PASSION FOR SUSTAINABILITY
KARISMA HOTELS & RESORTS:
ORIGINAL SITUATION
Strengthening Sustainability in the supply chain
Since 2012, Karisma Hotels & Resorts has developed a sustainable management system that brings together aspects of different issues, such as ways to manage waste, water, energy, flora and fauna, and guest information, to name a few. The group’s properties have received various certifications, the most important of which are Travelife, Rainforest Alliance and, recently, EarthCheck.
After the Amazon, the Selva Maya is the largest tropical rainforest left on our continent; it is a refuge for very important species of flora and fauna, including the jaguar (and other endangered species). It is home to a Mayan culture that, despite being recognized for the beauty of its Archeological Zones, continues to be more alive than ever in its traditions, customs and day-to-day life.
with low production capacities. In addition, during this project, we also discovered that the tourism sector is often unaware that these products exist, and when we are able to align supply and demand strategies, we have seen some very positive results. One of the action we used to the way to close the gaps in marketing local products was documenting success stories, identifying the challenges these projects faced and the way they overcame them.
One of the group’s hotels, Hotel El Dorado Royale, has a 1-hectare hydroponics greenhouse, where they grow several types of vegetables and aromatic herbs, like tomatoes, chili peppers, mint and cilantro. Their produce supplies approximately 20% of the demand of the region’s hotels. It should be noted that the Greenhouse is certified by the Rainforest Alliance and is the only one in the coastal area certified by this organization.
This is the case of Karisma Hotel & Resorts. The company has worked arduously developing policies, standards and actions focused on promoting sustainable consumption of local products, working hand-in-hand with its value chain to ensure it. The data presented in this document has been collected through information obtained in documentaries and interviews of key stakeholders and was documented by the Sustentur team in June of this year.
The hotel chain has a history of sustainability and continuous improvement, the sustainability certification processes have led the group to work on diverse projects related to improving their processes, implementing systems, prohibiting the use of plastics and changing equipment to increase energy efficiency, amongst a few. Currently they are putting substantial efforts into responsible purchasing and developing sustainability in their value chain.
A major productive activity in the Selva Maya is tourism. About 23 million tourist visit Quintana Roo every year, and although many of them go to the northern part of the state and stay at beach resorts, it’s the rainforest that supplies them with the resources they need to have the vacation of a lifetime, even if they sometimes don’t realize it. However, consumption of local products by the tourism sector in Quintana Roo is still low. One of the reasons for this is, the local communities cannot cover demand
SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS AUGUST – DECEMBER 2020 AUGUST 30TH
SEPTEMBER 21ST
SEPTEMBER 22ND
SEPTEMBER 23RD
SEPTEMBER 27TH
International Whale Shark Day
International Beach cleanup Day (3 Saturdays)
World Car- Free Day
International sign language Day
World tourism Day/ National Environmental Awareness Day
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