In August 2018, Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort in Aruba became the Caribbean's first – and still the only – hotel to achieve carbon neutral certification. And to go one step further, Bucuti & Tara's team has strengthened its sustainability pledge by venturing beyond carbon neutral to the goal of carbon negative.
Major leaps include installing the island’s largest private sector solar panel system, decreasing waste stream-to-landfill by 62% while increasing occupancy to 98.5% in the first year of net zero auditing, installing double-paned, insulated air-filled or film-coated windows, and converting from an air-conditioning/chiller system to a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) cooling system. For the past two decades, it banned single-use plastics and Styrofoam on the resort, a move Aruba implemented island-wide in 2020.
This is a success story of a small company that has achieved environmental preservation that is highly scalable for even large business.
Key facts
- A photovoltaic solar panel 173KW system provides 15% of energy needs. Combined with 25% island-sourced energy produced by wind turbines and solar panels, the resort runs on 40% clean energy.
- 62% of waste is diverted from landfill by donating all food waste to pig farmers, recycling glass and cardboard, repurposing/donating linen/towels.
- In 2018-19, it worked with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to further reduce total food waste up to 30%. Bucuti prohibited single-use plastics and Styrofoam 20 years ago.
- The resort is working towards being 100% paperless by the end of 2020.
The challenge
Located in the Caribbean, Aruba, along with every other small island, is on the front lines of the climate crisis. Its miles of coastline, barely above sea level land mass and tropical climate make it extremely vulnerable to global warming. Despite being on the widest swathe of Eagle Beach, Owner/CEO Ewald Biemans says unless there is a reversal of climate change, 20-30 years from now guests will have to snorkel to see today’s pristine white sand beach.
The solution
For 32 years, Bucuti & Tara has conscientiously striven to become a responsible steward of the environment – long before it became mainstream. It believes in the structure provided by certifications and actively pursues them for operating sustainably. In the seven years leading up to being certified carbon neutral/net zero in August 2018, it made major leaps from the past days of switching to LED lighting and reusing linens. It began by embarking on the path to LEED certification. While it's easier to build to LEED standards, it is much more extensive to retrofit an existing operation. It achieved LEED Silver in 2015 and LEED Gold in 2020.
Perhaps a most compelling example of the significance of these eco-certifications unexpectedly came with the arrival of the COVID19 pandemic. By utilizing eco-certifications as guidelines, Bucuti & Tara already had in place a favorable foundation of high standards of operating in harmony with the environment. With this approach as a cornerstone, Bucuti was able to nimble at implementing hospital-grade, high-tech protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of turning to quick solutions involving harsh cleaning chemicals that could harm both humans and the environment, the resort had the knowledge base required to research and create smart solutions that keep all guests and staff safe without bypassing its promise to sustainability. The result is now the Caribbean’s safest, healthiest vacation experience.
Helping the planet
While there are elements of cost savings, Bucuti does not view sustainability or being net zero as a cost-cutting measure, rather, it is truly about self-preservation. Resort owner and CEO Ewald Biemans is known for saying, "Tourism is not the pillar of our economy, nature is. As without our unspoiled nature there is no tourism." The entire environmental program is designed to protect the planet, minimize Bucuti's impact on the world, mitigate global warming and preserve Aruba's pristine nature.
Helping people
Climate change action is embedded throughout the entire resort experience. Bucuti knew the only way to make lasting change was to include everyone, after all, everyone bears responsibility for contributing to climate change, so it will take everyone to solve it. The key was creating a carefully curated culture within its staff, partners and guests who understood and accepted their responsibility to help reach carbon neutral and now endeavoring to carbon negativity.
Achieving this goal transcends property lines. Having solid relationships with the community and government was and continues to be instrumental. Bucuti staffs a full-time sustainability manager and has a Green Team. All 125 resort staff members are trained in providing an energy smart, sustainable vacation experience. They receive routine staff communications, ongoing training, and sign a commitment to work sustainably. In Aruba, 90% of its GDP is from tourism. Bucuti's eco-leaders routinely host on-island seminars to teach practices within the local community, dignitaries from other countries, college researchers and their students.
Spillover effect
The initiatives leading to Bucuti's achievement of net zero - and now towards carbon negativity - are all scalable. Any establishment, small or large, can implement these actions in being responsible - and successful - stewards of the environment.
In the spirit of think globally, act locally, Bucuti & Tara sustainability success as a small hotel on the tiny island of Aruba evolved into regional best practices and ultimately led to becoming a global leader.
Bucuti & Tara’s island home of Aruba has its own goal of running solely on sustainable energy by 2030. This makes for highly favorable social and political conditions. Aruba is proud of Bucuti’s net zero status holding it as a beacon for the world to see that a small resort on a small island can have a big impact. Ewald Biemans’ long crusade for responsible tourism continues influencing the government and private sector in implementing green practices. As Tripadvisor’s No. 1 Hotel in the Caribbean and the Caribbean’s most eco-certified hotel, Bucuti & Tara proves that a memorable vacation experience and sustainability can be mutually inclusive.
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