Over the past six years, the award-winning Palm Jumeirah luxury resort has focused on sustainability, putting it at the heart of its operations. From investments in innovative energy and water efficiency measures to recycling and reductions in plastic and waste, Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort has pioneered a holistic approach that has made a huge positive impact.
A Helping Hand
In order to meet and surpass goals, the resort partnered with Sustainability Consultant, Sustainability Kiosk Advisors, who have helped educate and empower the team. Team members have become passionate about helping the environment and proposing solutions, which they have seen being implemented. Weekly meetings are held to measure progress and discuss potential new initiatives.
The teams’ collective efforts, especially around recycling, have increased our waste diversion from 6% – 62%. Anantara The Palm Dubai is now benchmarking among the sustainability leaders in our industry, achieving levels seen in advanced markets such as Singapore, which has 60 – 65% waste diversion in upscale and luxury hospitality. This has also exceeded Minor Hotel’s KPI expectations for reduction of organic waste.
Five Key Principles
The holistic approach at the resort is led by five key principles: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle.
Refuse: In 2021, the resort installed an onsite water bottling plant, which has saved over 1 million single use plastic bottles by replacing them with glass refillable bottles. Single use bathroom amenities are no longer available at the residences. A new coffee supplier was sourced to ensure used coffee pods were recycled. Styrofoam packaging is no longer accepted at the resort, and we don’t allow balloons on the premises.
Reduce: We’re recording a year-on-year decline of monthly waste to landfill of 204%, which equates to around 200 tons per year. We’re offering reusable Anantara branded flasks to gym guests, which removes the need for single use cups and plastic bottles, saving 600 single-use plastic bottles per month. Our Kids’ Club, Wellness centre and Learning & Development departments all operate at nearly zero waste.
Reuse: The continuous dedication of our team members has led to 9.7 tons of cooking oil being cleaned and reused. 245 tons of garden waste and 178 kgs of coffee cake has been used for compost. 208 kgs of soap has been collected and reconditioned for cleaning at the back of house. Our team has reused 300 kgs of coffee pods and used linen to grocery bags and jewellery.
Repurpose: One of the exciting events of the past year was the installation of our new Food Digester machine. Acting like a giant human stomach, it has processed 21.6 tons of food waste and turned it into grey water for use in fertilising and landscaping, allowing the resort to reduce our carbon footprint by 86 tons over one year. That is the equivalent of removing 19 gas-powered cars from the road for a full year. This supports the UAE’s initiative, Nema, which aims to reduce 50% of food waste and loss by 2030.
Recycling: Recycling is part of the team ethos at Anantara The Palm Dubai with 29.6 tons of glass, 1.8 tons of plastic and 453kgs of metal cans and 38 tons of paper recycled over the past year. Team members take care to ensure that waste is disposed of correctly.
These results have led to us saving an estimated AED 120,000 monthly, amounting to AED 1.4 million annually. Over the next ten years, our Food Digester and bottling plant is expected to bring a return on investment of almost double their value.
Leaders Within the Industry
Since winning the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Award in 2019, we have exceeded expectations and received further recognition for our achievements. We have signed the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge, are certified Platinum in Green Growth 2050 with Minor Hotels and secured the award for Zero Plastic Initiative at the Sustainability Initiative Awards.
“It’s a true team commitment at Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort. By treating it as a holistic endeavor, we have truly become a sustainable and responsible resort, preserving luxury hospitality for future generations. We look forward to consolidating our progress and will continuously seek new and innovative ways to lead on sustainability within the luxury hospitality market.”
Mr. James Hewitson – Cluster General Manager for Anantara The Palm Dubai and Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort
The team at Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort know that recycling is an effective long-term practice and sets an example for other luxury properties within Dubai and beyond.
