Centara works with EarthCheck as part of its green and sustainable tourism policy

BANGKOK, Thailand – Centara Hotels & Resorts, throughout its 30-year history, has always believed passionately in green and sustainable tourism, a policy that is at the heart of the company and which

BANGKOK, Thailand – Centara Hotels & Resorts, throughout its 30-year history, has always believed passionately in green and sustainable tourism, a policy that is at the heart of the company and which engages every property in its portfolio.

With the company rapidly expanding, both in Thailand and overseas, this deeply embedded philosophy is more important now than ever.

โ€œEach of our hotels and resorts operates to strict environmental standards,โ€ says Thirayuth Chirathivat, Centaraโ€™s Chief Executive Officer. โ€œThis means involving staff, and also whenever possible guests, with the result that there is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and that everyone feels they have a personal contribution to make.โ€

Centara also strives to comply with regional and international environmental laws and legislation.

Along with this very positive approach, Centara has begun working in conjunction with EarthCheck, the specialist organization that sets the benchmarks for environmental awareness and conservation for the international hospitality industry.

โ€œWorking with EarthCheck involves the use of their Environmental Management System, a series of practical tools for the benchmarking and certification of operations practices,โ€ says David R. Good, Centaraโ€™s Vice President for Operations, whose responsibility covers the environment.

โ€œThe environmental performance of each property is monitored against policy, benchmarking the indicators against baseline and best practices. The environmental and social impact is measured through the EarthCheck Online Self Assessment. All results are assessed and verified by third party auditors on an annual basis.โ€

Centara has started with 10 hotels under this Earthcheck program. Four hotels have recently achieved Silver Certified status and another six hotels have achieved Bronze Certified status.

Centara has now committed to have all of its self-owned Centara Grand properties to be Silver Certified by 2014.

In order to achieve Bronze Certified, participating hotels are required to have a sustainable policy in place, including key major indicators for energy, water consumption, recycling waste and waste sent to landfill, and paper usage.

To achieve Silver Certification all participating hotels are required to have a sustainable policy in place and to implement an environmental action plan for proper monitoring and measurements on 10 key performance areas, namely greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency/conservation and management, management of freshwater resources, ecosystem conservation and management, social and cultural management, land use planning and management, air quality protection, wastewater management, waste management, and environmentally harmful substances.

LIST OF EARTHCHECK AWARDS

BRONZE BENCHMARKED

Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok
Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket
Centara Grand Island Resort and Spa Maldives
Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya
Centara Kata Resort Phuket

SILVER CERTIFIED

Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi
Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas Hua Hin
Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui
Centara Karon Resort Phuket
Bangkok Convention Centre (inclusive of Central World)

GOLD CERTIFIED (BY 2014)

CENTARA GRAND BEACH RESORT & VILLAS KRABI

Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading operator of hotels, with 41 deluxe and first-class properties covering all the major tourist destinations in the Kingdom. A further 17 resorts in the Maldives, Vietnam, Shanghai, Bali Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius Indian Ocean, brings the present total to 58 properties. Brands and properties within Centara ensure that specific categories such as couples, families, individuals, and meetings and incentives groups will all find a hotel or resort that is appropriate to their needs.

Centara operates 27 branches of Spa Cenvaree, one of Thailand’s most luxurious and innovative spa brands, together with its newly launched value brand Cense by Spa Cenvaree, which provides core spa services for busy travelers. The company’s Kids’ Club is available at all the family-friendly resorts to ensure that the youngsters and teens are taken care of. Centara Hotels & Resorts also operates two state-of-the-art convention centers in Bangkok, and two in northeastern Thailand, one being located in Udon Thani and the other in Khon Kaen.

The latest Centara brand is named COSI Hotels, an economy brand designed for travelers who predominantly make their bookings via the Internet and who want comfort and convenience at the most friendly prices available, which is under development with the first property due to open in 2015.

For more information and reservations, please contact tel. +662 101 1234 ext. 1 or e-mail to [email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/centarahotelsresorts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MyCentara

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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