Simply SUSTAINABLE

How to make sure your hotel is as environmentally friendly as possible

With the pressures of global warming, we’re all looking for ways we can cut our carbon footprint and travel more responsibly. The decision of where to stay during your trip is a big factor so it’s good to know hotels – like Jetwing Hotels in Sri Lanka – are rising to the challenge and that there’s plenty you can do to help too. Consider these aspects of your hotel...

SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

It’s not only good practice to bring your own re-usable bottle on adventures but just as important is to choose a hotel that takes steps to reduce its plastic waste and encourage reusable alternatives. This could take the shape of providing in-room glass water bottles and glass amenity containers (Jetwing’s onsite bottling plants clean and reuse these across its family of hotels); replacing plastic with cane, reed and other eco-materials; and sourcing local produce, doing away with packaging from imported goods and helping local community businesses too.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

It’s worth researching just how green your accommodation is, namely whether they try to mitigate the release of global warming gases by using renewable sources and energy efficient processes. Jetwing’s Sri Lankan properties utilise two major sources of renewable energy; biomass and solar. Biomass sees hot water boilers fuelled by sustainably harvested cinnamon wood that, due to its fast cropping cycle, can rapidly sequester the carbon emitted.

There are also solar solutions that have been implemented at the Jetwing Blue, Jetwing Lagoon, Jetwing Yala and Jetwing Lake that, together with other initiatives, mean 60% of the group’s total energy requirement is met by renewable energy. A very sunny state of affairs to be sure.

WATER

Freshwater is precious. Reusing towels, closing taps and taking showers are all mindful measures a guest can take but is your hotel making water conservation a priority too? This starts from flow rate fittings and rainwater harvesting methods, through to onsite treatment plants; something that Jetwing is tackling by reusing any wastewater for other on-site purposes. Jetwing Yala, situated in the arid zone of Sri Lanka, goes one step further in its water management, operating a reverse osmosis plant to desalinate salt water.

Sustainable strides have played an important part in Jetwing’s expansion from the six-roomed Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel – today’s Jetwing Blue – to an island-wide family of over 40 properties. Energy, carbon, water and waste are all areas to consider when choosing a responsible hotel, so pick one that offers a great stay but is also invested in doing good for the future too.

1 Steppes Travel

As well as ensuring they are carbon balanced, Steppes Travel run the Steppes Fund for Change: book any trip and £25 of your money goes towards funding women’s empowerment and wildlife conservation programmes, with another £25 going towards a UK tree planting scheme and a nuclear fusion researcher at Oxford University. steppestravel.com

2 G Adventures

G Adventures set up the Planeterra Foundation in 2003 to help the communities affected by the social and environmental impacts of tourism by empowering them to develop and conserve their culture. gadventures.co.uk

3 Responsible Travel

Since 2001 Responsible Travel has been an agency representing eco-friendly tours and trips that focus on local culture and people, independent business and wildlife conservation. The organisation campaigns for positive change through its ‘give back’ programme. responsibletravel.com

4 Intrepid Travel

Carbon neutral since 2010, Intrepid was not only the first global tour operator to end elephant rides, but with the not-for-profit Intrepid Foundation, they’re now also investing, among other things, into a project in Tasmania, Australia to help restore kelp forests. intrepidtravel.com

5 Audley Travel

Audley Travel work closely with local communities to ensure responsible travel is at the heart of what they do. The operator has an animal welfare and sustainability policy; its charity of the year for 2020-21 is Plastic Oceans UK. audleytravel.com

Jetwing jewels (clockwise from this) Jetwing Lagoon’s verdant exterior; suite sensations at Jetwing Blue; lounge in Jetwing Yala’s lobby; and bathroom bliss at Jetwing Lake.