Sustainable Business Magazine 5/21 by Sustainable Business Magazine

SUSTAINABLE ISSUE 05.21 06/19

B U S I N E S S

M A G A Z I N E

YUKON TRAVEL GUIDE

FLOW MONTSERRAT FLOW TURKS & CAICOS

GRENADA TRAVEL GUIDE

SURINAM AIRWAYS

SOLAR BUZZ VIRGIN HYPERLOOP GREEN SPORTS ALLIANCE ALSO FEATURED THIS ISSUE DGM FINANCIAL GROUP • EAUC

S U S TA I N I N G T O M O R R O W. T O D AY

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

When time matters, Cairsea delivers with reliability, precision and a personal touch.

Fastest customs brokerage, freight handling & delivery services throughout Turks & Caicos. Secured in our bonded warehouse, your shipments are treated with the utmost of care. Owned & operated by island belongers for more than 38 years.

Tel: 649.946.4205 29 Old Airport Road

2 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| |

Fax 649.946.4504 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

cairsea.com shipping@cairsea.com

SUSTAINABLE

B U S I N E S S

M A G A Z I N E

Sustainable Business Magazine is committed to promoting sustainable printing. This magazine is printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified material and manufactured using environmentally sustainable procedures. All lithographic printer inks used are vegetable-based.

SBM Media Ltd - 94B St Benedicts Street Adam & Eve Yard, Norwich NR2 4AB United Kingdom • T: +44 (0) 1603 299 124 Email: info@sustainablebusinessmagazine.net www.sustainablebusinessmagazine.net

Editor:

George Newell

Assistant Editor:

Daniel Baksi

Profile Writers:

Elizabeth Cope

Poppy Johnson

Projects Manager:

Helen Stoneley

Sales Director:

Jake Curtis

Sales Executive:

Shaun Peacock

Sales Executive:

Owen Curtis

Web Administrator: Ashley Hewitt Designer:

Welcome to the latest edition of Sustainable Business Magazine. At the time of writing the last introduction to Sustainable Business Magazine, the Delta variant of COVID-19 was sweeping its way across India, causing untold devastation. A few months on, and the picture has changed once again. Delta is no longer the preserve of a single country, or continent, but the dominant strain of coronavirus across the globe. Delta has been identified in more than 130 countries to-date, and no doubt goes undetected in many more. The UK, where Sustainable Business Magazine is based, has been amongst the most heavily affected, with new case numbers encroaching on 100,000 per day. Thankfully, substantial progress in the vaccination program spared the nation from the worst. At some stage, the time will come for the world to take pause and reflect on the events of the last year and a half. However, it is the burden of any rapidly evolving situation that it is impossible to pry our eyes from what is yet to come. Not in the absence of the virus, but despite its much-felt presence, the fingerprints of normality are starting to re-appear. This summer has been one of large-scale event, albeit primarily in the absence of crowds. In June, people amassed around television screens across Europe and South America to cheer on their respective national football teams in the Euros and Copa America. A month later, the Olympics finally arrived in Tokyo, a year later than planned, the first delay in its long and prestigious history. A year ago, the thought that any nation might soon stage a full Olympics schedule seemed unimaginable. That this has come to pass demonstrates once again that we should never underestimate human potential. It is a similar feeling that governs this month’s issue of Sustainable Business Magazine, as we pvublish our first follow-up to the Collision 2021 Conference: an interview with Josh Giegel, co-founder of Virgin Hyperloop – an altogether new mode of transport that is surely set to transform lives in the decades to come. Lingering in North America, we are excited to include two diverse but complementary travel guides in this month’s edition: a guide to the picturesque subarctic Canadian territory of the Yukon, and a guide to the Caribbean island of Grenada. Accompanying these, an interview with Roger McClendon launches our series with the revolutionary Green Sports Alliance, and we continue to push forward our ongoing partnership with FLOW, covering their operations across both Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Across the pond, our series with EAUC kicks off this issue, highlighting the fantastic work of universities and colleges throughout the UK to realize a sustainable future. We hope you find this issue interesting and inspiring. The Sustainable Business Magazine Team

Adam Knights

CONTENTS ISSUE 05/21 04

Interview - EAUC

08 Interview - Virgin Hyperloop 12 Travel Guide - Yukon 24 Interview - Green Sports Alliance 28 Interview - Flow Turks and Caicos 34 Interview - Flow Montserrat 38 Travel Guide - Grenada 54

Interview - Solar Buzz

Interview - DGM Financial Group

64 Interview - Surinam Airways 68 Advertisers Index

FRONT COVER COURTESY OF TIA YUKON PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

sustainablebusinessmagazine.net

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW: EAUC

TEACHING A GREEN FUTURE Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Fiona Goodwin, Director of Operations and Planning at EAUC, about embedding sustainability throughout its members’ operations, how universities and colleges can lead the fight against climate change, and preparing students for a rapidly changing world. 4 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

By Daniel Baksi Launched in 1996, the initial aim of the EAUC (the Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education) was to raise the profile of environmental management and to facilitate the improvement of sustainability performance across universities and colleges in the United Kingdom. Over the last decade, as awareness of the need to address environmental issues has increased throughout the further and higher education sector, EAUC has expanded considerably. Today, the organization consists of over 300 institutional members across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and beyond. GOOD BUSINESS “It’s our goal to make sustainability good business – not an add on, or a ‘nice to have’, but an essential element that every university and college needs to place at the heart of their strategies,” says Fiona Goodwin, Director of Operations and Planning at EAUC. “We support universities and colleges on their sustainability journey, providing resources, case studies of good practice, and offering the support to help them replicate that

success. To that end, we created the Climate Commission for Higher and Further Education – a unique partnership between sector bodies in the U.K., including the Association of Colleges, GuildHE, and Universities UK, helping to deliver the leadership so often lacking from government in terms of the role of universities and colleges in the climate crisis, and what they should be doing to play their part. Looking internationally, we also run an alliance with similar organizations around the world to share knowledge, promote the role of education, and bring voices together. It provides a platform to organizations already facing down the climate crisis – in low-lying or tropical countries – whose voices aren’t often heard. They’re institutions that for a number of reasons are already having to adapt and mitigate against damage, and they can offer a massive learning experience.” EAUC is also the Secretariat for the SDG Accord, an initiative for universities and colleges worldwide to embed the Sustainable Development Goals and establish collaborations worldwide. “The SDGs provide universities and colleges with a framework by which to examine their operations, teaching and research, and to embed sustainability across the board,” says Ms. Goodwin. “The Accord is a commitment learning institutions are making to one another to do more to deliver the goals, to annually report on each signatory’s progress – and it’s part of our role to present those metrics at the annual UN High Level Political Forum.” RACE TO ZERO As part of the SDG Accord, EAUC is also leading the Race to Zero campaign, a global initiative at a higher education and further education level aiming to mobilize leadership and support ahead of COP26 for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that creates jobs, unlocks sustainable growth, and reducSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW: EAUC

“WE HAVE NEARLY 700 INSTITUTIONS SIGNED UP, REPRESENTING NEARLY 8.5 MILLION STUDENTS ACROSS THE WORLD.”

es the risk of future shocks. “The EAUC is the secretariat for the Race to Zero campaign across universities and colleges,” explains Ms. Goodwin. “Through the campaign, we’re encouraging universities and colleges to take action to commit to the race to zero – to set challenging targets, to reduce and limit the emission of greenhouse gases, and to devise solid targets and plans on how that’s to be achieved. We have nearly 700 institutions signed up, representing nearly 8.5 million students across the world.” The COP26 summit is scheduled for November of this year, but the fight to

6 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

combat climate change doesn’t stop there. “It’s not up-to COP, it’s beyond COP,” says Ms. Goodwin. “We need to guarantee that the pledges and targets made this year are still being met in the future. We’re already working to do that through the Climate Commission for UK Further and Higher Education, and we’ve also developed two further key forms of support, including a Further Education Climate Action Roadmap designed specifically for further education or smaller educational institutions, and outlining a series of steps for how they achieve its targets. We also have a Higher

Education Climate Action Toolkit, another useful tool that encourages a comprehensive and holistic approach to sustainability. For any institution, it’s not just about your carbon targets – it’s about your leadership, governance, research, and your teaching, and how you engage with your staff and your students.” COMMUNITY ANCHORS As part of its leadership and advocacy functions, EAUC works to ensure that their member institutions are recognized for their contributions to the community. “We need to ensure that universities and colleges are not only heard, but are perceived as anchors within their communities, bringing about real and lasting change,” says Ms. Goodwin. “The recent pandemic has underlined the value of science and research, when we think about which organizations are advising the governments of the world on pressing issues. The climate crisis demands nothing less. Within universities and colleges across the world, we have to find the scientists and experts who have the

knowledge, who understand what’s happening and what it’s possible for us to do – and we need to listen to them.” EAUC recently hosted their International Green Gown Awards 2021, at which the winners of the Sustainable Institution of the Year Awards were Keele University in the Large Institution category and Polytech Montpellier in the Small Institution category. “The awards represent sustainability in the widest sense,” says Ms. Goodwin. “So many different universities are doing so many different things: promoting the green transition, improving access, achieving equality, and expanding diversity. We had one application that looked at supporting refugees, giving them life skills on how to adapt into the new communities in which they find themselves. Another provides teachers and parents with the skills and tools to help encourage girls get more involved in sport. The awards bring together all of those excellent examples – giving universities and colleges a voice to shout

about their work, and providing a showcase for products, projects and ideas, which can then be implemented across an ever-broader range of institutions. Most inspiring of all, our applicants aren’t just big universities with ample resources – they’re small institutions in rural Mexico, in Brazil or Malaysia, all of whom are doing such innovative and groundbreaking work, and really making a difference in their local communities.” A LEARNING PROCESS “Within universities and colleges specifically, there’s a real, pipeline of issues that we have to tackle,” says Ms. Goodwin. “This is a pivotal year in terms of ensuring countries and governments take climate change seriously. The pandemic has been traumatic and devastating across the world, but we have to learn from it. We’ve been given a time to reset, to reflect on what our car-crash future was going to be, and to now decide what we can do avoid that. In

the UK, we’re seeing change with the Build Back Better program, but it’s important that we’re able to see complete plans with a clear governmental direction.” “We have to make sure that our teachers, academics, lecturers, and researchers have the experience and knowledge they need to be able to pass that on to students, starting at the very beginning of pupil learning, from primary school through all levels of education,” says Ms. Goodwin. “This isn’t just a topic for geography or environmental studies students. This is for everyone: for the engineers, for politics students, for art students. It cuts across all disciplines, and it has to be embedded throughout. The leaders of tomorrow come from our universities and our colleges, and we have to make sure they’re fit for purpose and equipped with the capabilities to solve these real life, worldwide issues. We’re facing a changing future, so it’s vital that we transform our way of working – both as a society, and as individuals.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW: VIRGIN HYPERLOOP

THE DECADE OF

HYPERLOOP

8 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

By Daniel Baksi As part of the Collision 2021 conference, Sustainable Business Magazine spoke to Josh Giegel, Co-Founder of Virgin Hyperloop, about design simplicity, the importance of safety, and Hyperloop’s revolutionary potential. In 2013, when Elon Musk and SpaceX issued a white paper about “a new form of transport”, Josh Giegel was listening. Known as “Hyperloop Alpha”, the paper proposed the construction a series of sealed tubes with low air pressure, designed to transport people and objects at the speeds of a modern aeroplane. Then part of the writing crew at Space X, Mr. Giegel launched his own company the following year under the name Hyperloop Technologies. Its goal was to achieve something than no one had thought possible: reinventing a concept that had remained relatively untouched for the past 100 years. Fast forward to 2021, the company has rebranded as Virgin Hyperloop, and is now working to bring the concept to its full potential. “Our goal is to build a paradigm

shifting transportation system,” says Mr. Giegel. “We want something seamless for the end user, that moves at high speed, reduces the transit time very substantially for passengers, or for cargo, to get wherever they need to go – and to do that using technology from this century.” DUMB ROADS Underpinning Hyperloop is a concept grounded in simplicity. “What we’re proposing is a smart car and a dumb road,” says Mr. Giegel. “The premise is that a Model T from 100 years ago could drive on the same road as a Model 3 today. When building infrastructure, you need to be able to create a system that’s still relevant 40, 50, even 100 years from now.” “To achieve that, we’re focussing on a simple tube, from which most of the air has been taken out,” explains Mr. Giegel. “That allows us to travel at the equivalent of roughly 50 kilometres of altitude – or the speed of an aircraft – for roughly 10 times less drag. Inside the tube, we’ll then have vehicles in the form of pods which can be upgraded over time, leveraging battery improvements as they develop year over year. We’ll form these pods into convoys, resembling a train car, but without mechanical coupling. The end experience we want for our passengers we want them to show SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW: VIRGIN HYPERLOOP

up to a portal – which is what we’re calling station – waiting no more than a couple of minutes for a pod, which will close, before travelling directly to your destination at high speed, rather than stopping at each place along the route.” BENDING THE RULES Sustainability sits at the heart of the Virgin Hyperloop project. “The engineer’s responsibility is to give people new ideas, opportunities, and forms of connectivity that let people live the way they want to live, but in a way that doesn’t destroy the world around them,” says Mr. Giegel. “That’s the huge push we’re now seeing in the post-COVID era. It’s about building new infrastructure in the US, it’s ‘building back better’ in Europe. We can’t achieve that with the status quo, and we need a technology that doesn’t regress in the way we’ve recently seen in Europe, with the introduction of a short-haul ban on flights – which for all its nobility, is putting people onto a service that’s more inconvenient. In the case of Hyperloop, we’ll be combining the low air resistance offered by the tube with two more key pieces of technology: our own battery-powered maglev, which is roughly 10 times more energy efficient than other systems available today, and our own propulsion system, capable of speeds two-to-three times that of highspeed rail, at double the efficiency.” Armed with these innovations, Hyperloop threats to rip-up the rule book when it comes to mass transportation. “The Japanese Shinkansen moves between Tokyo and Nagoya something on the order of about 500 kilometres an hour,” says Mr. Giegel. “We can go even faster if we wish, but we 10 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

can match those speeds easily, for a fraction of the energy. Right now, Kansas City and St. Louis – two-to-three million person cities – are about a three and a half hour car drive car ride apart. Hyperloop would do that in about 30 minutes, faster than you could get across uptown Manhattan. In places like the Middle East, just by covering the tops of the tube with solar panels, you can create a form of a renewable-powered transportation, moving about 45 million passengers a year. Hyperloop also takes up less right-of-way, climbs steeper hills, and can take tighter turns, all inside of an enclosed environment, safe from weather, turbulence, or other vehicles crossing people. Looking at the full package, all these benefits are really driving quite the value proposition for projects and cities around the world as they try to hit their their net zero targets.” SAFETY FIRST In November of last year, Virgin Hyperloop celebrated it’s first passenger-in-a-pod test. “People understand that Hyperloop is a good concept, but the main question on most people’s minds has always been:

is it safe?” says Mr. Giegel. “With that in mind, the pod test was a really big thing – because two people got on a Hyperloop, and then two people got off. Since we were able to demonstrate that, we’ve since seen far fewer questions about the safety of the system.” “We’re in the process of commercialising the technology now, and getting the economics right,” says Mr. Giegel. “Back in January, we released the passenger experience video to showcase the new kind of user experience so to speak of what the system would be like. The two passenger vehicle used in the pod-test will be expanded to a 28-passenger vehicle ahead pilot developments between 2024 and 2026. We’ll then move into more commercial projects towards the latter part of this decade. When we go to put Hyperloop into the world, we would be the technology provider, and then you’d have the person that’s actually building the project – the government or the private entity – along with a third party assessor, whose role it is to evaluate the system technically, and to make sure it’s safe. Slowly, we’re

“WE’RE SEEING THIS SMALL IDEA BECOMING INFLUENTIAL – WITH GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD STARTING TO TAKE NOTICE, WITH MORE PROJECTS AROUND THE WORLD.”

seeing this small idea becoming influential – with governments around the world starting to take notice, with more projects around the world.” ROMAN ROADS Just like the plane, train, or automobile before it, Hyperloop promises to revolutionise lives across the globe. “As a species, humans have moved forward as they’ve moved faster,” says Mr. Giegel. “Whether it’s Roman roads, or Spanish ships, every time we’ve become more connected there’s been an explosion of economic growth and idea flow. We saw a version of that with the internet become connected, but we’re still missing that next leap in transportation. Moving forward, what we envisage is a new platform that produces new possibilities. We didn’t know Uber would exist without the smartphone, and we have a similar type opportunity here:

when you’re building a platform of high speed connectivity, where I could get goods or people anywhere at the speed of thought, what is that going to enable?” “Today, you can see tens of billions being invested in things like the One Belt, One Road initiative, now stretching from Asia to Europe,” says Mr. Giegel. “That investment is increasing the average speed on that route by maybe 30 or 40 kilometres per hour. But, to use the proverbial phrase, we can ‘10x’ that with our type of system. Instead of taking four to six weeks on a boat, or a couple of weeks on a train, you’re doing that in a day. If you’re in Europe or in the US, you can do same-day shipping from logistics hubs, you can move people back and forth, you could have breakfast in Kansas City, lunch in St. Louis. We’re on the precipice of an autonomous electric world, where you’re tied into both first and last mile. Whenever you

want to go somewhere you’ll have a seamless experiences, that’s potentially a matter of just getting your phone out and tapping wherever you want to go. This is the decade of Hyperloop: it started off with myself and a colleague – by the end, we want hundreds of millions of people riding on multiple Hyperloops around the world.” c

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 11

TRAVEL GUIDE: THE YUKON

ABOVE AND

BEYOND

12 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

By Elizabeth Cope

WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL YUKON TRAVEL GUIDE, A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF THE YUKON AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE. Few places in the world have as much space occupied by so few people as the Yukon. With a name derived from the famous Yukon River, the region is home to a population of approximately 40,000, occupying an area the size of California. For visitors to the Yukon, it is a vast and mysterious location, offering adventure, exploration, and an unparalleled opportunity to immerse yourself in the enormity of the natural world. Here at the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon (TIA Yukon), we’ve served for almost 50 years as the Yukon’s visitor industry association, tasked with influencing, promoting and assisting the development of tourism in the region. Tourism accounts for five percent of GDP in the Yukon, the equivalent of half-a-billion dollars annually. Turning the clock back when COVID-19 took control of the industry in March 2020, we knew we had to protect it. Our industry is made up of around 400 individual tourism businesses, losing any one of which would have a compounding effect. With that in mind, TIA Yukon sounded the alarm to the Yukon Government on March 11, 2020, the same day that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared a pandemic. At the time we anticipated heavy losses for the summer of 2020, but could never envisage the full scale of the disruption.

wilderness The Yukon Government recently announced that the territory would allow fully vaccinated Canadians to travel to the territory without the need of quarantining for 14 days. As vaccinations continue to roll out across the globe and travel restrictions loosen, our industry looks forward to the return of visitors coming to experience everything that the Yukon has to offer! The Yukon is more than a destination, it’s a feeling that comes with the realization of just how profound and impactful the natural world can be. When visitors are out cross-country skiing, and it’s just you and the wildlife, you can hear the snow as it’s hitting the ground. That’s a magical feeling, and one that only a handful of people get to experience. Yukoners are passionate innovators. As part of the Singletrack to Success (S2S) initiative, a group of indigenous youths has repurposed old mining trails into world-class mountain bike trails. It’s just one example of how Yukoners continue to drive the desire for positive change through community development.

The Yukon’s First Nations communities are integral to our region and to the Yukon’s tourism industry. Indigenous Peoples have lived here for thousands of years; they have developed vibrant cultures and volumes of rich stories during that time. But they have also seen their lives disrupted and traditional lands heavily impacted by human activity. The Gold Rush of 1898 remains an important event, but recently more focus is being devoted to consider the consequences that the mass numbers of people had on the environment, culture, and history over the last 125 years. Our role now is to acknowledge that history and to learn from it. In 2018, after close consultation with communities throughout the region, the Yukon Government developed the Yukon Tourism Development Strategy – a strategy to which TIA Yukon contributed and that it wholeheartedly endorses. At its core is a commitment to sustainability, laying out the next 10 years of tourism growth and destination management. Tourism should always give more than it takes when it comes to a destination and the people who call it home. By educating visitors about the Yukon we hope to help travelers to the territory create a long-lasting, positive connection to the land and its people.

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been working to make sure as many operators are protected as possible. We have gone above and beyond in adhering to global best practices, working with communities to understand their needs, and updating people about the safety protocols implemented across the industry. We are now preparing for the return of tourists, working to develop experiences that respond creatively to this unique situation, including alternative 14-day isolation plans in the SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 13

TRAVEL GUIDE: THE YUKON

YUKON KEY FACTS

WHERE TO START YOUR ADVENTURE

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

Largest City:

Whitehorse

Population:

42,507

Language(s):

English

Currency:

Canadian dollar (CAD)

Time zone:

UGMT-7

Dialling code:

+11-867

Tourist season:

All year

Annual visitors:

491,300 (2019)

Annual tourism earnings:

$400 million (2019)

Avg. temperature: Summer 85 °F (day), Winter 39 °F (day), Highest point:

Mount Logan 5,959 m (19,551 ft)

ACTIVITIES AND ATTRACTIONS IN YUKON Biking / Hiking

Fishing / Ice Fishing

McIntyre Creek

Takhini Hot Springs

Boating

Five Finger Rapids

Miles Canyon

Tatshenshini River

Caribou Crossing Trading Post

Golf

Mount Logan

Tombstone Territorial Park

Claim 33 Gold Panning

Horse riding

National Park

White Pass & Yukon Railway

Cross-country skiing trails

Hunting

Old Log Church Museum

Whitehorse Fishway

Dawson City

Icefields

Rafting

Wildlife Preserve

Dawson City Museum

Kayaking / Rafting

Rock Glacier Trail

Winterlong Brewing Co

Dog Sledding

Kluane National Park

Sign Post Forest

Yukon Brewing Company

Emerald Lake

Klukshu Lake

Skiing

Yukon River

Experience the Aurora Borealis

MacBride Museum

Snowmobiling

Yukon Transportation Museum

14 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Ivvavik National Park

KEY REGIONS Central

Vuntut National Park

Northern

Old Crow

Western

Richardson Mountains

South Eastern Ni’iinlii Njik Territorial Park Daadzaii Van Territorial Park

Low Hills – High Mountains Tombstone Territorial Park

Ogilvie Mountains

Dawson

Beaver Creek

Mayo

Mackenzie Mountains

Pelly Crossing

Selwyne Mountains

Kluane National Park

Carmacks

Faro

Mount Logan Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary

Halnes Junction Kusawa Territorial Park

Ross River

WHITEHORSE Pelly Mountains

Mount Lorne

Carcross

Tagish

Teslin

Upper Liard

Watson Lake

TRAVEL GUIDE: THE YUKON

WHAT TO DO IN...

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

CENTRAL TOMBSTONE TERRITORIAL PARK Experience more than two thousand square kilometers of protected wilderness and arctic tundra within Tombstone Territorial Park, otherwise known as “Ddhäl Ch’èl Cha Nän”, translating to “ragged mountain land”. The park sits within traditional Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in territory, serving as an ongoing legacy of the Land Claim Agreement. Stay in Dawson City or Eagle Plains for nearby hiking, and car and backcountry camping. Purchase your maps, camping permits and fishing licenses at the Tombstone Interpretive Centre, which also 16 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

has information boards detailing bear safety, recent wildlife sightings, and trail conditions. The Dempster Highway also runs throughout the park, giving visitors the opportunity to see diverse wildlife alongside the unique permafrost landforms.

Yukon experience when walking past historic buildings, along with First Nations exhibits and totem poles. Alternatively, visitors can stop off at the world’s smallest desert: Carcross Desert, a group of sand dunes measuring about one square mile!

TRAVERSE THE CARCROSS REGION Carcross is famous for being one of the oldest gold rush towns in the territory. Before that, however, the town was used by the Tagish and Tlingit First Nations peoples for centuries, so you’re sure to get an authentic

ALSO IN CENTRAL YUKON • Dog sledding is fun for the whole family at Carcross, Caribou Crossing Trading Post, and Marsh Lake. • Visit Lake Bennett to explore an abandoned, historic town.

NORTH YUKON ESCAPE TO IVVAVIK NATIONAL PARK If you really want to get away from it all, head to the remote Ivvavik National Park. Accessible by air or water, Ivvavik – a name translating to “nursery” in Inuvialuit – operates as protected grounds for Porcupine caribou calves, and permits only a few visitors each year. The first park in Canada established through a land claim settlement, Ivvavik’s biggest attraction is Firth River, known for its whitewater rafting, wildlife sightings, and archeological sites. This park isn’t for the faint-hearted; adventurers are recommended to be as independent as possible during their stay. DISCOVER DAWSON CITY Dawson owes its unique landscape to the remnants of the Beringia steppe that once stretched from Canada’s Mackenzie River in the east, to Russia’s Lena River in the west. Yukon’s capital between 1989 and 1953, today the city boasts a vibrant community, with a rich history shaped both by the First Nation peoples and the Gold Rush. Throw in a bustling art scene, and Dawson has

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

become a beacon for travelers, adventurers and writers alike. Visitors can partake in Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in events, including Indigenous People’s Day and the Moosehide Gathering. Be sure to spend an afternoon in the vegetarian and hand-made Alchemy Cafe, or try the infamous Sourtoe Cocktail. Don’t ingest the mummified human toe though, or you’ll get fined! ALSO IN NORTH YUKON • Explore traditions blended with modern technology at Old Crow, where a small village (most are Gwich’in) uses solar panels which harness 24 hours of daylight during summer. • Spend a day at the Ni’iinlii Njik (Fishing Branch) Territorial Park.

Best Airline – Canada

Discover the Yukon before you’ve even boarded your flight. We are proud to be 49% owned by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, who are leaders in sustainability and forward-thinking in the Yukon. It’s with that shared spirit that we invite you to experience the territory. With service from destinations in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario to Whitehorse and our authentic Yukon hospitality, you’ll wonder how a place you’ve never been could feel so much like home.

flyairnorth.com SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 17

TRAVEL GUIDE: THE YUKON

WEST YUKON WILDLIFE SPOTTING IN KLUANE NATIONAL PARK AND RESERVE With the world’s largest concentration of non-polar ice fields and Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak, you won’t want to miss the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is Kluane National Park and Reserve. Explore glaciers and trails, with the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Yukon’s 150 different bird species, along with grizzly bears and wolves! Dall sheep, mountain goats, caribou and black bears have also been spotted roaming the park. If you’re worried about getting lost in what is the largest internationally protected area on the planet, you can experience Kluane with the help of a park guide. Picnic and camping facilities are available at Kathleen Lake, operating from May to September. EXPERIENCE YUKON’S CAPITAL Choose from a range of activities in Whitehorse, Canada’s so-called Wilderness City, including mountain biking, hiking at Fish Lake Loop, and cross-country skiing trails. The city sits on the Yukon River at the base of Miles Canyon, offering visitors the chance to spot local wildlife, including Yukon moose, elk, mule deer, arctic foxes and lynx, to name a few. Fish and wild game being staples of the Yukon diet, head to Klondike Rib & Salmon or Deli Yukon to sample the local cuisine, or try LuLu’s, the small downtown food truck with its daily rotating menu. A highlight of Whitehorse is the city’s fantastic music scene – stop-off at the Dirty Northern or Miner’s Daughter before you leave!

a little paradise far away from any civilization

The famous Tincup Wilderness Lodge, Yukon Canada. Situated right on the shore of Tincup Lake close to the Kluane National Park in Canada’s Yukon Territory, surrounded by mile up upon mile of unspoiled natural landscape, Tincup Wilderness Lodge enjoys a truly unique location. The surrounding Ruby Range mountains provide views of breathtaking beauty from dawn to dusk. The Lodge can be reached only by floatplane or helicopter. In order to ensure our guests’ undisturbed privacy in a family environment, we limit bookings to a maximum of 8-10 guests per week. This level of occupancy also enables us to welcome groups, giving all members plenty of scope to pursue their various interests and activities (the Lodge can be booked exclusively too). Whether you actively engage in the various activities on offer (like fishing,hiking,canoeing,kajaking, SUPs), or simply spend your time relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet, your stay will be a truly unforgettable experience.

www.tincup-lodge.com

18 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

ALSO IN WEST YUKON • Go horse riding at the Sky High Wilderness Ranch and Fish Lake. • Learn more about the settling of The Yukon at the MacBride Museum. • Enjoy a swim in Takhini Hot Springs.

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

SOUTH EASTERN YUKON GO WILD CAMPING AT LAPIE CANYON Kayaking, canoeing, and rafting are all on offer at Lapie, with a number of easy hiking trails also dotted across the small canyon. Millions of years of compression and strain beneath the surface of the earth have combined to give the canyon walls their present form, now playing host to a wide variety of bird species and making this a popular spot for birdwatching. If you’re visiting between May and September, stay the night at a choice of 18 campsites within the Lapie Canyon Campground, situated on the Robert Campbell

Highway – suited to families with its open areas and a covered cooking area.

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

ALSO IN SOUTH EASTERN YUKON • Go snowmobiling in the Liard Region. • Visit the photogenic Signpost Forest. • Between late-August to mid-April, visitors at the Northern Lights Space and Science Centre on Watson Lake can see the Aurora Borealis. • Book an Icefields Discovery Flight Tour. • Visit numerous 14,000-year-old-glacierfed alpine lakes, including postcard perfect Emerald Lake. SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 19

TRAVEL GUIDE: THE YUKON

THE BEARS OF KLUANE

20 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Within the traditional territories of the Champagne, Kluane, and Aishihik First Nations, sits Kluane National Park and Reserve, a 21,980 square km UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Reserve protects the world’s largest concentration of non-polar ice fields and Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak at 5959m tall, and the continent’s second highest. It has become an iconic destination globally, and rightly so. 83% of the Reserve’s land is covered by the Saint Elias Mountains, which contain 17 of Canada’s 20 highest peaks, and 2000 glaciers. However, during the last 60 years,

the Park and Reserve has lost approximately 20% of its original glacial coverage due to global warming. Today, Earth’s glacial wildernesses are fewer and far between.

Worried about hiking in the largest internationally protected area on the planet? You can experience Kluane with the help of a park guide.

The Kluane National Park and Reserve and Thechàl Dhâl’ Visitor Centres have friendly staff on hand to assist in the careful planning of your Kluane experience. You can also find award-winning exhibits about the Canadian wilderness at the Kluane Visitor Centre in Haines Junction or, an hour’s drive away, brand new First Nations collaboration exhibits at the Thechàl Dhâl’ Visitor Centre in the ‘Ä’äy Chù Valley.

The Reserve provides a seasonal habitat for grizzly and black bears, omnivorous species under threat around the world. There are approximately 250 Kluane grizzlies, which are two-thirds the size of their relatives in southern coastal regions such as Alaska. Due to the lack of available protein, the Kluane bears rely on plants for most of their diet, feeding in open areas largely between April and October due to the seasonal availability

TRAVEL GUIDE: THE YUKON

IT’S BELIEVED BY BIOLOGISTS THAT THE KLUANE GRIZZLIES ARE DESCENDANTS OF MIGRATORY BEARS FROM ASIA, TRAVERSING THE BERING LAND BRIDGE APPROXIMATELY 50,000 YEARS AGO.

of Yukon flora and the need to reproduce and hibernate. Kluane campsites are in or near potential feeding areas, so visitors are firmly encouraged to camp in lower quality bear habitats. It’s believed by biologists that the Kluane grizzlies are descendants of migratory bears from Asia, traversing the Bering land bridge approximately 50,000 years ago. There used to be anywhere up to 100,000 grizzly bears in North America, but as a result of habit disturbances caused by human settlement the bears were registered as threatened in the United States in the 1970s. 22 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Because of this, bears prefer to avoid humans, and are highly sensitive to our activity, but encounters do happen. It’s important to look for signs of bear activity like droppings and torn-up logs, to ensure your visit to the Kluane National Park and Reserve serves to protect the bears and yourself. Carry bear spray and hike in large groups. Paddling down the remote Alsek River, you’ll get a different perspective of this glacial landscape, and on the way is Lowell Lake, the cut off point between the wet and dry vegetation which the bears feed on. Upstream you’ll need to watch out for soap-

berry and kinnikinnick – common bear food – but visitors should also look out for bearroot, horsetail, and field locoweed when choosing a spot for the night. Downstream of Lowell Lake the foliage is dense and species numerous, increasing the likelihood of a surprise encounter with a grizzly or black bear. To get a more comprehensive understanding of Kluane flora and the ecology of grizzly and black bears, we recommend seeking advice at the Kluane National Park and Reserve Visitor Centre in Haines Junction or at Thechàl Dhâl Visitor Centre before beginning your hike. c

VISIT YUKON FOR THE

EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

PHOTO BY YUKON WILD

Visit: www.tiayukon.com

INTERVIEW: GREEN SPORTS ALLIANCE

CALLING TIME

ON CARBON EMISSIONS Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance, about the launch of its PLAY initiative, community engagement, and hopes for the future of the sports greening movement. 24 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

By Daniel Baksi Eleven years ago, a group of West Coast sports teams – including the Portland Trailblazers, the Seattle Mariners, and the Seattle Storm, along with Bonneville Environmental Foundation – got together to discuss a single goal: how to leverage the power of sports to drive the response to climate change. It was out of those discussions that the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) was born as a non-profit organization and foundation. From those humble beginnings, the GSA has now grown to now encompass more than 350 teams, leagues such as the NBA and NFL, and supporting organizations including ESPN, all of whom are working together to support the world’s fight against environmental disaster. “The Green Sports Alliance is a grassroots movement, beginning from a core of focusing-in on the environmental issues that we’re facing today,” says Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the GSA. “For our members, that plays out in questions such as: ‘how can I run my business in a way that minimizes my environmental impacts?’ Or more specifically, ‘What can I do to ensure that my waste enters a recycled or a re-use stream, as opposed to landfill?’ We help to answer those questions, not only looking at what’s happening between the lines of the field, or within stadiums, but beyond – using the power of these large sporting institutions that bring communities together, and unite millions of fans over time, as a unique way to reach out, influence behavior, and create a positive legacy for the environment and society.”

a sports industry-specific tool to track and measures water, energy usage, and supply chains across stadiums and venues,” says Mr. McClendon. “Through PLAY, a team, or a host league like Major League Baseball, will be able to conduct a gap analysis of their sustainability performance, better positioning them to achieve the next level of green impact, and offering a pathway to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification through the US Green Building Council (USGBC).” Through its partnership with Arc, the GSA hopes to open up the sports industry to the latest advancements in sustainable design practice. “There’s a lot of tools out there, but they aren’t specialized for the sports industry,” explains Mr. McClendon. “We’re working with our Advisory Committee of launch partners in order to establish exactly what the metrics should be and what areas we should focus on. As we move into the second half of the year, we’ll then look at integrating in what we call our ‘medal’ system for recognition and awards. Just as an athlete would stand on the Olympic podium, we envision a competition – not externally, but from an internal perspective – to celebrate sustainability performance. That’s important, because not everybody has the same number of resources, especially when we look at collegiate teams and other smaller leagues. The medal system will be about setting your pace, recognizing what you can do as an organization, and hopefully inspiring others to follow your progress.”

PLAY TO ZERO During this year’s Earth Week, the GSA launched its Playing for the Next Generation (PLAY) initiative in partnership with Arc, designed to realize the concepts of zero carbon impact, zero waste, and zero water in sports. “We’re working with Arc to create

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES Engaging the community is an essential part of the GSA’s push to minimize impact across each the sports industry. “The connection between sport and community is, and always will be, very strong,” says Mr. McClendon. “Within the industry, we often SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 25

INTERVIEW: GREEN SPORTS ALLIANCE refer to ‘moments in time’ when speaking about events like College Football Playoffs – now the second most-viewed sporting event behind the Super Bowl in the United States. We work with the organizers on their ‘Playoff Green’ initiative, which aims to create as close to zero-impact as possible in terms of wastewater and energy across their events. As part of that, not only do we work to create awareness through social media campaigns, but we’re also grateful to be able to leverage the power of local nonprofit organizations, bringing in volunteers to help us collect used plastic bottles to be recycled, or taking out other materials such as the seating present within the stadiums during each event, and putting those to use in local parks. Through their help, we’re able to guarantee a positive legacy impact well beyond the event itself, and long into the future.” Over the last year, stadiums across the U.S. have been able to give back to the community in a way that was quite unexpected. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen large stadiums opened up as voting centers, allowing more people to access to their right to vote,” says Mr. McClendon. “That’s part of a vital effort in securing the foundations of our democracy. On that issue, we saw leadership from sports stadiums, like Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena, and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Then again, when the opportunity came about to open up as vaccination centers, we saw stadiums and owners step up once again, helping people to get access to the vaccine. In both cases, it’s a practice that we at the Green Sports Alliance have really supported and encouraged.” PUSHING BOUNDARIES Another large part of the GSA’s mission to drive change is the promotion of social responsibility. “Sports is so much more than just one game, and the power of the athlete is a part of that,” says Mr. McClendon. “Whenever they take a stance, it’s not always welcomed. Often fans might ask, ‘Why are they kneeling? Why are they saying these things?’ In the US, what we’ve seen historically with George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, and others, is that athletes want to move beyond their role as athletes, and beyond an environmental lens, in order to discuss the potential for social impact. At the Green Sports Alliance, we’re trying to push the industry forward across both those fronts, galvanizing the sports industry around essential focal points – from gender equity to racial and environmental justice.” 26 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

In 2018, the GSA launched an independent subsidiary: Green Sports Alliance Japan. “It’s an experiment on how we can broaden our impact beyond the United States,” says Mr. McClendon. “When we talk about the issue of climate change, we’re talking about a global challenge. We’re now seeing the same with the social impact, along with questions of health and wellness to have come out of the pandemic, all of which affect humanity collectively. Within that context, sports consistently proven its ability to galvanize us, to overlook differences

in background, race, religion, socio-economic status, or gender. The fact is that when you truly love a team, you’re able to put everything else aside – that’s the power that we’re working to leverage.” PUSHING AHEAD Eventually, the GSA hope to see its work precipitate a global movement for change. “Our goal now is to start to really set the NorthStar and bring about the systematic components that can help move the whole conversation forward,” says Mr.

“THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO BRING THE WHOLE SPORTS INDUSTRY TOGETHER, AND TO EXPAND OUR IMPACT ACROSS THE WORLD,”

McClendon. “At the macro level, we have the work that the United Nations is doing and the work within science to outline the key issues. At the micro end, we have frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals that help to guide and facilitate individual behavior. We’re trying to tie our work into that, whether through supply chains, through innovation, or through our work with corporations.” “The long-term goal is to bring the whole sports industry together, and to expand our impact across the world,” says

Mr. McClendon. “Then the aim becomes working with the Premier League in the UK, with FIFA and the World Cup, or working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It’s by engaging in these key events that we’ll be able to really bring awareness to people. With an engaged community, we’re then able to put pressure on governments, local or national, to make sure they have the necessary infrastructure in place – whether that’s for waste diversion, for recycling, or more – to begin creating truly circular economies.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 27

INTERVIEW: FLOW TURKS & CAICOS

ING

ACROSS TURKS AND CAICOS Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Joanne Missick, Country Manager at FLOW Turks & Caicos, about the company’s longevity, upgrades to essential microwave towers, and their passion for education. By Daniel Baksi Flow Turks and Caicos is well established as part of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ telecommunications framework, having operated as a key partner for government and other stakeholders for over 123 years. Initially trading as Cable and Wireless following its launch on January 31, 1898, the company is now a part of the Liberty Latin America

group, operating under the consumer brand, Flow. The company was the first to connect the Caribbean people, government, and business with the best service and telecoms network across broadband, fixed and mobile services, and continues today as the sole full-service provider for the Caribbean, establishing itself as the go-to provider for business and enterprise customers, providing fully tailored communication solutions to help businesses achieve efficient growth. A GROWING PRESENCE “We’re very proud of our legacy as one of the longest-operating businesses on island,” says Joanne Missick, Country Manager at Flow Turks & Caicos. “We were the only operating carrier in the TCI until 2007. To date, we have over 22,000 mobile customers and over 6000 broadband customers, which is roughly a 70% share of the market. However, we know there are still opportunities for us to grow. We’re currently investing in the roll-out and expansion of our next-generation Fiberto-the-Home (FTTH) technology. Broadband is a market in which the TCI is seeing clear

28 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

“TO DATE, WE HAVE OVER 22,000 MOBILE CUSTOMERS AND OVER 6000 BROADBAND CUSTOMERS, WITH ROUGHLY A 70% SHARE OF THE MARKET.”

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 29

INTERVIEW: FLOW TURKS & CAICOS When time matters, Cairsea delivers with reliability, precision and a personal touch.

Tel: 649.946.4205 29 Old Airport Road

growth, and there remains room for far greater penetration over the coming years. By the end of this year, we expect to have added close to an additional 5000 homes. There’s a lot of work to be completed within a short time, but we’re right on track to deliver.” “At present, we are focusing on three main islands, namely, Providenciales, South Caicos and Grand Turk,” says Ms. Missick. “In Providenciales, more than 11 out of 22 settlements are currently over 75% ready for FTTH services. In Grand Turk, the Capital, the fiber rollout is 80% complete across all major settlements, with the hope of being 100% complete by the end of the year, provided the risk and impact of storms are minimal. Finally, we announced in March 2021 the

30 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| |

Fax 649.946.4504 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos

decision to extend FTTH services to South Caicos, and have since begun to connect customers towards the goal of completing the build out by the end of the third quarter. In total, we’re adding 13,000 households located in areas that were previously undeveloped. As new neighborhoods continue to be built, we’ll ensure that the infrastructure is there to provide services.” MAKING INVESTMENTS Flow is focused on providing the best service experience for its customers, and is currently conducting upgrades to all its main microwave towers. “We have four critical towers,” explains Ms. Missick. “The first is in Stubbs Road, which feeds to another in Bambara, in

cairsea.com shipping@cairsea.com

North Caicos. That in turn feeds to another in South Caicos, and from there on to Grand Turk. After Hurricane Irma hit the TCI in 2017, these towers were severely destroyed, and their power integrity dramatically reduced. In March 2021, we were happy to announce the completion of the first tower upgrade at Stubbs Road, and we have recently commenced the work at the second site in Bambara. Despite the adversity of 2017, we were the only operator that kept its customers connected during and after the hurricane. With these investments, we’re committed to building an even stronger and more resilient network for our customers to continue to enjoy a more superior mobile experience. Having been approved for completion this year, the works are now well underway.” “In this project alone, we’re investing over $3 million,” says Ms. Missick. “It’s a substantial sum, that will significantly increase capacity, and enable us to deliver an exceptional service with world-class technology. The microwave towers will be fitted with bigger antennas, guaranteeing increased bandwidth and capacity for our customers across the TCI, including all the sister islands. We’ve also incorporated lessons from Irma, and have invested in more resilient towers, designed to be able to withstand the force of a category-five hur-

WE ARE HERE FOR

YOU,

FOUNDATION

TO KEY!

Building Materials Ltd. Do it Center is the Turks & Caicos Islands’ leading supplier

We offer a number of services:

of construction materials, tools, hardware, paint and home décor.

• Window & Door Screen Repair

We offer an extensive array of the latest building and finishing materials from world-renowned suppliers such as Jeld–Wen Windows & Doors, USG, Whirlpool Appliances, Simpson strong-ties, Dewalt & Do it Best – just to name a few.

• Gift Registry • Truck Rental • Tool Rental • Free Estimates

Our highly experienced staff will guide you through your next construction or

• Free Paint Color Tinting

renovation project choosing from the highest quality materials at the most

• Key Cutting

competitive prices. We continue to innovate and transform to keep pace with

• Design Consultation

the sophistication of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands by providing

• Contractor Concierge Center

convenient shopping and excellent services.

• Plus much more...

Call: (649) 946-4131, or visit us online; www.buildingmaterialstci.com

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 31

INTERVIEW: FLOW TURKS & CAICOS

“IT’S A SUBSTANTIAL SUM, THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE CAPACITY, AND ENABLE US TO DELIVER AN EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE WITH WORLD-CLASS TECHNOLOGY.”

32 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

ricane. Last year, the frequency of storms gave us considerable cause for concern. Having now taken these steps, it puts us in a far stronger position.” EQUIPPING THE NEXT GENERATION “Education continues to be one of our top priorities,” says Ms. Missick. “In the past, we’ve heard from a lot of parents how a lack of access to internet has hampered their children’s participation and learning. We believe strongly that our youth are the future of the TCI, and so we’ve made them our focus. We’ve installed free high-speed internet for displaced students at the Enid Capron Primary School, and free public internet hotspot for students in the island of South Caicos. Likewise, within all the government schools within the TCI, Flow provides high speed internet for FREE – part of our goal to ensure increased digital access in the region and that every child has an equal chance to succeed. This amazing initiative has enabled our students to easily access important online research for their studies and to be able to access the internet safely in their schools, and supports the government’s work in that area.” Giving back across the TCI is a key part of Flow’s commitment to transform communities and achieve success. “Flow currently supports the Oseta Jolly Primary School, located on Providenciales, as its adopted school of over a decade,” says Ms. Missick. “It was one of a number of schools severely damaged by Hurricane Irma, and Flow has committed and provided over $100,000 to help in the re-building efforts to create a new computer lab. The company also donated $5,000 to the HJ Robinson High School, and has been the main sponsor and exclusive mobile partner for over a decade of Nationals – the local national high-school sports meet in Turks and Caicos. Additionally, during the COVID 19 pandemic, we partnered with the Ministry of Education to make Flow Study available to more than 7000 students across TCI to aid teachers

and parents alike in their academic goals. Through the Flow Scholarship program, we’ve also invested more than $500,000 to support Education initiatives across TCI. Most recently we rewarded the top performers in the national secondary school examinations throughout the TCI and hosted a virtual graduation exercise in collaboration with the National Youth Parliament of the Turks and Caicos.” CUSTOMER FOCUSED, FUTURE READY “We are committed to continuously upgrading our products and services,” says Ms. Missick. “As we know, the ICT space is very dynamic, and that the needs of our customers are constantly evolving. Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, we’ve still managed to make great strides to increase our efficiency and pursue a rapid digital transformation that has allowed our

customers to continue to access our products and services quickly and easily. This includes faster ways to pay their bills online, and the setting up of our virtual WhatsApp stores. These innovations now shape a continuous strategy, to provide innovation products, launch new CVPs, roll out fiber to the home, and deliver the higher speeds, faster downloads, and smooth streaming that our customers demand and deserve.” “In everything we do, our employees are our number one asset,” says Ms. Missick. “Their ongoing support and loyalty has been overwhelming and we do not take it for granted. They’re a major part of our ability to successfully navigate the pandemic so far and are critical to our success as a company. Looking ahead, we will continue to build on that – both in the TCI and across the region – and to further our message of One Caribbean, One Team, One Voice.” c

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 33

INTERVIEW: FLOW MONTSERRAT

RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

34 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Randolph Lewis, Country Manager at Flow Montserrat, about the nation’s recovery from the Soufrière Hills Volcano eruption, investment in new technology, and managing through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. By Daniel Baksi It’s hard to believe that 26 years have passed since the eruption of Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano. Although residents of the island had been experiencing small tremors for nearly five years prior, and had maintained a watchful eye over the volcano, no-one could have envisioned the full-scale eruption that occurred on July 18th, 1995. Initially small in scale, the eruptions increased in intensity over a period of months, culminating with several major eruptions, and producing vast quantities of ash and pyroclastic flow. The island was covered, flights were grounded, and Montserrat’s southern capital of Plymouth was destroyed. A quarter of a century since that unforgettable event, Montserrat has been on a remarkable journey of recovery. Approximately two-thirds of Montserrat’s population was forced to evacuate following the eruptions, leaving approximately 1200 people on the island. Since then, the population has tripled in size, with many islanders returning home to help re-build their communities. With a new de-facto capital now located in Brades, Montserratians have turned their attention to the future with, the development of a new town and port in Little Bay, situated on Montserrat’s northwest coast. Flow Montserrat, one of the oldest companies on the island, with operations stretching back as far as 1882, has played an instrumental role in helping Montserrat to rebuild and recover. FIGHTING BACK “The eruption of the Le Soufriere volcano initiated a shift-change in the business,” says Randolph Lewis, Country Manager at Flow

FIELD TEAM

Montserrat. “In 1995, we operated across the entire island, with our headquarters in Plymouth. In the wake of the eruption, and because of the infrastructure destruction that followed, we had to evacuate to the north of the island, where we now operate from our base in Sweeney, St. John. Getting our business up-and-running in a new location required a lot of investment. We moved all of our transmission equipment, launched a new retail store, and found ways to restore connectivity to much of the island.” Flow learned a lot from the eruption. “We needed to transition our network from the original copper-based plant, which is particularly susceptible to the impact of

falling ash,” explains Mr. Lewis. “While the volcano is now dormant, it is still considered active. Even now after so many years, we continue to face the challenge of ash-induced corrosion, and it’s something we are actively addressing by switching out the copper for fiber. Once complete, it’ll be a major step-change for how we can deliver our services to customers in Montserrat.” DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Today, Flow connects more than 2,000 households across Montserrat, and has been continually improving its network and service offerings. “We are committed to providing Montserratians with the latest SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 35

SUPERMARKET & WHOLESALE

SHOP SMART

SAVE

BIG On 1000’s of household items.

Visit us or get in touch today 36 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

+1 664-491-7071

aravinsenterprises@gmail.com

aravinsenterprises.com

INTERVIEW: FLOW MONTSERRAT technology,” says Mr. Lewis. “We have upgraded our network, which previously relied on microwave radio, and have embraced the Government’s decision to invest in a sub-sea fiber connection between Montserrat, Antigua, and Guadeloupe. We’ve secured capacity on this new fiber which will enable us to provide our customers with increased bandwidth, boost their speeds, and keep them connected to what matters most. We’ve also invested heavily in our broadband network, implementing core infrastructure upgrades to deliver worldclass speeds of up to 200Mbps.” By equipping its customers with a world class service, Flow continues to play a significant role in shaping Montserrat’s future. “We’re committed to investing in our people, our systems and tools, as we prepare for a digital transformation,” says Mr. Lewis. “With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic more people are having to work from home, and these investments will give our customers the ability to do so seamlessly. The Government of Montserrat has also embarked on a campaign to encourage overseas visitors to consider working remotely from our beautiful island. The success of that campaign will rely heavily on our ability to provide a world-class broadband network with fast, reliable connectivity within the region and worldwide, in order to attract those visitors and boost the island’s economy.” ABOVE AND BEYOND “The last year in Montserrat has been relatively unique in comparison to most of the other islands,” explains Mr. Lewis. “Though there were recorded cases of COVID-19 on island, we have been fortunate that the num-

RANDOLPH LEWIS COUNTRY MANAGER

BEACH CLEANUPV

“WE’RE COMMITTED TO INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE, OUR SYSTEMS AND TOOLS, AS WE PREPARE FOR A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION,”

bers have remained extremely small, helped in part because our borders were closed to external visitors for a period. “However, we did not allow this fact to make us complacent. We have gone above and beyond to create a safe environment for our staff and customers. The health of our employees and customers remain our top priority. As an essential service provider, we understand our commitment to providing connectivity and support to the Government, national security, education, healthcare, and the people and businesses of Montserrat. Maintaining the efficient delivery of critical services has been a challenge during this ongoing health crisis. From the outset of the pandemic, we limited possible exposure and transmission by operating shorter hours in our stores, implemented social distancing protocols, and regulated customer traffic. Our staff were provided with the necessary safety personal protective equipment, temperature checks were conducted upon store entry, and we

also installed sanitation stations throughout the store. We also enabled additional options for our customers to access our services by implementing our virtual stores via WhatsApp. This allowed us to continue to meet the needs of our customers without the requirement for a physical in-store visit, as well as to reduce the number of visits to homes by technicians.” As the world looks towards a postpandemic future, Flow will continue to upgrade its solutions and services. “We’ll continue to invest in mobile, broadband and fiber connectivity,” says Mr. Lewis. “We also plan to roll out LTE services, and we will upgrade our broadband. We are firmly pursuing a course of action that will enhance our customers’ experience by providing them with world-class technology, sustainable connectivity overlayed with exceptional customer service that will redound to the benefit of our citizens and by extension the economy.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 37

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

PURE GRENADA WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL GRENADA TRAVEL GUIDE, A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE GRENADA HOTEL AND TOURISM ASSOCIATION AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE. By Poppy Johnson The Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association is a non-profit, private sector organization, dedicated to the development, increased profitability and professionalism of the tourism industry in Grenada. Often referred to as “Pure Grenada”, we’re an island that’s not overly developed, with a strong focus on agriculture. We’re also known as the ‘Spice of the Caribbean’, a nod to our love for growing and cultivating our spices! There’s a lot of space in Grenada. We might be a small island, but it’s easy to get lost here – a fact we’ve captured in our Just for You campaign, offering tourists a travel experience tailored exclusively to them. We’re not as commercial as many other destinations in the Caribbean – a uniqueness that allows tourists to really immerse themselves in the country, its culture, and its people. We have a vibrant cuisine, including some of the best organic chocolate in the world, and a rich history. During their stay, tourists can experience various African traditions firsthand, from boatbuilding, to food, cocoa, and rum festivals – some of which have remained unchanged since the 1700s! In our family- and locally-owned hotels with their distinctive boutique-style, there’s yet another element that makes Grenada unique. Whether you remain on the southern belt of the island, or whether you decide to spend time in the interior or the north, they’re all 38 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

very different experiences, but you can be sure that they’ll all provide that important sense of escapism! For our visitors, it’s important that they feel safe and secure from the moment they arrive, to the second they leave. As a country, we’ve implemented a number of measures behind-the-scenes to earn a Level One safety ranking from the US CDC, making Grenada one of the safest destinations for travel. At the GHTA, we’ve played an active role in that effort, contributing to the vaccine rollout among our frontline workers, and offering our hotels as convenient sites for vaccination. We’ve also been instrumental in launching public education campaigns, hosting webinars and information sessions, with our members and with the entire community at large. Without our focus on the environment, we wouldn’t be pure. Here in Grenada, we spend a lot of time focused on preserving nature and maintaining our vital marine areas. We’ve introduced a ban on single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam, and we’re also home to the only underwater marine park in the Caribbean, providing vital support for our coral reefs. It’s important that tourists can play their part, too – whether diving for lionfish, or participating in beach clean-up campaigns, or simply using a re-fillable water-bottle. In Grenada, anyone’s welcome to get involved!

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 39

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

WHERE TO START GRENADA KEY FACTS

YOUR CELEBRATION Capital:

St. George’s

Population:

111,454

Language(s): English Currency:

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Time zone:

UTC−4

Dialling code:

+1-473

Major resort areas: Saint Patrick and Saint Andrew Saint John and Saint Mark Saint George and Saint David Carriacou and Petit Martinique Tourist season:

May - August

Annual visitors:

528,077

Annual tourism earnings:

499 million US$

Avg. temperature: 88 °F (day), 75 °F (night) Highest point:

Mount St. Catherine 840 m (2,760 ft)

KEY ATTRACTIONS

Annandale Waterfalls

Grenville Nutmeg Processing

Soubise Waterfalls

Beach

House of Chocolate Museum

Sunnyside Gardens

Botanical garden

Mount Hartman Dove Sanctuary

Sunset City Food Fest

Carriacou Museum

Mount Saint Catherine

Turtles hatching at Levera Pond

Clabony Sulphur Spring

River Antoine Rum Distillery

Underwater sculpture park

Concord Falls

Seven Sisters Falls

Welcome Stone

Crayfish Bay Organic Cocoa Estate

Shakespeare done Carriacou-style

WesterHall Rum Estate

Forts of St. George’s

Snorkel on Sandy Island

Wreck of Bianca

40 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Sauteurs

Victoria

Mount Saint Catherine

Gouyave

Concord Falls

Grenville

Seven Sisters Falls

Marquis Annandale falls

Constantine

ST. GEORGE St. Davids

KEY REGIONS Calivignu L’Anse aux Epines

Saint George and Saint David Saint John and Saint Mark Saint Patrick and Saint Andrew Carriacou and Petit Martinique

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 41

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

WHATTO DO...

SAINT ANDREW GO WILD IN THE NATURAL PARADISE OF GRAND ÉTANG NATIONAL PARK – VAST RAINFOREST. Breathtaking waterfalls. A 30-acre crater lake, the remnant of a now-dormant volcano. All this is to be found within Grand Étang National Park. Home to the highest peak in Grenada, Mt Qua Qua, at more than 2700 feet, there are nevertheless many accessible hiking trails for beginners and 42 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

experienced visitors alike, with hikes ranging from 15 minutes to four hours with a guide. The park is a nature watcher’s dream, with armadillos, mongoose, and the Mona monkey, as well as a variety of species of birds, and vividly-colored amphibians and reptiles. Passing by seven of the park’s incredible waterfalls, the Seven Sisters Trail is a popular attraction. Make sure you go for a refreshing dip in the trail’s large natural pool!

WATCH THE TIVOLI DRUMMERS Dynamic and incredibly entertaining, the Tivoli Drummers aim to promote the indigenous culture and heritage of Grenada through their performances. It’s an ideal way to educate yourself about the country, and a unique musical experience that can’t be found anywhere else. TAKE-ON THE RAPIDS OF BALTHAZAR RIVER Get ready for thrills, twists, and turns! A popular attraction in the Saint Andrew parish of Grenada is river tubing down the Balthazar River, rushing through the rapids and taking in the scenery at speed. Along the route, you can stop off in the river’s beautiful natural pools, with their many species of tropical flora and fauna. It’s perfect for those who want an action-packed adventure! Also in Saint Andrew: - Feel the sand beneath your feet at Telescope Beach - Go for a splash at Mount Carmel Falls - Discover the relics of the Rome Museum - Clabony Sulphur Spring - Soubise Waterfalls - Adelphi Waterfalls - Grenville Nutmeg processing station

SAINT DAVID TREAT YOUR TASTEBUDS AT LAURA’S HERB AND SPICE GARDEN Grenada’s famed spices can all be found here, at Laura’s Herb and Spice Garden! You can take an educational tour around the garden, learning about all the plants, and sampling the array of herbs and spices. Afterwards, remember to top up your kitchen cupboard at the gift shop! TRY A NATIONAL DRINK AT WESTERHALL ESTATE DISTILLERY Award-winning and traditionally made, Westerhall Estate’s rum is a real Grenadian experience. You can tour the distillery, learning about the methods used to make rum, seeing the waterwheels and museum, and tasting the finest rum at incredible quality! UNWIND AT LA SAGESSE BEACH Relaxing and secluded, the sheltered sands of La Segasse are perfect for a rest. A quiet paradise, the atmosphere is incredibly romantic and magical. Also in Saint David: - Get lost in the rainforest at Morne Gozo - Take a dip in Shadow Hole Waterfall - Visit the Petit Becaye Lime Kiln SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 43

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

SAINT GEORGE DEEP DIVE FOR UNDERWATER ART – From art, to shipwrecks, to an underwater volcano, diving in Grenada is sure to be exciting and fulfilling. The pick of diving spots are located on the south of the island, but the Underwater Sculpture Park on the west coast is an unmissable underwater art gallery, featuring 65 sculptures anchored to the sea floor. The most famous exhibit is known locally as the Circle of Children – a life-size ring of 26 children holding hands. The artist said of his work that it “highlights the importance of creating a sustainable and well-managed environment, a space for future generations.” SHOP YOUR WAY ACROSS SAINT GEORGE MARKET Grenada’s capital is a stunning working port. Here, tourists can find colorful market stalls run by local vendors selling farm produce, piled high with spices, exotic fruits and vegetables, and other local products. Lively, popular, and vibrant, the market is a perfect way to experience Grenada! 44 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

SEARCH FOR SEA-LIFE AT GRAND ANSE BEACH Close to the capital of St. George’s on the southwestern coast of Grenada, the Grand Anse Beach is blissful: two miles of white sand and clear blue Caribbean water. The perfect place to unwind, visitors can sunbathe, relax, and explore, with opportunities to snorkel at Boss Reef and take in the sealife. There’s also a Craft and Spice Market on the north end of the beach for those wanting to experience Grenada’s famed spices and creations.

Also in Saint George: - Enrich your mind at the Grenada National Museum - Survey the town from Fort George - Cool off in St. Margaret’s Falls - The House of Chocolate - Annandale Waterfalls - The Tower Estate - WesterHall Rum Estate - Sunnyside Gardens

e s i d Para Step on to

Experience the warmth and hospitality that Coyaba offers in our alluring surroundings. Relax your mind and body, as you make us your home away from home. The world famous 2.5 mile Grand Anse Beach is only a few steps away from your room. Feel the fresh tropical breeze and the warmth of the sun.

Call. + 1 473 444 4612 E. reservations@coyaba.com

www.coyaba.com

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 45

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

SAINT JOHN TAKE A DAREDEVIL DIP AT CONCORD FALLS Tucked away in the hills of Concord, St. John, on Grenada’s western coast, there you’ll find the three incredible waterfalls that make up the Concord Falls. Whereas the first waterfall is easily reached, the other two are only accessible by hikes, taking you through the tropical rainforest. You can pay a small fee (EC$2.50 per person) to get to the viewing gallery, the best place to take in the breathtaking view of the falls and the rainforest. They’re perfect for more adventurous visitors who want to dive from the cliffs or swim in the natural pools! 46 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

WANDER AROUND GOUYAVE The capital of Saint John, Gouyave is a vibrant fishing village. With a weekly festival, ‘Fish Friday’, the mouth-watering seafood dishes and lively music are unmissable. Known locally as ‘the town that never sleeps’, there’s always something to find in Gouyave, and it’s best to wander around and take in the exciting atmosphere!

x a el R ...at The Relax Inn and experience the Isle of Spice. The Relax Inn is located on Calliste Hill in Grenada. We are close to Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International airport and the world famous Grand Anse beach. Regular public transport is available at our doorstep to take you to the main shopping area of Grand Anse beach and our beautiful capital town of St Georges. Each of our rooms has a private balcony, with stunning views of the hills and the ocean. We have an on-site function room for hire for conferences, seminars and celebrations. Please contact us for more information. We are particularly popular with guests on a budget and those who would like to experience the island like a local. NOURISH YOURSELF ON NUTMEG The Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station is a great experience for those who want to learn about the largest nutmeg processing factory on the island. For a very inexpensive US$1.00 per person, you can watch the workers choose, grade, and package the nutmeg, learn about the process behind it, and visit the gift shop for souvenirs!

Also in Saint John: - Enjoy the deep dark of Black Bay Cave & Beach - Party into the night at Palmiste Beach - Study the unique architecture of Melrose House

Covid-19: Our staff have been trained, approved by the Ministry of Health, and have the requisite knowledge to keep our guests safe. Our protocols comply with the Grenada Tourism industry, recognised as a global standard by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

Contact Information: P.O Box 561, St Georges Grenada West Indies. Tel: (473) 439-2333 or (437) 456-6237 Email: reservations@relaxinngrenada.com

www.relaxinngrenada.com SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 47

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA SAINT MARK IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE SUNSET CITY FOOD FESTIVAL Held on the last Saturday of every month, the Sunset City Food Festival is family friendly, lively, and exciting, with live music or DJs, and a large variety of Grenadian dishes and drinks. Gloriously illuminated by the setting sun every night, Saint Mark’s is known as the Sunset Parish, and the Food Festival is the most dynamic experience it has to offer. TACKLE THE HEIGHTS OF TUFTON HALL Tufton Hall is the tallest waterfall in Grenada! Only accessible for more experienced hikers, the climb is difficult and quite strenuous, but yields incredible results, with views that stretch across the landscapes various other waterfalls, natural pools, and springs. It’s a gorgeous adventure! Also in Saint Mark: - Get your chocolate fix at Diamond Chocolate Factory - Blow off some steam in the Hapsack Springs - Traverse the craters of the Mount Saint Catherine stratovolcano - Crayfish Bay Organic Cocoa Estate

SAINT PATRICK

48 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME AT THE BELMONT ESTATE Situated in Grenada’s north, Belmont Estate is an authentic 17th century working plantation, organic cocoa farm, and fermentry. Guests can visit the on-site heritage museum and learn about the estate’s rich history, taste freshly prepared Grenadian dishes in the open-air dining room, or sample treats at the Bon Bon Chocolate Shop. Plantation tours illuminate the history of cocoa at the estate, while visitors can also visit the petting farm, purchase home-grown spices, walk around the beautiful gardens, and try goat’s cheeses at the on-site dairy!

natural life. There’s much to be found here, including a mangrove swamp, rich with birds and aquatic life, a glorious beach with a natural reef, and a lagoon filled with marine life.

EXPERIENCE THE WONDERS OF NATURE AT LEVERA NATIONAL PARK A sustainably minded tourist’s dream! Levera National Park is a 450-acre stretch of protected coastal parkland, and a beautiful place to explore and marvel at Grenada’s

Also in Saint Patrick: - Trace the coastline of Lake Antoine - Reward yourself with a hike of Mount Rich - Learn about Indian history at Irwin’s Bay - River Antoine Rum Distillery - Carib’s Leap, Welcome Stone

GO TURTLE WATCHING AT BATHWAY BEACH With a beautiful coral reef, enclosing a swimming and snorkeling strip on the white sand, Bathway Beach is both striking and picturesque. The main attraction there is turtle watching – the sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand, and the beach is one of their biggest nesting places!

www.laheliconia.com

perfection A PLACE WHERE

EXIST

RELAX IN GRENADA Holiday apartments and treatment spa with on-site bar and restaurant. Located on the beautiful island of Grenada in the West Indies. Situated close to the airport for rapid transfers and to fine golden sand beaches, we are ideally placed for self-catering holidays or visiting your friends and relations in Grenada and at St. George’s University.

Point Salines, Maurice Bishop Highway | T. +1 (473) 439-8585 / +1 (473) 449-7689 | E. sales@laheliconia.com

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

CENTURIES OF GRENADIAN

CHOCOLATE Grenada is a chocolate-lover’s paradise, combining a perfect tropical climate with volcanic soil, and a thickly forested interior, all of which give the ideal conditions for the very best cacao beans to grow. All the cocoa grown in the country is so-called “fine or flavor”, produced from varieties of Criollo or Trinitaro trees. Setting Grenadian chocolate apart, however, is the infusion of a uniquely armoatic taste, thanks to the natural flavours of the socalled ‘Spice Isle’. For a symbol of the country’s long history with chocolate, look no further than the Belmont Estate. Dating back to the 17th century, this authentic working plantation has been transformed into a modern-day agrotourism attraction, sitting pretty on the north side of the island in St. Patrick’s. Belmont has seen several landlords over the years, throughout Grenada’s backand-forth between British and French rule. Initially the property of the Bernago family, in 1763 the estate passed into the hands of Scotsman John Aitcheson Jr, an active 50 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

voice within Grenadian politics. By the time of Aitcheson’s death, the value of the estate’s estate had risen to a formidable £21,000, equivalent of roughly $US 2.5 million by contemporary standards. Aitcheson’s daughter, Bethia, sold the Belmont Estate in 1944 to Norbert and Lyris Nyack of Hermitage, St. Patrick, the first Grenadians of Indian descent to own an estate on the island. The couple were humble philanthropists, making considerable donations towards homes for children and the elderly, hospitals, churches, and schools across Grenada. Under their ownership, the Belmont Estate established a huge role for itself within the island’s agricultural economy, growing products including sugarcane, cotton, cocoa, nutmeg and bananas. Fast-forward to the present, and much has changed in Grenada. Few plantations have survived the disintegration and partition of land, but Belmont retains more than 400 acres of lush hills, today functioning as an organic cocoa farm and fermentary,

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 51

TRAVEL GUIDE: GRENADA

SETTING GRENADIAN CHOCOLATE APART, HOWEVER, IS THE INFUSION OF A UNIQUELY ARMOATIC TASTE, THANKS TO THE NATURAL FLAVOURS OF THE SO-CALLED ‘SPICE ISLE’.

and continues to honor the legacy of the Nyacks with a commitment to ethical conduct and responsibility. Visitors can follow the journey of cocoa with a plantation tour, following as the beans are hand-sorted, roasted, cracked and winnowed, grinded and conched, aged, tempered, molded and wrapped, creating a dark and healthy treat, with samples readily available at the Bon Bon Chocolate Shop. Nutmeg is organically home-grown on the grounds, along with organic cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, pimento, turmeric, ginger, and mace – all of which can be 52 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

found in the open-air dining room, where visitors can indulge in a number of freshly prepared Grenadian dishes. The Dairy also provides a home to the The Grenada Goat Dairy Project Inc., a separate non-profit that makes the cheese as a means of sustaining, supporting and empowering low-income farmers, and offering visitors a number of goat’s cheese samples. The on-site heritage museum offers exhibits and displays detailing Grenada’s ancestral traditions and lifestyle, social and plantation history, and decorative arts such as Grenadian household furniture and

styles. Visitors are also encouraged to take their time strolling through Belmont’s many beautiful gardens, including the sugarcane garden, orchid garden, and blue garden, all teeming with life. The estate’s petting farm also includes friendly animals like monkeys, parrots, and tortoises! c

VISIT GRENADA FOR THE

C E L E B R AT I O N

OF A LIFETIME

www.puregrenada.com

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 53

INTERVIEW: SOLAR BUZZ

A BUZZ

ABOUT SOLAR

54 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

7.38KW SUNPOWER SYSTEM

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Jason Robinson, Owner and CEO of Solar Buzz about the boom in residential solar, fighting for Vision 2030, and their plans to keep on innovating. By Elizabeth Cope Solar Buzz Jamaica was founded in July 2011 with an aim to help businesses and homeowners tackle soaring high energy costs by introducing them to solar power. Educating clients on the importance of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and real-time energy monitors, Solar Buzz has developed a reputation for reducing its customers energy costs by more than 20%. It was this reputation that kept the business afloat prior to 2014, when the Development Bank of Jamaica announced lower interest rates and longer terms for the installation of solar systems, allowing Solar Buzz to design and install solar panels commercially and domestically across Jamaica, now generating 90% of their revenue. CHANGING MARKETS With the advent of COVID-19, Solar Buzz had seen a dramatic rise in its residential business. “With everyone stuck at home, and higher demands on energy, people have experienced an increased number of blackouts and higher energy bills,” says

12.54KW SYSTEM

Jason Robinson, Owner and CEO of Solar Buzz. “To address that, people are coming forward looking to install battery systems in their homes. We’re able to offer them lithium battery systems, which help to reduce power demands, improving the resilience of power systems and smoothing out the effects of blackouts. It’s meant that since the start of the pandemic, between 70 to 80% of our overall business has skewed towards residential, as opposed to commercial.” Solar Buzz has been focusing on forming stronger banking partnerships while educating the financial sector. “A lot of banks in Jamaica lack a firm renewable energy policy,” explains Mr. Robinson. “We’ve been educating the banking sector, helping to ensure they feel confident in lending to commercial and residential clients. There’s a huge market of people who need solar energy, but who can’t afford it. Businesses are desperate for reliable, cheaper energy that will offset their business expenses, and help them to recover from the pandemic. In the case of hospitals and schools, for example, you have institutions who are more than willing to take high-quality secondhand equipment, often still with more than 10 years of warranty left should there be any defaults on solar loans. We’ve also signed one or two partnerships with banks, in which we’re one of their exclusive solar partners. They’ll use the system as collateral, acquiring clients, and giving them beneficial interest rates and longer terms.” TOWARDS VISION 2030 Recently, the Government of Jamaica has removed incentives for lithium batteries coming to the island, a decision which has caused SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 55

56 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW: SOLAR BUZZ 13.68KW SYSTEM

5.50KW SUNPOWER SYSTEM

5 UNITS OF DISCOVER AES 7.4 KWH LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE, 51.2 V (37 KWH TOTAL CAPACITY)

difficulty for the country’s growing solar industry. “Whereas they were previously exempt from tax, some of the industry players’ battery shipments are now being taxed upon arrival,” explains Mr. Robinson. “The Government likely needs revenue due to the pandemic, but Prime Minister Holness implemented Vision 2030 to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, with the aim of a 50% reduction by 2030. There’s an argument to say it should be 100%, but for either target these taxation measures are counter-productive: if you’re living in a hurricane zone and have a Vision 2030 plan to promote renewable energy, you must put in place resilient backup power for the island. By increasing the prices for the very products we need, it keeps the best technology out of reach for the majority of Jamaicans.” Instead, Solar Buzz believes Jamaicans are having to turn to lesser-efficient lead alternatives. “Lead acid batteries, are duty-free, but they’re worse for the environment,” says Mr. Robinson. “They go to landfills, they leak into our water systems, and they last only four or five years once installed, compared to the decade’s worth of energy contained in a lithium battery. It’s a situation we’re working to change, holding meetings with our customers, and the Ministries of Finance and Energy, encouraging them to make a decision. People need inexpensive, reliable power, and it’s something we’re having to really battle for as an industry.”

“PEOPLE NEED INEXPENSIVE, RELIABLE POWER, AND IT’S SOMETHING WE’RE HAVING TO REALLY BATTLE FOR AS AN INDUSTRY.”

PREMIUM SERVICE Within Jamaica, Solar Buzz has established itself as an exclusive dealer for SunPower panels. “Our position as a leading installer of SunPower panels is a reflection of their quality, power output, and resilience against corrosion,” explains Mr. Robinson. “They come with a slight premium compared to other panels, but the payoff for the consumer is more than worth it. To secure the partnership, we underwent a rigorous interview process that lasted more than a year, and involved checks via the US Embassy. We were fortunate enough to go on an energy mission to Solar Power International 2019 in Utah, one of the biggest expos in the world. It’s there that we were able to seal the deal.” SunPower is just one part of Solar Buzz’s strategy to secure cutting-edge technology. “At the same trade show, we were introduced to a company called Discover Lithium Batteries,” says Mr. Robinson. “We’d never seen a battery so well put together, and we

2 UNITS OF DISCOVER AES 7.4 KWH LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERIES, 51.2 V (14.8 KWH TOTAL CAPACITY)

did everything in our power to convince them to give a smaller company like us a shot at distribution. We’ve maintained a strong relationship with them since the beginning of 2020, and as a result have successfully been able to transition away from lead acid batteries, which is what most of the island still uses for solar installations. We can now exclusively install SunPower panels with Discover Lithium Batteries.” “In the future, we’re going to continue to innovate for our clients, bringing more products, and the latest online software,” says Mr. Robinson. “We want to help our customers to manage their overall energy usage in a more organized and simple way. To achieve that, the policies need to be in place that allow us to do so – but we’re looking to be part of a number of larger commercial installations, to keep adding more systems to improve Jamaica’s transition from fossil fuel to cleaner energy. It’s our mission to give residents reliable, resilient, and clean energy.” c

18.24KW SYSTEM

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 57

INTERVIEW: DGM FINANCIAL GROUP

COMPREHENSIVE CORPORATE SERVICES 58 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

By Daniel Baksi Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Wayne Fields, President of DGM Financial Group, about the competitive business environment in Barbados, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and trends within the services industry. DGM Financial Group has been providing comprehensive global financial services to clients across the world for over 20 years. A Listing Sponsor on the Barbados Stock Exchange, the group is owned jointly by Cave Shepherd and Company Limited and Neville Isdell, former Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola. DGM provides a range of services across multiple companies, including incorporation, directorships, secretary and immigration services through the DGM Trust Corporation, and captive insurance and general management services through DGM Captive Management Inc. and DGM Management Services Limited. “At DGM, we pride ourselves in security and trust,” says Wayne Fields, President of DGM Financial Group. “We have a broad

variety of clients across different sectors and industries, from mining to nonprofit organizations, and insurance companies. Our staff are all trained to recognize that we’re dealing with high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients that are setting up structures in Barbados. In all cases, providing quality service and integrity is vital as we look to drive forward the development of our business.” COMPETITIVE EDGE The development of Barbados’ financial center has been a stark contrast to the typical model for an offshore financial center. “To take places like Cayman and Bermuda as a comparison, those islands are zero-tax jurisdictions, catering to a very small domestic population,” explains Mr. Fields. “Those islands are able, without providing corporate tax or personal income tax, to fund their Government budget. By contrast, Barbados is a much larger country; we’re home to almost 300,000 people, compared to the small population in Cayman, and the government has historically set high corporate and income tax rates to fund the Government budget. The benefit of Barbados having a tax system is that the country has been able to negotiate tax treaties with countries around the world, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and many other European countries. Without taxes, you couldn’t have a tax treaty.” SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 59

INTERVIEW: DGM FINANCIAL GROUP

Unlock the potential for green growth At PwC, sustainability is a priority for our business as we understand that climate change is one of the most pressing problems facing our world today. It affects everyone - from families worrying about their children’s futures, to pension funds deciding where to invest. So, it is in the interests of everyone that we see systemic change that averts a climate catastrophe and we all need to adapt to a create a more sustainable future. With a global reach across 155 countries, broad industry coverage, and 284,000 people that support our clients – from reshaping strategy and transformation, to deals, reporting, audit and tax – we have a huge opportunity to accelerate the transition to a net zero future together. Michael Bynoe Territory Leader, PwC East Caribbean | Call: 1 (246) 626 6801 michael.bynoe@pwc.com | www.pwc.com/bb

The focus of the country’s efforts has been on nurturing its corporate sector. “In 2019, Barbados converged what we then referred to as our domestic legislation with our international legislation,” says Mr. Fields. “With that, corporate tax rates reduced considerably from 25 to a maximum of five-and-a-half percent, which helps to make Barbados very competitive. Added to that, Barbados has a size, population, and an educational system that allows us to develop Barbadians to work within the financial 60 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

services sector and not rely on expensive expatriates. Looking at all the major accounting firms in Barbados, with hundreds of staff members, there are very few expatriates, thanks to the availability of well-educated people in Barbados. Smaller jurisdictions don’t have that advantage; they have to bring in a great number of people with expertise at very high cost. The end result is a cost differential: Barbados is substantially less expensive to do business than many of these other jurisdictions.”

RESILIENT SERVICE DGM underwent a process of reorganization between 2013-2015, as the company looked to specialize its business operations. “We closed certain businesses for which we did not see a long-term future, instead concentrating on those where the future looked brightest,” explains Mr. Fields. “That’s all behind us now, and the result is a group whose business is more targeted, and whose operations are more efficient. We had our best year ever in 2020, and 2021

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 61

INTERVIEW: DGM FINANCIAL GROUP

“WE HAD OUR BEST YEAR EVER IN 2020, AND 2021 HAS STARTED OUT BETTER THAN THAT. JUDGING BY OUR PERFORMANCE THUS FAR, DGM IS ON TRACK FOR A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR.”

62 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

has started out better than that. Judging by our performance thus far, DGM is on track for a record-breaking year.” The company has managed to avoid being significantly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “At the height of the pandemic, our staff have all efficiently worked from home remotely,” says Mr. Fields. “Thanks to the foresight of the company’s leadership and Board to put in place the structure for us to work remotely and the fact that the business we serve allows us to do it remotely. Given the difficulty of travel, we had to adapt our marketing strategy, and we participated in a few live webinars as we looked to put our name out there and sustain our place in the marketplace. For our clients, instead of visiting them abroad, we communicated via Skype and Zoom, all the while preserving the quality of our service. We’re all back in office now, and we continue to acquire new business.” COMMUNITY ROLE DGM’s dependence on local talent has considerable benefits for the country’s population and economy. “By employing local talent, you’re doing two things,” explains Mr. Fields. “You’re taking already well-educated people, and you’re training them into a specific line of business. In return, they’re

receiving better paid jobs. This is also true of the accounting and legal professions. This assists in the development of Barbadians with specialist skills”. DGM employees aren’t the only ones to thrive on the company’s success. “For those services that we don’t offer in-house, such as investment management and legal services, we introduce our clients to other local service providers capable of performing those services,” explains Mr. Fields. EFFECTIVE EXPANSION In particular, DGM has high hopes for the future of its insurance business. “In recent years, we’re seeing a couple of trends within the insurance market: the increase in pricing of different types of insurance risks, and the inability to insure certain risks explains Mr. Fields. “We recently tried to place insurance in the London market, for Directors & Officers risk for a life insurance company under our management. Not a single company would insure that risk for us. We’re seeing the same pattern across different jurisdictions, such as Latin America. As a result of that, clients are setting up their own insurance companies to try and protect themselves by securing cover elsewhere.” In order to capitalize on this opportunity, DGM is looking to expand its operations. “We’re not seeking to move into a new sector,” says Mr. Fields. “We’re very focused on what we do, and we don’t want to be diluted by initiating business that might not correlate with our expertise. We’re keen to expand, but only to do so where there’s a proper fit. That’s the approach that we’ve determined to be most effective.” c

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 63

INTERVIEW: SURINAM AIRWAYS

FLYING ON TRUSTED WINGS 64 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

By Poppy Johnson Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Steven Gonesh, Vice President of Operations at Surinam Airways, about the airline’s growth and vision in times of crisis, and its goals for environmental sustainability. Founded in 1953, Surinam Airways is Suriname’s flag-carrier airline, carrying its passengers to a variety of destinations including Aruba, Brazil, Curaçao, Georgetown Guyana, the Netherlands, and Miami, along with seasonal flights to Orlando, and with a goal in mind to further expand these routes in the near future. Operating from its base at the Johan Pengel International Airport, the airline has a reputation for innovative and efficient service, captured in its memorable tagline: “Flying on Trusted Wings”. The company operates two Boeing 737-700 and one B777, and is formed of over five hundred employees, working across the airline, its three business units focused on catering,

ground-handling company, and cargo, as well as two hotels in the city of Paramaribo and the bordering city of Nickerie. NEW CONNECTIONS The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up a number of challenges, but the airline industry has felt the full force of its effects. “In this past year, we’ve seen an 55% reduction in our flight activity,” says Steven Gonesh, Vice President of Operations at Surinam Airways. “In passenger numbers, the impact has been even greater, with a reduction of 92%. Despite that, we’re remaining positive, and still plan to expand our operations to more destinations. When the situation presents itself, we’ll soon try to develop more of a hub station in our home base of Paramaribo. We are looking at areas in Brazil and the South American area for expansion and routes, and more activity also in the Caribbean. It’s important for us not only to carry passengers point-to-point, but to expand in a network with other parties.” To cope in trying circumstances, the airline has shifted towards charter operations. “That itself is a move that has its difficulties,” explains Mr. Gonesh. “In the first instance, it’s not easy to get permission to execute charter flights. If you manage that, you then have to navigate the various reSUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 65

INTERVIEW: SURINAM AIRWAYS strictions on passengers’ movement across a number of different countries, all of which are subject to rapid and unpredictable change. That said, the option to switch to charter flights is a vital opportunity, allowing us to stay afloat in these challenging times, and keeps us moving forward. By striking new connections, it ensures that the airline will be able to prosper once more in the future.”

“WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT WE’RE BEING ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY THROUGHOUT OUR OPERATIONS, AND ACROSS OUR BUSINESS AS A WHOLE.“

Multi-purpose port The main aim is to optimally accommodate economic activities in support of the national economy.

Havenlaan Zuid 5, PO Box 2307 Paramaribo Suriname Tel: +597 404044 Fax: +597 403691 Email: smeport@havenbeheer.sr info@havenbeheer.sr

havenbeheer.com 66 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

ENVIRONMENT-FIRST With its base located within the Amazon region, the environment is close to the airline’s heart. “Suriname is over 93% forest, so preservation is essential,” says Mr. Gonesh. “We need to ensure that we’re being environmentally friendly throughout our operations, and across our business as a whole. We’ve made that commitment, and we’re now taking action with plans to use more environmentally-friendly materials on-board our aircrafts, while also trying to be as light as possible in order to reduce carbon emissions. That includes looking at opportunities for a paperless cabin, and the removal of all single-use plastic from our operations. At the moment, we’re considering plans for the possibility of taxiing using one engine instead of two,

in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. It’s our hope that such measures will complement the use of a number of other advances technologies to initiate a new chapter in our journey towards environmental sustainability.” FRESH PERSPECTIVES As it looks to the future, Surinam Airways is taking the opportunity to revitalize its operations. “Around the world, there are countless airlines that unfortunately haven’t made it through the current crisis,” says Mr. Gonesh. “For us, we’re focused on staying afloat, and we’ve put all hands on deck to bridge this challenging period – but we’ll soon be looking towards growth. We receive some financial support from the Government of Suriname, and they are working with us more broadly to help the airline move forward. Within the organization, Mr. Paul de Haannew has been appointed as the new CEO. With that, along with after-effects of the COVID-19 crisis, we’re reassessing our internal procedures, adapting, and changing our way of doing business. We’re anticipating changes on the operational side, on the commercial side, on the marketing side, and on the personnel side of the business. We have to be very efficient, achieving more with fewer people, at lower costs, all while striving to meet the more rigorous environmental standards expected of the industry. All that is being encapsulated with Surinam Airways’s new vision for 2023, which we hope will signal a fresh perspective, and a new way forward for the company.” “Moving forward, we see a bright future for Surinam Airways, but also for the country of Suriname as a whole,” says Mr. Gonesh. “Suriname has rich oil reserves and a burgeoning offshore oil industry. Building on that, the country is looking to expand its economic activity both within and beyond domestic borders. We’re expecting an increase in the numbers of people travelling to Surinam, and we’re preparing ourselves to be able to cope with that challenge. It’s a fantastic opportunity.” c SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 67

ADVERTISERS INDEX A Air North, Yukon’s Airline Aravins Super Market

17 36

B Barbados Stock Exchange 60 Building Materials Ltd Do it Center 31 C Cairsea Services Ltd Coyaba Beach Resort

68 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

E Electrical Depot

L La Heliconia

H Havenbeheer 66

P PWC

I lntegra Marine & Freight Service Invest Barbados

R Relax Inn Grenada

T Tincup Wilderness Lodges Ltd

67 61

e s i d Para Step on to

Call. + 1 473 444 4612 E. reservations@coyaba.com

www.coyaba.com

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

| 69

70 | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Sustainable Business Magazine 5/21

Articles inside

ABOVE AND BEYOND

Interview - Surinam Airways

Interview - Flow Montserrat

Interview - Green Sports Alliance

Interview - DGM Financial Group

Interview - Solar Buzz

Interview - Virgin Hyperloop

Interview - Flow Turks and Caicos

Interview - EAUC