Club Med is Happy To Care about its Sustainability Journey
4 min read
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day, Club Med shares its progress on sowing the seeds of Responsible Tourism across East, South Asia and Pacific .
Environmentally-friendly policies and practices as well as the preservation of natural and cultural heritage are becoming top-of-mind concerns for holidaymakers, playing a significant role in travellers’ holiday choices and providing a sentiment of authenticity to the experience that they bring home.
Since its founding in 1950, sustainability has always been an integral part of the Club Med DNA. Being the pioneer of premium, all-inclusive vacations, Club Med has forged a strong belief that moments of happiness offered to guests cannot be experienced at the expense of others or of nature.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day on 5 June 2023, Club Med shares its role as a catalyst in promoting sustainable tourism to reduce environmental impact and increase social impact with Green Week happening in June, as well as other green initiatives under its Happy To Care programme:
- Green Week 2023
A week-long showcase of Club Med’s trailblazing green initiatives in various Resorts across East, South Asia and Pacific, with daily demonstrations of its efforts towards a more sustainable future based on a specific environmental topic. Examples of such topics include plastics, biodiversity, solidarity, local culture and food waste to name a few. With regards to plastics, the showcase will feature beach and mountain clean-ups across Club Med’s sun and snow resorts worldwide as well as Mini Clean-ups by young guests as part of the kids club activities.
- Happy to Care
Happy To Care is Club Med’s longstanding commitment towards sustainable tourism, encompassing values accumulated and evolved since the creation of Club Med Foundation in 1979 . The programme is founded upon three key pillars: environmental stewardship to protect the exceptional natural environments its resorts reside in, to create a long-lasting and positive impact in communities that Club Med operates in, and to provide guests with meaningful and sustainable vacation experiences. Game-changing commitments under Club Med’s Happy To Care policies includes:
- Club Med BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).
Routine incorporation of an eco-friendly approach and the implementation and adherence to strict standards in construction projects with Club Med BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), which ensuresthat all new-built resorts or large-scale renovations by the Group are eco-certified and comply with Club Med construction eco-standards.In Asia Pacific, Club Med will open their first large-scale sustainably built BREEAM-certified beach resort – Club Med Borneo in Malaysia by end 2024.
- Green Globe Certification.
Green Globe Certification is the world’s highest and most thoroughly tested standard of responsible tourism where certified properties are reviewed twice annually based on over 350 criteria, to ensure that they possess demanding levels of sustainability across all aspects, from training and recruitment to food and energy wastage, resort construction and biodiversity preservation as well as the preservation of local cultures in nearby communities. 100 per cent of Club Med resorts have been awarded the Green Globe certification for sustainable tourism since 2021
- Cultivating environmental awareness
The exceptional sites in which the villages are located are the perfect place to draw guests’ attention to environmental issues and Club Med believes in its responsibility to raise awareness of the fragility and beauty of nature, the environmental issues faced by its destinations and also encourage guests to get involved in environmental preservation.
To ensure that Club Med’s eco-initiatives are effectively championed in every resort, over 15,000 G.Os (Gentils Organisateurs) are trained annually on sustainability and how to assist in the preservation of resort environments by raising this awareness amongst guests.
Additionally, there also are real experts on biodiversity and sustainability based in the resorts, including a “Green G.O” at Club Med Cherating Beach and a marine biologist at Club Med Kani to share eco-attitudes with the little ones.
- Preserving local cultures and protecting animal welfare.
Club Med Resorts are steeped in local culture, as can be seen from their architecture, interior design, vegetation, cuisine and in numerous other aspects too. The programmes and activities offered also reflect local influences, frequently through lessons in dance, cooking and languages, as well as lectures on the host country. Most Resorts also organise weekly evenings, full days or events dedicated to celebrating the culture of the host country or region.
With help from specialists, Club Med has been committed for several years to developing its best practices for animal welfare – almost 70 per cent of these resort surface areas are situated on or adjacent to protected areas, which has prompted Club Med to partner with local environment associations to conserve the distinct biodiversity over 20 resorts worldwide. Club Med also offers sea cetaceans observation sessions in support of the World Cetacean Alliance.
Aside from the above, Club Med is also dedicated in accelerating the local development of its host destination, while prioritising the wellbeing and growth of its employees by offering life-changing experiences and career support.
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