Leading By Example – The Sustainable Side Of Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa

Wednesday 28th of December 2022

Comfortably tucked away in the remote Huvadhoo Atoll, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa is a haven of nature, home to one of the thriving house reefs in the country. Surrounded by tiffany-blue waters, the emerald drop of white is the ultimate getaway to connect with nature. Being gifted such a serene landscape, it is equally of essence to conserve the delicate environment and ecosystems blossoming on the island. As such, Park Hyatt Maldives has woven several sustainable endeavours into its operations.

Sustainable Design & Construction

Since its inception, Park Hyatt Maldives has been veering towards sustainability and this is reflected in the resort’s design & construction management. The design of the hotel conserves and reiterates the native greenery of the island and is built to cater for rainwater harvesting with minimal threats to the coral reefs. Moreover, the siting of the buildings was relocated earlier on, to reduce building area land coverage.

Desalination of water & Plastic Elimination

At Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa, water is desalinated on the island itself and stored in glass bottles for guests. Opting for glass bottles has helped the resort save up on 100,000 plastic bottles annually, reducing the amount that ends up in the oceans and landfills. Moreover, the resort has also switched to paper straws and is using 100% biodegradable coffee capsules to further eliminate plastic usage on the island.

Going Paperless

The resort practices a culture of paperless departmental meetings where all communications are conducted via email. The initiative also extends to guest villas where newspapers and menus are replaced by tablets instead of the traditional printed folder. The iPad and digital screen available in each villa are used to share information with guests and encourage them to go paperless as well.

Local Community Development

Under the Hyatt Thrive, the Hyatt corporate social responsibility program, several activities are conducted on the local islands every year. This includes sustainability talks at schools, driving reef and beach cleanups, and friendly sports matches. Furthermore, the resort also supports local employment and entrepreneurs and proudly boasts 60% of its associates are from nearby communities.

Likewise, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa invites local musicians such as Boduberu bands and artisans to share their work and introduce guests to the culture and heritage of the island nation. Additionally, owing to Maldives’ reliance on the tourism industry, the resort employs a few interns from local schools to harness their hospitality skills and pave a career path in the industry.

Environmental Sustainability

The resort actively deploys coral reef monitoring following the Australian program, Coral Watch which seeks to evaluate the reef’s condition and recovery, particularly after bleaching events. The resort also has four permanent loggers inputted at different depths around the island to measure the water temperature and detect fluctuations in temperatures.

Apart from this, the team removes threatening species to coral reefs such as the corallivorous “Crown of Thorns” sea star and the Drupella sea snail on a weekly basis. In line with the resort’s Reef & Me project students from local schools are made aware of the coral reef systems via sustainability talks while Go Deeper talks facilitated by Marine Biologists underscore the flora and fauna of the island resort.