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Southern Sun Qamardeen Hotel Receives 2009 Dubai Green Tourism Award from DTCM

Monday, September 13, 2010

Southern Sun Qamardeen Hotel has been awarded the 2009 Dubai Green Tourism Award in the four star category by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). The award, presented at a grand ceremony organised by DTCM on Wednesday, June 30, was accepted by John Aritho, General Manager, Southern Sun Qamardeen Hotel.

The Dubai Green Tourism Award was launched by DTCM last year to honour environment-friendly hotels that have made significant improvements to services and systems through internal and external initiatives such as waste recycling, energy conservation, and environmental-awareness campaigns.

“Environmental initiatives at Qamardeen Hotel and its sister property Al Manzil Hotel began more than two years ago, right from the hotels’ inception. Southern Sun has a strong culture of concern for preserving the environment and senior members of our management have long been advocates of environmental initiatives,” says John Aritho, General Manager, Southern Sun Qamardeen Hotel.

To date, the hotels’ contribution to the preservation of the environment encompasses a wide-ranging scope of initiatives – from adapting to the use of energy-efficient light bulbs, to reducing A/C consumption in non-occupied rooms, using recycled or ‘grey’ water for irrigation and flush tanks, using only environmentally-friendly cleaning chemicals, installing water-saving devices on water taps and showerheads, and putting proactive systems in place to manage and recycle waste material. Qamardeen Hotel also participates in “Clean Up the World”, an annual Dubai Municipality initiative. Clean Up the World is a global campaign that inspires and empowers communities to preserve their environment. An estimated 35 million volunteers from more than 120 countries participate in Clean Up the World annually.

A well-planned and conscientiously executed campaign to raise staff awareness levels is also simultaneously conducted by Qamardeen Hotel on an on-going basis, which includes measures such as highlighting commitment to energy conservation during staff induction and training courses, encouraging department heads to stress vigilance in energy usage during daily team briefings as well as to constantly monitor usage rates, control wastage and report misuse. This includes Hotel staff accommodation where internal initiatives have staff competing to use the least amount of electricity and water per apartment, helping to significantly reduce the daily consumption and wastage of energy and water.

Qamardeen Hotel has also actively targeted its guests in the campaign by distributing handbooks from the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) on “Electricity & Water Conservation” in guest bedrooms as additional in-room reading material, along with prominently displaying posters and in-room letters to guests, encouraging them to participate in initiatives such as Earth Hour.

The reduction in the hotel’s carbon emissions has been accompanied by significant savings in energy costs, with 32% cost savings achieved and recorded on electrical energy consumption from lighting and equipment, 35% cost savings on air-conditioning and 25% cost savings through water conservation efforts.

“The energy savings achieved to date are significant and we are confident that data recorded on various conservation methods already employed will be helpful in boosting our efforts even further. We are now more capable of identifying areas of concern and areas where we can do more to reduce our energy costs, and more importantly, reduce our carbon emissions,” says Aritho. “We now intuitively choose products and services that are energy efficient, and are firmly committed to instilling in our management and staff a respect for the environment and a collective responsibility towards its preservation.”
Not content to rest on their laurels, Qamardeen Hotel is pursuing certification from Green Globe. “As the premier global certification for sustainability Green Globe updates its certification criteria annually to ensure international compliance and provides a benchmark for the Tourism Industry in Energy Management. Achieving this next goal will bring Qamardeen Hotel closer to its objective of being one of the most carbon friendly hotels in the region,” concludes Aritho.
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Qamardeen Hotel

Southern Sun Qamardeen Hotel is a haven of refined relaxation welcoming guests with warm hospitality and elegant ambiance. Situated in Downtown Dubai, this deluxe property offers luxurious accommodation and a host of amenities and recreational facilities, making it an ideal destination for guests travelling either for business or leisure.

Southern Sun
Southern Sun Hotels prides itself in over 40 years of experience in providing world-class hospitality in properties across Africa. In 2007, the award-winning hotel group expanded its portfolio in the Middle East with the opening of Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels, offering its trademark luxurious accommodation at competitive rates.

For more information please contact:
Farah Ibrahim
TRACCS
Tel: +9714 3672530
TRACCS 24/7 Media Hotline: +97150 9448389
Email: farah.ibrahim@traccs.net