Here’s a press release from Alila Hotels on their green programs:
Green Globe, an international benchmarking and certification program for the travel and tourism industry is managed by EC3 Global, a subsidiary of the Australian based research body Sustainable Tourism Co-operative Research Centre (the world’s largest source of tourism research). Its standards are based on the Agenda 21 principles for Sustainable Development endorsed by 182 Heads of State at the United Nations Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Sustainably planned, designed and constructed from the ground up, the environmentally conscious approach effected at Alila Villas Hadahaa to date has already won the resort the Green Globe ‘Building, Planning and Design Standard’ Certification—the first awarded to a resort in the Maldives. “As one of the first countries to raise the concern of global warming, the Maldives has been a long time champion of the environmental cause. I am extremely proud of the recent Green Globe certification of Alila Villas Hadahaa as it elevates the current standard for this destination in terms of environmental consciousness and reinforces the commitment of our owners and the Alila Villas team to preserve this incredibly beautiful yet fragile environment. The award also motivates us to ensure that the preservation and protection of this destination continues into the future,” said Julian Moore, General Manager of Alila Villas Hadahaa. The resort’s architect, Yale-trained and Singapore-based Chan Soo Khian, has very creatively merged innovative architecture with environmental considerations. Chan’s concept of the resort, while contemporary in nature, makes use of many natural materials, including coconut, timber and coral stones found in the region. All resort villas and facilities are strongly accented with Maldivian culture and are designed to integrate into the site as carefully as possible. Chan also installed rainwater harvesting, waste treatment plants, high roofed areas and open ceilings to maximise cross ventilation in all indoor spaces and deep roof overhangs and windows shading to reduce power usage. Great care is being taken in every detail to ensure environmental footprints are kept to a minimum such as limiting building works of the jetty and Aqua Villas to extreme low tides to minimize silt disturbance. We are proud that Alila Villas Hadahaa is setting new environmental standards before it is even open and we are committed to continue to do so once we are operational.
– from Alila Hotels