Resource Conservation

In 2007, Banyan Tree launched a group wide effort to monitor and systematically reduce the carbon emissions from its resorts. While much of this effort was more internally focused to fine tune and enhance the overall environmental management strategy, this effort has lead to a programme launching in 2008 to reduce energy and water consumption by each resort while enhancing waste management practices at each location. The overall goal is to reduce consumption and carbon emissions by 10% every year from 2006 levels between 2008 and 2010.

Formalised in the last part of 2007, the group environmental management strategy requires each resort to have environmental management officers specifically to monitor power consumption, water consumption and waste production and reduce consumption by at least 10% every year.

Banyan Tree Bintan
The resort conducted various conservation efforts for guest villas and back of house areas to reduce electrical consumption without creating any reduction in the quality of the guest experience. Initial testing featured air conditioners linked to water heaters as well as default air conditioner thermostats raised to 25° C, and revealed a savings of 8.5% of overall electrical consumption for three months despite increased occupancy rates from the year before.

Angsana Great Barrier Reef
The resort commenced a program to convert all lights to energy saving bulbs. Combined with the practices of raising the thermostat to 23 to 25° C during daily housekeeping visits and mandating new air conditioners to use inverter technology, the initiative reduced the annual electrical cost by 31% from the previous year.

Singapore
In more urban environments such as Singapore, resource consumption can often be seen as less tied to its environmental effects. In July 2007, Banyan Tree’s Singapore office embarked upon an awareness raising campaign to reduce the office’s electrical consumption. By sharing the effects of the collective consumption and highlighting simple practices to reduce workplace energy consumption, the Singapore office was able to reduce electrical consumption by 6% over the last four months, compared with the same period a year earlier.