Green Bottom Line - Singapore Tatler Article

The generic Good Morning towel has no place in a Banyan Tree resort villa, but if you ask Claire Chiang, the luxury hotel brand's senior vice president, why she cares about the enviroment, she'll tell you about these plain, cotton washclothes. "I grew up in a family of 10 and each of us had one of these towels. That was it!" recalls Chiang. "Because of family circumstances, every dollar counted. There was no wastage" From towels to food to natural resources. conserving became a habit for Chiang. When it comes to running a business, she holds the same conviction.

Banyan Tree's enviromental efforts are well documented: from planting trees to setting up professional marine and conservation labs to recycling, monitoring and rehabilitating wildlife. This April, the company formally establish the Banyan Tree Global Foundation as a vehicle for funding all enviromental activities. As chairperson of the foundation, Chiang describes it as "ong big values thought process" that is going to guide the way the company conducts business.

"What we do are considered costs by many businesses. They may even say these efforts are unnecessary. But, they are only addressing the tangibles," Chiang says. "I call it an investment in the intangibles: reputation, goodwill, employee enhancement, staff motivation, markey support...It takes time, but in the long term, this makes us a sustainable business." In Banyan Tree's case, what's good for business is even better for the environment.

Article taken from Tatler Singapore - June 2009 issue.

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