Thursday, March 08, 2007 Hotel launches environmental protection drive
MANY businesses, particularly those whose operations have taken on global dimensions, have realized the value of responding to social and environmental issues.
While some establishments are still working on incorporating corporate social responsibility and environmental protection programs into their corporate agenda, others like the Shangri-la’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa have been going at it for some time.
Perhaps out of necessity, considering that it is located on Mactan Island where potable water is not a free-flowing resource, Shangri-la put up a water desalination plant in 1996 to take care of its own needs.
The resort also became the first tourism establishment to acquire an ISO (International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification, under the 14000 series, for its environmental managements system.
One of the resort’s environmental conservation projects was the transplantation of loose corals and construction of a coral garden to allow regeneration of the reef. This led to the declaration of the area as a beach marine sanctuary.
Recently, Shangri-la backed the nature conservation campaign of Coral Cay Conservation (CCC), which brought renowned British botanist Prof. David Bellamy to Cebu last month.
In a talk a day after inspecting the coral conservation program of Shangri-la, Bellamy predicted the start of a “green renaissance,” in which people will realize that the “environment their parents have grown up in are disappearing …and decide to stop the destruction.”
But he said that this will only begin “by working with local people.” (LAP)
