Updates

Cayman Islands are going green by thinking globally and acting locally!

 

At the beginning of the year we started our initiative to cut back on the use of plastic bags and bottles and since then many other companies have followed suit to try and encourage the people of the Cayman Islands to go green.
• In April, Fosters, Hurley’s and Kirk started the process of replacing plastic bags with reusable bags. These reusable bags are machine washable and made of 50% recycled bottles and printed with soy based inks.
• In June, the supermarkets introduced a charge for plastic bags, currently the price is $0.05c per bag to encourage people to bring their own bags shopping. It is hoped that by charging for plastic disposable bags will raise awareness about how many bags are being used and could potentially end up in our eco-system.
• “Every Little Helps” If everyone does their small part, it will end up having a massive impact in the end. On-line polls show that more than 71% of 482 people were willing to take their own bags shopping showing that the people of the Cayman Islands are coming round to the idea of going green.

 

September 2010

 

Fundraising will take place throughout the year to aid the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme.  This programme protects the Blue Iguana which is one of the rarest species of iguana left in the world and only found here in the Cayman Islands.  One such event will be the Cayman Cookout 2011.  During this gastronomic festival there will be a wine auction and a special dinner at 7 Prime Cuts and Sunsets at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.  This dinner will feature gastronomic wonders created by chefs from several Ritz-Carlton properties in the Caribbean and the United States and proceeds from these events will help support the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme.

 

August 2010

 

Dragon Bay’s Eco Initiative for August is to plant trees in Grand Cayman. There are many reasons for this and a few are listed below.

 

• Trees will help to combat climate change by locking up carbon in its growing tissue and releasing Oxygen, important to all that breathe it!
• Trees can absorb CO2 at the rate of 13 pounds/tree/year. Trees reach their most productive stage of carbon storage at about 10 years.
• For every ton of new wood that grows, about 1.5 tons of CO2 are removed from the air and 1.07 tons of life-giving oxygen are produced. During a 50-year life span, one tree will generate $30,000 in oxygen, recycle $35,000 worth of water, and clean up $60,000 worth of air pollution or $125,000 total per tree without including any other values!

 

check back to see when we will be tree planting, where we decide to plant them, what trees we chose and our reasons why.

 

July 2010

 

Energy conservation debuted at Dragon Bay and The Ritz-Carlton two years ago and by becoming environmentally friendly has also helped it become sustainable whilst simultaneously reducing its power bill. Exploring ways to become more energy efficient will continue to be researched throughout the year and July’s aim was to share the energy efficient information and initiatives that are taking place at Dragon Bay.
• Light bulbs were one of the first areas looked into as in a property the size of The Ritz-Carlton there are not only hundreds of them, but many need changing, some on a daily basis. Because of this, eco-friendly bulbs made sense and The Ritz-Carlton installed compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only are these bulbs friendlier to the environment by using four time less energy than conventional bulbs, they last longer so therefore need changing less often. Also, they have made sure that lights are turned off in areas that are lit by sufficient natural light which in itself has had a positive effect on energy saving.
• Another area looked into was the heating a cooling. As can be imagined, an immense amount of energy is used in a complex as vast as The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. For the heating, solar thermal energy systems were installed which heat the tubs in the Silver Rain Spa as well as the pools. For the cooling system a high tech device was installed that can recognize body heat and movement. In this way, rooms that are empty don’t need to be cooled constantly, but once a person enters, the device picks up on the motion and body heat and starts cooling the room again.
• The Laundry was another area for concern as this ran on a daily basis and used an enormous amount of energy therefore creative and environmentally friendly initiatives have been put in place all of which will considerably change the energy consumption of the property. More linen has been purchased meaning that there is no need to put on half washes as there is more than enough linen to use throughout the resort. It also means that loads only get done when there are full loads and this has occasionally meant that the laundry can be shut down for short periods during the low season reducing energy output again. This in turn has had a knock on effect on the ironing press, which is now only run on full capacity rather than at half capacity at a slower speed.

 

The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman originally had an energy efficient reduction target of 3% and has, since the introduction of more energy efficient means, far exceeded this target. In last year alone, a reduction of 17.5% was seen which surpassed everyone’s expectations and predicts great things for a greener future

 

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