards carbon neutrality/net zero in this day and age.â
Told becoming carbon neutral/net zero was impossible
Ten years ago, Biemans was told becoming carbon neutral/net zero was impossible. This only made Biemans more determined to make it happen. He devoted himself to researching and implementing a plan of initiatives to offer a better, healthier vacation experience to his guests. As the Caribbeanâs most eco-certified and awarded resort, seven years ago, Bucuti embarked the most intensive stretch of the carbon neutral/net zero process. By August 2018, the resort was the first in the Caribbean to achieve net zero certification.
âIt has been a journey and one that continues as we work together to combat climate change and promote health and wellbeing of all living things,â says Ewald Biemans. âI have tremendous appreciation for our Green Team and the work we have done together since opening Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort.â
Although guests enjoying the adults-only resortâs laidback, luxury hospitality on the white sands of Eagle Beach may not realize it, this is the Caribbeanâs only certified carbon neutral/net zero resort. For more than 30 years, its environmentalist owner, Ewald Biemans, has worked towards proving that sustainability, guest satisfaction and profitability can go together.
While the resort has always been green-minded, the journey towards carbon neutrality/net zero began just seven years ago. Rather than rely on carbon offsets, Bucuti & Taraâs Green Team took a meticulous approach towards reducing emissions operationally. Since 2016, the resortâs 618 photovoltaic solar panels combined with local wind and solar sources, produces 40 percent of its energy needs. Other efforts include installing an in-room energy management system, low-flow shower heads and toilets, and using an ozone-based laundry system.
What it means to be a WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Award Winner
The 2019 WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Award Winners are highly commended and recognized for business practices of the highest standards that balance the needs of âpeople, planet and profitsâ within the Travel & Tourism sector. The 2019 Winners promote inclusive growth and illustrate a strong commitment to supporting change and transformation in business practices and consumer behavior towards a more environmentally conscious sector.
The Climate Action Award seeks to recognize innovative actions through either behavior change of guests and employees, policy changes or the introduction of technology, to reduce the scale and impacts of climate change.
The Awards are judged by a panel of independent experts, led by Prof. Graham Miller, Executive Dean, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey. The panel included academics, business leaders, NGO and governmental representatives who narrowed down the list of 183 applications to just fifteen finalists. The three-stage judging process included a thorough review of all applications, followed by on-site evaluations of the Finalists and their initiative.
The Winner of each category was determined by the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards 2019 Winnersâ Selection Committee, chaired by Fiona Jeffery OBE, Founder & Chairman, Just a Drop, and composed of Wolfgang M. Neumann, Non-Executive Director and Strategic Advisory, Global Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Sector; John Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and Louise Twining-Ward, Senior Private Sector Specialist, Global Tourism Team, World Bank.
For more information on the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards and all the Winners, please visit http://wttc.org/t4tawards q
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