Cinnamon Lodge Habarana reaches greater heights

Cinnamon-Lodge-Habarana
Cinnamon-Lodge-Habarana
Avatar of Linda Hohnholz
Written by Linda Hohnholz

Cinnamon Lodge Habarana is a 5-star resort nestled in nature’s serenity right in the heart of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle

Green Globe recertified Cinnamon Lodge Habarana in January this year with the resort achieving a high compliance score of 86%.

Mr Arosha Pananwala, General Manager at the resort said, “We, at Cinnamon Lodge Habarana, are extremely thrilled to announce that we have once again been awarded the Green Globe Certification for this year. We are honored to hold this prestigious, globally accredited certification for performance improvement, designed specifically for the travel and tourism industry. This achievement solidifies our undisputed reputation in providing high quality services to our customers and improving our performance in line with global standards. I would like to congratulate our staff and team at Cinnamon Lodge Habarana on this outstanding accolade and encourage them to continue their excellent performance which will raise our brand to greater heights.”

Both management and staff at the resort have made great efforts in key areas of sustainability with resounding success.

Water management was one of the most outstanding accomplishments over the last 12 months. At the end of 2017/18 – Cinnamon Lodge achieved a 21% year on year reduction in water drawn from natural sources.  A water audit was also conducted in 2017/18 to identify areas where water savings could be made and recommendations are currently being implemented.  Plans are in place to install flow restrictors in all guest rooms in order to ensure a moderate flow based on set standards.

Wastewater recycling has also seen a marked improvement. As a monthly average, 52% of total water used is completely recycled through the onsite sewerage treatment plant (STP). Furthermore, landfill was reduced by 7% and the property’s carbon footprint was reduced by 6% per guest night in 2017/18.

The resort has implemented a number of initiatives including increased energy efficient lighting, which have ensured reductions in energy usage. In 2017/18, 300 CFL bulbs were changed over to LED in guest areas and 20 conventional AC units were replaced with inverter AC units. Renewable energy is also utilized with solar panels used for water heating.

Sri Lankan organic culinary experience at the Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana

Cinnamon Lodge is now offering its guests a novel culinary experience that is both organic and authentically Sri Lankan. Based in the resort’s quaint and traditional mud hut, the new organic dining experience has been specially curated for local and international guests and will allow them to observe a wide array of traditional cooking techniques and preparation methods, sample a delicious array of Sri Lankan dishes and flavors and learn more about local farming techniques. The resort operates an extensive organic farm on its grounds, which produces a wide range of fruits and vegetables, as well as rice, milk, and honey.

The Green Team at the property has established a successful composting system. Compost consists of garden waste collected from the Cinnamon Lodge Habarana grounds along with farmyard manure and is used to fertilize the resort’s organic herbs and vegetables. The resort has started providing compost by the ton and by tractor loads to certain buyers, thereby reducing the use of chemical fertilizers in gardens and farms. Packs of compost are also sold to visitors and guests.

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries.  Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit greenglobe.com.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...