World's Most Sustainable Resort: Interview with CEO of Bucuti & Tara
Photos courtesy of Bucuti & Tara
World's Most Sustainable Resort: Interview with CEO of Bucuti & Tara
Located on the Dutch island of Aruba, the Bucuti & Tara resort first emerged in 1987 as the result of a tourism boom that took hold of the island in the 1980’s. It was at this point that the owner and CEO, Ewald Biemans, already seeing how tourism was impacting the island he himself calls home, decided to focus on developing an environmental program as the core of Bucuti & Tara’s mission. The program was initially centered around water and energy conservation, inspired by the Rio summit and the after-effects of an oil crisis. Already in 1992, shortly after the UN conference in Rio, Biemans had defined the concept of sustainable tourism.
Now, after more than 20 years of development since Bucuti’s first Green Globe certification in 1999, the resort has earned every award imaginable for its sustainable operations and unique guest experiences. In 2018, Bucuti & Tara reached the milestone of becoming the first carbon neutral resort in the Caribbean, cementing its place as one of the top resorts in the world.
Let’s journey back to the beginning
Rollback to 1993. Tourism is growing, technology is developing and the demand for labor is thriving. People came in droves to Aruba to discover its Caribbean charm, untouched nature and relaxed atmosphere. Bucuti’s CEO, at this point, decided preemptively to take the necessary steps to preserve the island's most important aspect: its unique biodiversity. By developing an energy conservation program already in 1992, Biemans’ pivot to sustainability was quickly validated. His forward thinking meant he was able to stabilize the resort’s expenditures during the oil crisis compared with other competitors, who were obliged to raise prices based on guest’s energy consumption.
The resort started its first conservation program and certification process by focusing on solving important island-specific issues by honing in on stimulating renewable energy, water conservation and waste management.
Sustainable operations
The first implementation of green energy on the resort was the installation of solar panels, which now make up 20% of Bucuti’s energy needs and is the biggest private installation on the island. Another 25% island-sourced energy is produced by wind turbines and solar panels. Thus, the resort runs on 40% clean energy.
Due to the high price of recycling plastic on the island, the resort has been on trend of being single-use plastic free from the very beginning and has otherwise reduced its plastic use as much as possible.
Bucuti’s water supply is reused efficiently via water saving installations in bathrooms. Grey water from rooms is used to sustain the garden, making it self-sufficient.
The resort also switched over from traditional AC units to a Variable Refrigerant Flow system which has been installed property wide, which has improved the building's overall insulation.
Bucuti & Tara has successfully reduced general waste by 66% by reusing, reducing and recycling materials and giving away all food waste to a local farmer as pig feed. Garden waste is mulched and reuses as fertilizer.
solar panels sustainable tourism environment resort Aruba
Stakeholder involvement is key
Even with an innovative mindset and progressive approach to managing the resort, the owner of the resort couldn’t have done it without support from the local community. The resort was able to pass their vision on to their staff and those that have seen first-hand the success that such sustainable implementations have brought to the resort and the island. By understanding the value of lowering their environmental impact, local staff have been able to bring that knowledge back to their families and communities and apply it to everyday life. The involvement of employees contributes to the overall outreach on the island, from monthly beach clean ups to spreading environmental awareness to guests.
The numerous awards that have led to the resort’s recognition have also been a big factor in differentiating the resort from its competition with many guests choosing Bucuti & Tara for its eco-friendly reputation and role in conservation throughout Aruba and the world. Many guests have been inspired to participate in various resort-led activities such as beach clean ups and the Green Stay program while feeling positive knowing that their accommodation is helping to finance local wildlife preservation programs on and off the resort.
Benefits and challenges of calculating sustainability
Since Bucuti & Tara has always put sustainability at the forefront, there are some complications in calculating the impact of its programs from a baseline of zero sustainability measures put in place. Monetary savings are not always the biggest indicator of measuring impact. For Bucuti, this was an evident outcome on renewable energy infrastructure purchases. As explained by Biemans, by the time you realize the return on investment (green infrastructure), it's time to purchase new equipment as with solar panels, for example. While "savings" aren’t necessarily always reflected in incorporating renewables into energy operations, environmentally, the impact has a lower carbon footprint, which pays off with guest satisfaction (97% occupancy) and good PR, not to mention for the air we breathe.
Technically speaking, calculating carbon emissions has the reputation of taking a lot of time and being costly. Bucuti’s in-house Sustainability Manager calculates CO2 emissions regularly and SCS Global Services verifies these calculations. After maximizing the emissions reductions within operations, Bucuti works with Natural Capital Partners to offset the remaining CO2 that is not possible to reduce operationally. In taking the next steps towards 100% carbon neutrality in 2017, Natural Capital Partners certified the data on CO2 emissions given by Bucuti and calculated the amount of carbon credits needed to reach their milestone. The resort partnered with VaderPiet, a locally offsetting project, to support a wind farm in Aruba, using their carbon credits to support this project.
Inspiring and expanding green mindsets
Being the first sustainable resort on the island has had its challenges. As Mr. Biemans told us, Bucuti’s biggest challenge at the beginning was to coordinate their sustainability goals in line with government regulations, which turned out to be less innovative than they would have liked.
Bucuti & Tara’s is currently offsetting 5% of their total emissions with the eventual goal of becoming completely CO2 neutral without relying on offsetting. Other goals include going 100% paperless in 2020 and discontinuing the purchasing of printer toner.
Their mission is also to promote sustainability as the standard for other resorts. By offering tours of the grounds and other visual showings of sustainability, Bucuti has been able to share their best practices and take part in transitioning the island towards sustainability.
Other initiatives include the founding Tara Eco Supplies, of which Mr Biemans has taken an active role in spreading awareness on eco-friendly products by providing green supplies to the island’s hotels.
ocean Aruba Bucuti & tara sustainability resort best in the world environment CO2 neutral
Impact from COVID-19
Our interview with Bucuti CEO, Biemans, was conducted in mid-March 2020, on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even at this point, tourism in the Caribbean had already taken a hit. Resorts had emptied out and the airport had been closed. With the outlook of tourism going back to business as usual for at least the next 6 months looking bleak, layoffs and cost cutting will most likely be needed even at a successful resort like Bucuti & Tara. Carribean islands generally being heavily dependent on tourism, 15.2% of total GDP and 13.8% of employment (WTTC), may consequently be one of the most impacted areas in terms of lost tourism revenue from coronavirus. The outcome remains unknown now in mid-April, although it can be assumed that this crisis will have a bigger impact than those before it like SARS, when tourism continued, albeit at a different pace, and borders remained open. For right now the outcome is anyone’s guess.
With this said, businesses like Bucuti & Tara are at an advantage in times of crisis and eventually once tourism opens up again. Having a lower environmental impact than its competitors and lower fixed costs by using local green energy, lowering water usage and reducing waste will make a difference in the recovery process thanks to the self-sufficiency in the nature of their operations.
Resilience through sustainability will also be important for businesses that are looking to prepare themselves to better face other possible difficulties whether economic, social or ecological; the tourism industry will always be the first to be affected, so preparedness to cope with adversity is crucial. The tourism industry as a whole must be re-built in a more responsible way to have less dependence on resources which will mean rethinking operations and relations within the supply chain.
The coronavirus pandemic, happening at a turning point for the tourism industry, has given everyone involved with the tourism and hospitality sector a chance for reflection about the need to lessen our footprint and make the industry more future-proof, which as it stands is more urgent than ever.
Bucuti & Tara is currently working on an extensive post-COVID-19 protocol to ensure every possible precaution is taken to safeguard future guests, associates and their families.
A special thanks to CEO, Ewald Biemans, and Nathaly Stanley of Bucuti & Tara and CEO, Ally Dragozet, Melissa Novotny and Magalie Salomé of Sea Going Green for bringing this blog to life.