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Business - Green business is good business
WELCOME BAHAMAS - NASSAU, CABLE BEACH & PARADISE ISLAND - 2007
Business - Green business is good business
Companies large and small contribute
Environmental protection is as high-profile and persistent an issue in The Bahamas as it is everywhere. Increasingly, the owners and managers of resorts large and small are recognizing this and acting upon it.
A prime example is the much-praised Tiamo (I love you) development on South Andros, a small resort proving that environmental protection is a powerful lure to an ever-growing segment of the travelling public.
Tiamo is a tiny lodge in the wilderness, but environmental stewardship also plays a role in the operations of the biggest resort in The Bahamas; the hugely successful Atlantis on Paradise Island.
Bacardi, the rum maker with a big plant on New Providence, is also doing everything it can to reduce its environmental footprint, partly by reducing its release of carbon dioxide, which scientists say is a major contributor to the problem of global warming.
These companies, among many others in The Bahamas, are demonstrating that being aware of your company?s environmental footprint is not only good citizenship, it?s also good business.
There?s much to protect: The archipelago possesses some of the most pristine ocean water in the world, the earth?s third-largest barrier reef and an astonishing range of marine life?from tiny coral polyps to enormous migrating whales?and a string of emerald islands, each with its own endowment of lush vegetation and pristine beaches, the very picture of tropical beauty.
It is this unsullied beauty that draws people to The Bahamas year after year?second-homeowners and island buyers as well as five million tourists annually.
The islands are troves of biodiversity, filled with natural wonders that casual visitors never see:
? thousands of pink flamingos taking flight from a shallow lake in Inagua;
? sea turtles clambering up deserted beaches in the dark of night to lay their eggs in the warm sand;
? untouched subtropical ecosystems: forests, coppices, sand dunes, coral reefs and wetlands;
? mysterious blue holes and underwater caverns, geological relics from the last ice age;
? miles-long caves, home to hordes of indigenous and migratory bats above ground, and to strange new life forms underwater; and
? little-known indigenous fauna, such as hutias (small rodent-like animals), Bahamian rock iguanas, green turtles and Bahamian parrots in their natural habitat on Abaco.
Government and NGOs
On the front line of protecting all this is the government, which is passing strong environmental legislation, most of which falls under the authority of the Ministry of Energy & Environment. Companies operating anywhere around the islands are advised to know and comply with the requirements of legislation to assess and reduce their environmental impact.
Part of the governmental setup is BEST?the Bahamas Environment and Science Technology Commission. BEST has several responsibilities, including the coordination of all government activities so as ?to protect, conserve and manage the environmental resources of The Bahamas.? The commission?s main function is to assess the impact of projects and resort developments.
There are also a number of non-government organizations concerned with preserving the national environment. Chief among these is BNT, the Bahamas National Trust, a unique private organization that maintains, with a few paid professionals and a horde of volunteers, the nation?s system of national parks and protected places.
BNT now has more than 3,000 members, a 30-fold increase since 1962. These members provide 20 per cent of BNT?s operational funds. About half of the annual budget comes from the proceeds of a heritage fund while donations, sales and fees, along with a small government grant, account for the rest.
Among its international sponsors are The National Audubon Society, The Wildlife Conservation Society, the Rosentiel School of Marine Science at the University of Miami, the Smithsonian Institution, the United States National Park Service and the American Museum of Natural History. Donors in The Bahamas include the Bacardi Family Foundation, Commonwealth Bank and Family Guardian Insurance.
Another group is BREEF, the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation. BREEF is active in teaching and encouraging student volunteers to restore damaged mangrove creeks and clean up debris on beaches and coastlines. The Green Organization, an international agency based in London, is also active in The Bahamas.
International recognition
At Tiamo, owners Michael and Petagay Hartman offer guests vintage wines, haute cuisine, luxurious rooms and all the activities that accompany a holiday in the sun?but all with a minimum of environmental impact on the surrounding wilderness.
For example, Tiamo uses solar power exclusively. It has the largest solar electricity generating system operated by a private resort in the Caribbean and Latin America, with a daily generating capacity of more than 130,000 watts and a battery storage facility of more than 4,000 amp hours.
There?s a 30-gallon solar-powered heater in every two-person bungalow on the flawless beach. In the kitchen there are two similarly powered 50-gallon heaters.
Waste is treated and broken down into useable organic peat. Waste water from sinks, laundry and showers is filtered through sand and rocks. Only biodegradable phosphorous-free soaps are used.
Each building at the resort is elevated for better cooling and to minimize impact upon the land. Guest quarters feature wraparound porches, high-pitched ceilings, white reflective roofs and open designs to maximize airflow. Bungalows are wood-framed buildings made of non-toxic treated pine, harvested from sustainable forests.
The Hartmans also organize and take part in trash clean-up projects and educational programmes in local schools about reef and fish protection, ecotourism, clean community projects and turtle and iguana protection.
Atlantis and ecotourism
Large resorts are also doing everything they can to lower their impact upon the environment. Atlantis, the huge resort on Paradise Island, ensures that its operations are as environmentally friendly as possible, while at the same time insuring that guests are comfortable.
Kevan Dean, energy conservation manager at Atlantis, says the resort employs many energy-saving methods in its daily operations.
For example, a sophisticated computer system constantly monitors air conditioning in the guest rooms. Guests adjust the thermostat to their personal comfort levels. However, sensors detect when guests leave the room and air conditioning is then adjusted automatically.
Energy-efficient lighting is also used at Atlantis. Throughout the resort, traditional incandescent lighting has been replaced by CFL (compact fluorescent lamps), which consume a fraction of the energy. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) have also replaced incandescent and fluorescent lights in public areas, such as the outdoor gardens and the waterfall area.
The resort has also explored using solar power to conserve energy, but has deferred these plans for now. Dean explains that using the current solar power technology on large buildings would not only increase the cost of power but solar panels would be risky in strong wind storms. ?During hurricane season, the panels would become projectiles,? he said.
In addition to energy conservation, Atlantis also maintains a recycling programme. All aluminum beverage cans are recycled and proceeds are donated to local charities. Lawn and landscaping materials are also recycled. The bulk of solid waste generated by Atlantis comes from food wastes, followed by paper and paper products.
Dean explains that to compost large quantities of food waste requires specialized equipment, and that will be considered in the future, but he doesn?t expect the resort to compost waste in-house. ?Atlantis prefers to partner waste recycling with existing businesses,? he says.
In another environmental effort, Atlantis collects up to 1,000 quarts of used motor oil every month and this is turned over to ECL, a local company that cleans and filters oil for the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, which uses it as fuel for power generation.
Dean and Atlantis constantly search for more efficiency. ?But the easy things are already done,? he says. ?There?s more to be found and we?re looking.?
CO2 and rum-making
Bacardi not only manufactures its world-famous rum in The Bahamas, it plays a major role in recycling carbon dioxide, a naturally-occurring by-product of the plant?s distillation process.
?During the 24-hour fermentation period, both alcohol and carbon dioxide are generated,? says Charles Farquharson, Bacardi vice president of operations. ?The carbon dioxide is collected, purified and sold to the local soft drink industry.?
Before 1994, the plant vented its carbon dioxide into the air, where it?s mixed with other atmospheric gases.
?Carbon dioxide is a well-known and common greenhouse gas and is said to be one of the principal contributors to global warming,? says Farquharson. ?We?re very pleased that we no longer discharge it into the atmosphere. And now we are providing it to local businesses that otherwise would have to import it.?
Bacardi currently produces some 4.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide a year. They are the only Bahamian producer and they meet the country?s entire need for the gas. Most of the demand comes from local soft drink bottlers.
The recapture process is relatively simple. Fermentation takes place in large airtight containers. The carbon dioxide is whisked away through pipes to a processing facility. There, it is filtered and purified.
Clinton Rolle, Bacardi?s assistant superintendent of distillery, says the gas is forced into high-pressure storage tanks, which are maintained at about 250 pounds per square inch.
Farquharson describes the process as a ?win-win? situation for Bacardi, the soft-drink industry and the environment.
?Bacardi believes that proper environmental management is simply good business practice and it is an essential part of day-to-day operations for our company,? he says. ?Our track record is exemplary and our standards are high.?
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