Bali’s economy is balanced on the two legs of agriculture and tourism. It’s a precarious balance at times, given the negative impacts of the decreasing land bank and poor agricultural practices for one, and bombs and politics for the other. But these two industries are the rice bowls of most of the Balinese people, and it’s vital that they be profitable and sustainable for all concerned.
The concept of responsible tourism has arrived. Its mission is to
Protect the environment – its flora, fauna and landscapes
Respect local cultures
Benefit local communities both economically and socially
Conserve natural resources
Minimize pollution
Travelers are voting with their credit cards. According to a TravelHorizons survey, over half of global consumers prefer to purchase products and services from a company with a strong environmental reputation.
Another survey of package tours indicated that travelers were willing to pay more for their holidays if the money went toward better wages and working conditions, preservation of the environment, the reversal of some negative environmental impacts or directly to a local charity. In the same survey, 78% of package holiday responders said that providing social and environmental information in tour operators’ brochures was important, and 70% stated that the environmental reputation of a holiday company on environmental issues was fairly or very important in affecting their choice.
Environmentally savvy tourists, especially Europeans, are starting to grill hoteliers about their waste management and energy efficiency policies. They are looking for some form of international certification. The leading certifier is Green Globe, with the world’s most demanding environmental benchmarking, certification and improvement system for the international travel and tourism industry. Eleven hotels in Bali have been certified by Green Globe and 10 more are in the process, with about 23 properties in Bali being affiliated with Green Globe in some way. Other international certifiers are ISO1400 and Leeds.
Attaining certification from these bodies is a big commitment and a steep learning curve for even a large hotel, demanding extensive staff training and infrastructure adjustments. Hotels are in the business of making profits, so there has to be some compromise between the ‘green line’ of environmental sustainability and the bottom line in black ink. But as more travelers demand environmental accountability from the hotels they stay in, it’s a compromise more and more hoteliers are making. After all, a business trend is a business trend. In Bali, where the tourism boom has resulted in the uncontrolled construction of hotels and resorts all over the island, creating moderate to severe environmental and social impacts everywhere, the time has come to clean up.
Green Globe has ten criteria that must be measured, recorded and benchmarked against international standards for a year while targets are set for each. At the end of 12 months of moving toward its targets, the property can submit its results for certification. An independent assessor visits the property to decide whether it’s ready for certification or needs more time and support. The entire process usually takes at least 18 months. Green Globe’s Earth Check software allows hotels to check their progress to see how they rate internationally during the process.
The Green Globe criteria are:
Greenhouse gas emissions
Energy efficiency, conservation and management
Management of fresh water resources
Ecosystem conservation and management
Management of social and cultural issues
Land use planning and management
Air quality and protection and noise control
Waste water management
Waste minimization – reduce, re-use and recycle
Hazardous substances
The Spanish-based Melia properties in Nusa Dua were the first in Bali to boast Green Globe certification (a requirement in Europe) five years ago, and Melia continues to be an industry leader in environmental sustainability. The two Alila properties in Ubud and Candidasa were certified in May 2007.
The Alila is in the process of constructing a new hotel/villa property on the Bukit which will be the first in Indonesia to be built based on the principles of Environmentally Sustainable Design. This is a unique project in that the designer (architect Richard Hassell), the developer and the operator are all working together with the goal of creating a property that will meet all the Green Globe criteria from the beginning. Among many other design elements, some of the flat roofs have been turned into terrace gardens and others covered with lava rock to absorb solar energy and keep the rooms cool. Rain gardens were created to serve as water catchments during the rainy season, designed to slowly irrigate the plants. All materials were sourced from Bali and Java, with the timber being recycled from telephone poles and railway tracks.
Hassell had wanted to build a completely self-sustainable property long before it became fashionable. “All through the 1980s no one was interested in doing anything sustainable because fuel was cheap,” he notes. With this project he brings together contemporary luxury while being conscious of the environment from every perspective. “The customers respond very well to the green idea.”
Amanda Pummer, General Manager of Alila Ubud, was the driving force behind bringing Green Globe to the Bali hotel industry. “I was able to convince the Bali Hotel Association (BHA) that it would be good for business,” she says. She served as the first BHA Executive for the Environment for three years, becoming the conscience of the Association on difficult issues. “When I asked the hoteliers where their rubbish went, 80% didn’t know. The BHA sponsored an environmental expert from the United Kingdom for six months to conduct a waste management survey for 12 hotels and follow the waste streams. That was quite an education. Of the 20% that thought they knew where their garbage was going, only 2% actually did.”
Amanda continues to crusade for environmental sustainability in Bali’s hotel industry. Using the Alila as an example of best practices, my next column will explore one hotel’s journey to Green Globe certification.
