Shangri-la’s Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa has become Oman’s first hotel to be awarded the prestigious Management System ISO 14001 certification.
The certification marks an important milestone in the resort’s efforts and commitment towards environmental protection.
ISO 14001 is a series of voluntary standards covering various aspects of environmental management and procedures which address environmental, or ‘green’, issues including energy and water consumption and solid and wastewater disposal.
Since its launch in February 2006, the resort has been pro-active in instituting green initiatives and its environmental policy focuses on five core elements – commitment, prevention, compliance, communication and continuous improvement – which have helped it to meet rigorous international standards.
General manager, Arbind Shrestha, said: “It is a great accolade for us to achieve this important award and we are delighted to be the first hotel in Oman to reach this certification. It reinforces our ongoing commitment to environmental management as we all strive to contribute to the conservation of the environment in the community where we conduct our business.”
Participating in the recently held global ‘Earth Hour’ switch off, the resort held a number of activities to mark the event, which included the switching off of all the main non-essential lighting and electrical equipment.
The resultant saving of power consumption of some 1,200,000 watts of electricity, over the 60-minute period, is the equivalent of 1,000 days of continual use of a 50 watt LCD television, or having a 60 watt light bulb switched on continuously.