The internationally recognised Green Globe Certification for environmental sustainability involves an intense journey of working through 44 core environmental criteria and up to 380 compliance indicators, depending on the destination.
Salil Panigrahi, the Founder and Managing Director of Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, says, “Sustainability is at the heart of our business and the experience we offer. Our guests are increasingly looking at eco-friendly travel, and we as a company are equally invested in sustainable operations that reduce our environmental footprint. We implement initiatives and action plans in all our resorts to optimise energy and water use, as well as effectively manage waste.”
Atmosphere Group is among the leading hospitality companies having largest solar power generation capacity in the Maldives. They have an extensive solar power installation, with 6274 solar panels across resorts, boasting of a total capacity of 2.17 MW. Their Floating Solar Installation at OZEN LIFE MAADHOO is the largest in the destination. The company sources 10 per cent of its total energy from solar – effectively reducing carbon emissions by about 2000 tons per year. With several ongoing solar projects nearing completion, the Atmosphere Group is all set to become the company with largest production capacity in Maldives for solar energy generation soon.
Energy efficiency is built into all levels of operations at the Atmosphere resorts. LED lights are installed in indoor and outdoor areas with timers for optimised energy usage. Villas feature inverter technology air conditioning, and majority are fitted with efficient key-card based energy management systems.
Most of the hot water demand (80 per cent) is catered from renewable resources, such as waste heat from gensets (via heat exchange) or solar heaters. Battery-operated vehicles and bicycles are used for transport on the island, to reduce the environmental impact.
All resorts use twin chamber incinerators for effective combustion of waste with minimal environmental impact. And, the use of state-of-the-art compactors and bottle crushers reduces the waste to minimum prior to organised disposal. Equal importance is placed on disposing wastewater responsibly, with an inhouse water treatment plant. The treated wastewater is reused for irrigation and gardening, in an energy-efficient process.
Staying strong to its sustainable luxury ethos, the company has implemented a host of green initiatives in resort operations. The potable water comes from an in-house saltwater desalination plant and drinking quality water is sourced through on-site water bottling plants, served in the attractive reusable glass water bottles. This initiative significantly reduces plastic waste – the company avoids the disposal of more than 100,000 plastic water bottles from each resort per year.
In addition, sustainable practices are found across the resorts. For example, only bio-degradable chemicals are used for cleaning in the villas, laundry, kitchens, and other operational areas. Guests will find plastic-based amenities replaced with biodegradable alternatives – from bamboo toothbrushes to paper straws. Even the miniature toiletry bottles are replaced with larger, pump-topped bottles in all the villas.