I love earth”— that’s a direct and bold statement. It’s been heard too many times since “sustainability” became a buzzword years ago. But Newport World Resorts (NWR) takes their commitment to saving the planet very seriously. You can actually count the ways they do this.
Five hotels — namely, Marriott Hotel Manila, Sheraton Manila Hotel, Hilton Manila, Hotel Okura Manila and Holiday Inn Express Manila — all located within NWR, have always been committed to sustainability, each with its own initiatives.
However, after the pandemic passed, NWR upped the sustainability ante by consolidating and integrating the different hotels’ projects into one program called “I Love Earth (ILE).”
NWR president and CEO Kingson Sian recalls how the program came about: “Recent developments have made us more keenly aware not just of climate change, but of the broader issue of environmental degradation. During the pandemic, for instance, the problem of waste was aggravated by the increased demand for PPEs and single-use plastic packaging. Studies have shown that as of 2021, more than eight million tons of pandemic-associated plastic waste have been generated globally, with more than 25,000 tons ending up in our oceans. This realization prompted our decision to scale up our efforts to help protect the environment. As a company, we have been carrying out our sustainability initiatives for the last 13 years, and our hotels have been implementing their own programs under their respective brands. We created the ‘I Love Earth’ program to integrate and harmonize these programs, and set common goals.“
Consolidation of the individual programs of the hotels will, indeed, make more of an environmental impact.
“The hospitality industry is one of the most resource-hungry, and biggest waste-generating sectors in the world. We consume a lot of resources, and produce large amounts of waste to maintain that level of service to our guests. For example, the entire Newport World Resorts complex consumes more power and water than all the households in San Juan City, Metro Manila. Scale that over the industry, and the environmental impact is really tremendous,” Sian shares.
These facts are quite surprising and, yes, concerning. Based on this alone, one can understand why the ILE program is very important. In order to see the results of their efforts, they have established the I Love Earth Green Council chaired by Marriott Manila’s Bruce Winton. They’ve set smart goals which are reported and measured monthly. “As we like to say, what gets measured gets done, and what gets reported gets done faster,” says Sian.
The future looks bright for ILE. “Our vision for I Love Earth is to ‘repurpose’ the world through sustainable living. Repurposing is one of those buzzwords that we associate with environmentalism, but for us, it has a deeper meaning. It’s not just about repurposing materials we would otherwise discard, but about rethinking the way we treat our world, and the way we operate our businesses. I Love Earth is a declaration, a state of mind and a commitment that we want everyone to embrace. Sustainability begins with oneself, and should come from the heart,” Sian adds.
Sian’s favorite of their initiatives is the urban farm. “A subset of sustainable living is healthy living. To me, it’s important that we embrace the idea of healthy living, so that with a healthy body and mind we can focus on helping the planet. When your health is threatened, the planet takes a backseat. Therefore the concept of healthy living goes hand in hand with sustainability. If you eat clean, you cut harmful chemicals from your body and the environment to some degree. One big step in that effort is what we eat. Our Urban Farm shows we can do it. We produce healthy food that we consume, guests and employees alike.”
Sian’s sustainability beliefs seep into his personal life. “I’m a minimalist. I don’t over-consume. It’s about being conscious about what you’re taking from the planet. Most of our resources are finite, so I try to lead a more minimalist lifestyle. There are also small steps that we can take to contribute to the preservation of our planet. For example, as much as possible, I don’t use or consume anything that comes in plastic products. I use a reusable water bottle. I don’t take food out because that means I have to use containers. These things form habits.”
After checking out their many projects, here are some of my favorite ILE initiatives that are quite interesting and even fun.
• I Love Earth Urban Farm. NWR, through Manila Marriott Hotel, partnered with Malaysian agri-tech company BoomGrow to install a self-contained machine farm within its premises. This farm-to-table system grows high-value vegetables served in their restaurants, which uses 95 percent less land, 95 percent less water and 95 percent less fuel.
They also have hydroponic gardens in partnership with local firm Urban Greens. Sheraton Manila Hotel and Hilton Manila have their own on-site mini-farms that enable them to serve fresh and sustainable vegetables in their food outlets. There are also vertical edible gardens at Hilton Manila, and a vanilla farm located at Sheraton Manila’s rooftop.
• Reform, reduce, recycle, repurpose. The goal is to create a circular economy by creatively engaging in forms of recycling. The dumping of plastic waste is a global environmental problem. To minimize this, NWR hotel brands have converted its miniature plastic bathroom bottles and packaging into bulk-sized dispensers. They have also eliminated plastic water bottles in the hotels. Instead, they have reusable glass bottled water. This one I really like — there is such a thing as sustainable uniforms made from plastic bottles. Casino uniforms are made from a blend of regular fabric and post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Amazing!
Linens are also repurposed. Discarded linens are made into other usable items like pajamas, kitchen towels, and even decorations. Restaurants have shifted to the more eco-friendly biodegradable packaging for takeaway items.
• Food waste reduction. Another initiative is the reduction of food waste, and some ways of doing that is by converting watermelon rinds into candies, pineapple peels into organic cleaning solutions, and other food waste into compost. Collective efforts to reduce food wastage in daily operations is measured through a “WasteMoMeter” counter. Furthermore, they have a Size is Right program at Marriott Manila.
• Greenfluencers. For sustainability, awareness is key. NWR appoints employee sustainability ambassadors who participate in various activities to raise awareness about the company’s sustainability efforts.
• Renewable energy. Renewable energy is the way to go. By 2025, Newport World Resorts will be powered 100 percent by renewable energy, 25 percent of which will be generated onsite using over 9,000 solar panels. When you think about it, that’s pretty soon and will be an impressive feat.
Kingson Sian passionately declares that “we have no Planet B. If we fail to take care of this one, we have no other options, and it’s our children, and our children’s children, who will ultimately suffer the consequences. We are already seeing the signs of the bleak future that we face with climate change and the destruction of our natural environment. We have to act now.”