Cinnamon Lakeside advocates WED theme
As an advocator of sustainable living, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo actively engages its guests, associates and community in its environment-friendly initiatives. The internationally awarded hotel was recognized for its efforts in this area by Green Globe, the global authority on the subject. The hotel was the first in Colombo to be Green Globe certified and the only one in Sri Lanka to sustain its certification for three consecutive years.
June 5 is classified as World Environment Day (WED). The United Nations Environment Programme addresses a new issue every year with this year’s WED being dedicated to food wastage along the theme ‘Think. Eat. Save.
Just as charity begins at home, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo believes in leading by example, practicing its environmental initiatives within the hotel first. For over two years, the hotel has conducted anti-food waste programmes, encouraging staff to consume responsibly. By collecting and weighing wasted food at the employee cafeteria, the hotel has been able to educate associates on the collective impact of their actions, thereby leading to a 49 percent reduction in food wast- age from financial years 2011-12 to 2012-13.
Extending this to the hotel’s guests, associates are trained to advice diners on sufficient quantities when taking orders. This initiative has resulted in a 54 percent reduction of total waste generation per guest night during the same one year period.
In addition to its existing initiatives, Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo has organised an awareness prog ramme on ‘Protecting the Environment for the Future Generations’ scheduled to take place on June 11, 2013. The programme will be facilitated by one of the world’s most renowned experts on the subject, Dr. Waruna Fernando who is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer by profession as well as a consultant on Environmental Management Systems.
Fifty students each from five neighbouring schools, T.B. Jaya Maha Vidyalaya, Saripuththa Maha Vidyalaya, Al Iqbal Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Holy Rosary Sinhala School and Holy Rosary Tamil School will join one hundred students from the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management to participate in the programme.